Childhood Dental Anxiety

5 year old Tommy stared in trepidation as a six-eyed masked creature stared down at him; the creature had blue hands. She grasped a needle-like instrument in one hand and in the other a mini tornado sucker. As the alien-like creature reached her hands towards Tommy, he squealed in horror. Now, the previous account is not an excerpt from a horror film, but instead a scene reenacted daily in dental offices. Though entirely fictional, Tommy represents millions of children worldwide suffering from dental anxiety. Childhood dental fear could contribute to dental neglect and present a problem for both dental professionals and patients (Klein, Manangkil, & Dewitt, 2015, p. 436 ) Dental personnel, regarding the dental office as a second home, often fail to recognize the immense anxiety dental visits can induce.
Therefore, dental personnel should strive to create a positive dental experience for pediatric patients to prevent adulthood dental anxiety. To appropriately treat a child suffering from dental anxiety, a clinician must first understand childhood dental anxiety and its effects on oral health; furthermore, the clinician should ideas gleaned from evidenced-based research studies into the pediatric patient’s appointment to alleviate dental anxiety and create a positive overall dental