Lots of people have a phobia of the dentist. Often children develop a phobia because they see a parent is worried about going to the dentist or because they have had an unpleasant experience. This can stay with them a life time and put them off going for regular check ups. The problem is, the longer a person leaves it between check ups the more likely they are to need treatment. This can then be treatment that they may find uncomfortable or painful which then reaffirms their fears.
If you have a phobia of the dentist, try and not show your child. Try and explain to them what is going to happen but reassure them that a check up doesn’t hurt and is a great thing to do to look after their teeth. Instilling good dental hygiene form a young age is vital to ensuring that they continue this when they are older. After your baby teeth have gone you only get one set so you need to ensure that you look after them.
If your child does have to have any work done such as a filling or an extraction then you may decide that you want to tell them exactly what will happen as if you lie to them you run the risk of them not trusting you in the future.