Dental fear in children can be well understood, as most kids do not find dental appointments very pleasant. For the parent and child looking for an Encinitas dentist, tips on handling dental phobia assist in ensuring the right dental care is provided. Conventional approaches to dealing with this anxiety include putting the patient to sleep or providing him with diversions, and these have yielded different measures of effectiveness.
However, the advancements of recent times give a sound opportunity for the successful application of gamification. Looking at the idea of introducing a dental care game to an application, gamification introduces elements of play in an effort to reduce the stress of children during dental visits.
How can the use of gamification be of assistance in managing anxiety?
Gamification uses elements of game and play to make the dental visit more fun and appealing. This is because having incentives such as rewards, challenges, and achievements takes the learners from a position of fear and discomfort to one of fun and ingot.
Therefore, in the cognition of children, there are favorable factors of anxiolytic elements, such as game elements that reduce anxiety, which includes factors such as control, achievement,t, and familiarity with games. Besides, this work provides an enchantment of fear-free dentists work resulting in a positive attitude towards dental visits and general oral hygiene practices.
What Is Good about the Use of Gamification in Pediatric Dentistry?
The first advantage of implementing gamification within pediatric dentistry is to decrease a patient’s stress level and fear of dentists. Since the children will be encouraged to participate in the treatment activities through the use of rewards and incentives, cooperation is enhanced. This may result in improved easy working dental surgeries, and increased efficiency and comfort of the child the dentist, and other staff members. Besides, using the concepts of gamification strengthens the trust between the dentist and a child since the acquisition of dental treatment is not experienced as pain and punishment, but rather as fun and a game.
How does the use of gamification enhance treatment adherence?
By availing of the concept of gamification, children are more likely to be more proactive regarding their dental care. Such things as game activities involving the use of a pen and sheet where the child is alarmed interactively when it’s time to brush or floss can improve the preventive measures the child takes for dental health. Such forms of incentive make them stick to appropriate prescribed treatment regimens and dental care habits. It transforms the act of acceptable oral hygiene into something fun and educational allowing children to establish proper care for their teeth throughout their lives.
What the future holds for gamification in pediatric dentistry.
With advancements in technology, the application of gamification in pediatric dental practices is expected to increase in the future. The application of Virtual Reality – VR and augmented reality – AR also shows a potential to expand the gamified approach of dental care for children to new levels merging play with direct role-playing of the process.
With these technologies, the dental professional can come up with an all-around entertaining experience that will reduce discomfort in children and encourage the correct dental procedures. It is highly possible that, in the years to come, the incorporation of comparable techniques of gaming will greatly decrease the anxiety level experienced by children who need to avail of pediatric dental services.
Conclusion
Gamification is, therefore, one of the most promising approaches that can be used to transform the manner in which pediatric dental anxiety is addressed. This is because by transforming visits to the dental clinic into creative and engaging processes known in pediatric circles as a game like, the unwitting impact of removing the child’s fear of the dentist in addition to mitigating stress, has made it easier to ensure the child complies with dental hygiene.