5 Dental Teaching Aids Every Dentist Should Have in Their Office

As a pediatric dentist, you’re probably facing numerous challenges in your everyday work. These may include everything from finding creative ways to alleviate symptoms of dental fear and anxiety in the youngest patients to something as prosaic as having to deal with temper tantrums that are characteristic for almost every toddler out there. That said, you’re often forced to come up with new ways to keep your patients amused, happily distracted, and simply ready to cooperate during their dental treatments. These days, there are many educational tools you could include in your everyday routine to help you with your patients. Below we list the five dental teaching aids every dentist should have in their office, including yourself!

1. Dental Demonstration Models

These demonstration models are usually huge teeth that are conveniently designed in a way to help dentists provide all necessary explanations to their patients both quickly and easily. Nothing is left to a patient’s imagination as they can visualize every step of their dental treatment thanks to this dental teaching tool revealing the detailed tooth structure. Dental demonstration tools also boast a considerable potential to teach younger patients about the basic mechanism behind cavities and gum disease, with the tooth anatomy well on display. Finally, they are entirely made of removable parts and multiple layers, deeming them a truly nifty addition to any dental office out there.

2. Dental Puppets

Dental plushes or dental puppets usually come in form of various stuffed animals with teeth. They may even have added orthodontics, come with a huge toothbrush to make it easier for a demonstrator to explain the proper brushing technique, and are usually complemented with a full set of flossible teeth. They have deserved their popularity among the youngest of patients because they help them relax, focus, and better memorize all the steps of the dental care routine. These puppets are usually all-time popular real-life and fantasy animals like dragons, dinosaurs, unicorns, dogs, and crocodiles that children simply adore and are more likely to bond with.

3. Brochures

A dental visit can be overwhelming for some, for reasons both objective and subjective. A patient might finish with their treatment sightly distracted and forget about some valuable piece of advice they receive from you. That said, booklets and dental brochures are a great way to offer additional information to your patients on topics that are of the most interest to them. For instance, if they are periodontal patients, you can send them home with a brochure on periodontal disease, or if they’re just getting started with their orthodontic treatment, you can provide them with a brochure on braces to help them better understand the importance of the oral hygiene during their treatment. 

4. Posters Showing the Anatomy of Teeth

In addition to dental puppets, (which are the best choice for the little patients) posters showing the anatomy of teeth may come in quite handy when it comes to explaining to your patients more about the course of their treatment, the type of dental condition they are suffering from, or simply giving them any additional explanation they may request from you. Keep in mind that your patients will probably feel more at ease if they are more involved with the procedure, so you will want to hang those right in your procedure room and not in your waiting room (though it’s not forbidden to put one there as well!). This will allow you to be able to answer any of their questions and clear their concerns before you start with treatment.

5. Oversized toothbrush

Giant toothbrushes typically come in a variety of colors and are ideal for showing proper brushing techniques to your patients. You can use them in combination with dental demonstration models to be able to thoroughly explain to kids at which angle they should brush and how to clean all key areas in their mouth to establish the most efficient brushing routine and achieve maximum results. You can also use this aid to teach them how to pick the best toothbrush for them, considering the factors such as an age-appropriate toothbrush head size, the softness and shape of bristles, as well as the ideal grip size.

Conclusion

Having dental teaching tools in your arsenal is a worthy investment indeed. From educational brochures and dental puppets to posters and huge teeth models, including at least some of these aids could be highly beneficial to your dental office, especially if you’re constantly looking for new ways to provide a better experience to your patients. 

Are you already using some of the dental teaching aids we’ve mentioned above? Which one’s your favorite? You can share all about it in the comments, we’re looking forward to hearing from you!