Parents Pass Down Fear of Dentists to Children

Children who usually fear dentists are likely to have had this fear passed down to them by their parents, scientists say after conducting a new study

There are very few children who are not afraid of dentists and now, they have their parents to blame for this. Scientists at the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid found that children who usually fear dentists are likely to have had this fear passed down to them by their parents.

Similar studies have been carried out in the past to study the connection of levels of fear between children and their parents, but it has never been found which parent plays what role in this connection.

One of the authors of the study América Lara Sacido explains that "along with the presence of emotional transmission of dentist fear amongst family members, we have identified the relevant role that fathers play in transmission of this phobia in comparison to the mother."

Through the study, the scientists also found that the level of fear in one family member can affect the other family members as well. For example, if one family member experiences a high level of fear, another family member can experience the same.

"Although the results should be interpreted with due caution, children seem to mainly pay attention to the emotional reactions of the fathers when deciding if situations at the dentist are potentially stressful," states Lara Sacido.

"With regard to assistance in the dental clinic, the work with parents is key. They should appear relaxed as a way of directly ensuring that the child is relaxed too," notes the author. "Through the positive emotional contagion route in the family, the right attitude can be achieved in the child so that attending the dentist is not a problem," she concludes.