Hands up who has played dental games? Duck, duck, root canal? Pass the mask. Find the filling. Double Dutch dentures. You get the idea. The high speed whine of the drill and dentistry do not obviously lend themselves to conceptions of children’s games. Apparently not so, however, according to lovers of the Tiny Dentist computer game. If only dentists and their very sharp instruments were actually so tiny in the real world of big people and their oral care requirements. Pain management does have psychological elements and expectations are a substantial part of it.

“Additionally, a finger pulse oximeter was used to record heart rate (HR) at each of the six treatment phases: baseline (the first session, two weeks prior to treatment) and stages 2-6. Playing video games considerably lowered the heart rate. Playing and the treatment period interacted in a major way. On comparing the groups at every time point, the intervention group displayed lower HR during injection, tooth preparation with an air-rotor and biomechanical preparation with endodontic rotary files. The results suggest that engaging in specific dental simulation games prior to the 1st dentist visit could help preschoolers feel less anxious during routine dental operations.”
– Maru V, Patil RSB, Kumari S, Tiwari S, Bapat S. Influence of pretreatment exposure to pediatric dental care using the “Tiny dentist” game on 4-7 years old children’s pain and anxiety: a parallel randomised clinical trial. J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2023 Sep;47(5):96-102. doi: 10.22514/jocpd.2023.058. Epub 2023 Sep 3. PMID: 37732442.
– PubMed.com

Drilling Down Into Dentistry, Childhood Memories, & The Pre-App World

It is interesting as an older member of our human race to look back upon memories of going to the dentist for the first time. I remember the antiseptic smells and climbing that steep staircase to the dental surgery perched on the side of a highway. Waiting in the anteroom with the unknown ahead of me. The white uniforms of dental hygienist and dentist. The body hair on the arms and top lip of the seemingly very large dentist. The invasiveness of those big hands inside my child size mouth. Then, the outrageous pain of having 4 teeth pulled out with pliers and brute force because of potential overcrowding down the track. Talk about abusive behaviour toward children, but this was done with the best of medical intentions. This was dentistry in the 1970’s. Of course, I was jabbed inside my mouth with a big stainless steel needle to numb the raw pain. Sensitivity, however, the sensitivity of a prepubescent child was king hit for 6. I don’t think I was ever the same again. There was no tiny dentist in my experience.

Games Can Be Great To Alleviate Kiddie Dental Anxiety

Today, of course, we live in a more sophisticated century, in terms of modern dentistry in Australia. Our expectations toward pain management are entirely different, especially in regard to young children. There are dental clinics with mood music, soft lighting, kiddie’s themes, games, video screens, novel drugs, and a whole new approach to dentistry for children. My old dentist would probably get locked up for his treatment of me back in that suburban surgery in the seventies.

Do dental games really change the way kids perceive the dentist? Do children still believe in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy? Every kid is different and unique in what they do and don’t believe. Each set of parents or each parent, have and has, their own set of rules and guidelines when it comes to what they say and do. In a child centric realm, dentistry is a sometimes brutal but necessary evil. Kids can be born with bad teeth, can be indifferently parented toward bad teeth, and can manifest bad luck in relation to their dental status quo. We need dentists, and, despite the pain they sometimes have to cause, the world would be much worse off without them.

The psychology inherent within effective pain management, especially around expectations, makes things like dental computer games potentially helpful. The old way of keeping a kid in the dark until they are held down with a fist in their gob and a hairy dentist yanking out teeth with pliers is thankfully long gone in Australia. I remember him bracing himself against my shoulders in his bid to extract my stubborn young front incisors from my jaw. Enough though, I must let it go. The past can be a hard place to leave sometimes. I am a great believer in telling my own children the truth about things. I find that many parents are not subscribers to this parenting approach. If you watch American movies the character parents invariable lie to their children in most stories. Dentistry is better off, in my view, informing its patients, whatever age, prior to performing procedures.

Apps Designed To Get Kids To Brush Their Teeth By Making It Fun

Human beings of all ages are now more inclined to stare into a small screen in search of answers to life’s most pressing problems. Apps are the solution for a 1001 of our mysteries, it seems. Your kiddie’s mobile phone and tablet may hold the key to getting them to brush their teeth more often. Making a game out of things, has been a successful strategy for getting people to do stuff they generally avoid, for eons. The high tech angle in terms of digital screens maybe new but making things fun is a longtime winner. There are lots of toothbrushing apps available for parents to check out in the app stores and many are free. Most parents will be happy to have some help in achieving this timeless instructive duty to the dental health of their children.

It is a perennial that kids don’t listen to their parents because they are too busy seeking the joy out of their young lives. I mean, who has time to waste on boring stuff like cleaning your teeth! Mums are nags and dad’s dodge the duty. Looking after your teeth soon becomes a pretty important thing, however. Tooth decay leads to more dreadful drilling experiences at the dentist. Then, as more time goes by those hard bits bite the dust and you can begin to lose those teeth. More gaps appear like skeletons in your closet and those wide smiles become things of the past. Bullet proof and indestructible, when young, turns into apologetic and shame faced in middle age. Yul Brynner once croaked, “just don’t smoke.” Well, I would say, please brush your teeth morning and night.

What About Smart Phones That Can Detect Dental Caries?

AI is being employed by a smartphone app to detect tooth decay in children and is currently undergoing tests to ascertain its effectiveness. What a clever world we are living in. Yes, this could appeal to the many poor people who cannot afford to go to the dentist in some places. We do, however, have free dental services for children in most states in Australia. These welfare programs can, however, be tough to book into due to high demand.

“Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common chronic childhood disease, with nearly 1.8 billion new cases per year worldwide. ECC afflicts approximately 55% of low-income and minority US preschool children, resulting in harmful short- and long-term effects on health and quality of life. Clinical evidence shows that caries is reversible if detected and addressed in its early stages. However, many low-income US children often have poor access to pediatric dental services. In this underserved group, dental caries is often diagnosed at a late stage when extensive restorative treatment is needed. With more than 85% of lower-income Americans owning a smartphone, mobile health tools such as smartphone apps hold promise in achieving patient-driven early detection and risk control of ECC.”
– Research Protocols

Do Digital Apps Deliver Valuable Dental Outcomes For Children?

“This bibliometric study has identified a growing tendency to use digital technologies in children’s oral and dental health. Although the types and categorizations of the technology are typically diverse during the timeframe and according to the area of dental services and oral health, it can be a great opportunity for policymakers to facilitate access to dental services, the population’s literacy, dental education, and oral and dental service delivery by applying appropriate technologies. This bibliometric study, along with health technology assessment and policy studies, can help policymakers identify the trend, type, application, and pros and cons of technology application in oral and dental health for the vulnerable group of children and pave the way for using more effective and suitable technologies for access improvement and improved children’s oral health according to the contextual determinants.”
– Bastani, P.; Manchery, N.; Samadbeik, M.; Ha, D.H.; Do, L.G. Digital Health in Children’s Oral and Dental Health: An Overview and a Bibliometric Analysis. Children 2022, 9, 1039. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9071039

 

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