How do you prepare a young child for a filling? Raisingkids.co.uk's Dental Expert, Amanda O'Donnell allays a father's fears.

Raisingkids member's problem
My 5-yr-old daughter has just been told she has tooth decay in one of her upper back teeth. The dentist says that she'll need a filling, which has been booked. Can you tell me what the procedure is with a child? Do they have injections of anaesthetic and how can I lessen the 'fear factor' of the experience?

Dental expert's advice
Some dentists use injections to numb the teeth before doing fillings on children and some don’t. It all depends on the size of the hole – small holes can be cleaned (‘drilled’) comfortably without having an anaesthetic.

If your child has to have a local anaesthetic, do not worry – they can be given fairly painlessly by using topical anaesthetic first on the gum. Try not to focus on any ‘fear factor’. A good paediatric dentist will be able to make the whole process a fun and relaxing experience. Children pick up on parental fears/worries and this can make them anxious at the dentist – the best thing to do is be relaxed and let the dentist do the talking (if a local anaesthetic is used they may use different words such as ‘sleepy juice’ so that the word ‘injection’ is avoided).