“Nature vs Nurture”, describes the biological and environmental factors that lead to the behavior development of the child.
According to the knowledge of Early Year Foundation Stage, right guidance can certainly scaffold the psychological development of the child despite inherent fears, self-doubt that could be the result of past unpleasant experiences.
Trick lies in rerouting the signals to the brain by rephrasing the words while describing the instructions.
For instance, if the child in the dental chair has had an unfortunate experience during the cavity filling procedure, its best to avoid the world filling in the subsequent appointments.
Replacement of the word filing with words such as washing the tooth, painting it, or placing a bandage on it could certainly prove more acceptable.
Rephrasing leads to rewiring the brain neurons to the new positive experience. The subsequent response of the rewired neurons in the future dental appointments will be to accept the instructions and allow the child to cope better.
This collaboration between EYFS and Pediatric Dentistry can be smartly used to create pleasant dental experience for the child, hence instilling a positive dental attitude for a lifetime.