Parental Involvement

Do I stay with my child during the Initial Exam?
This is often one of the first questions parents ask. During new patient exams and regular cleanings, we enjoy having parents involved for education. Dr. Waschak enjoys having you there to show you what he sees and point out areas of concern.

Should you accompany your child, we ask that you be a silent observer during the procedure. We have designed the office to be open for you to watch while staying out of your child's view. This allows the doctor and his team to develop a personal, confident relationship with your child.

Should I go with my child for treatment?
Many parents ask: Should I come with my child for treatment? Should I wait in the reception area? Will he do better if I come with him? These are great questions which immediately tell me that parents love their children and want the best for them. In our office, the practice of parental presence or absence during dental treatment is determined on a case by case basis. Some parents, if present during treatment, may unconsciously give their child permission to act out, while other parents are able to keep their child relaxed and cooperative. And, as many parents are aware, the child’s orientation toward or against parental presence may change from appointment to appointment.

With this in mind, there are two critically important goals to your child’s dental appointment.

The first goal is the success of the current appointment. The dentist needs to be able to provide diagnosis, education, and treatment in a way that allows the entire dental team to focus all of their attention on your child. Without distractions or delays, the dentist can get the best possible results in a timeframe that doesn’t exhaust your child’s attention span and good will.

The second, important goal is to give your child an excellent chance to build a comfortable relationship with her dentist. Ultimately, the dentist wants each patient to develop good oral hygiene habits, to willingly keep dental appointments, to be capable of cooperating in any dental care, and, quite frankly, to enjoy going to the dentist. Nothing is more damaging over time than dental appointments that, for whatever reason, turn the child into a dental phobic.

There are no hard and fast rules to parental presence/absence other than being keenly aware of your child’s emotional needs, their safety, and building a long-term, positive relationship. In general, randomized studies failed to show that parental presence reduces a child’s anxiety. Studies and experience have shown that most children over the age of 3 react more positively when permitted to experience the dental visit on their own and in an environment designed for children. Therefore, for children who are younger than 4 years old, are considered mild in temperament, or only have slight anxiety, parental presence can reduce anxiety. That is why we may ask that parents accompany their children who are 3 and younger.

Studies and experience have shown that parents who exhibit high levels of anxiety can have a negative impact on their child’s anxiety, transferring tension as well as nervousness, worry or apprehensiveness. Simple remarks that we see as innocuous can have a great affect on our children. That is why we ask that most parents wait in the reception area for part if not all of the appointment time.

Again, our goals are to focus all of our attention on your child, give them the best chance of building a comfortable relationship with our team and to have fun. We ask that you trust our team to accompany your child through his dental adventure. You can have confidence that we are very experienced at helping children overcome their anxiety.