Bringing Your Child to the Dentist for the First Time
By the time your child turns one year old, you should see a dentist, according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
Healthy smile and appropriate oral development are ensured by these early checkup. They also facilitate future dental visits by helping kids feel at ease with the dentist.
Even for adults, we know that a first visit might be intimidating! People are fearful and anxious because they never experienced it before.
When you and your child visit EPIC Dentistry for Kids, a kind pediatric dentist will greet you and make your youngster feel at ease during the initial consultation.
How to prepare your child during the first dental visit
1. Be positive
Usually, it has been seen that most parents are responsible for creating anxiety in their child’s mind. Avoid discussing bad experiences or upcoming procedures. Always speak positively about dental visits.
When accompanying your child, stay calm, upbeat, and appear happy. This positive attitude can help your child feel more comfortable and confident.
2. Find a friendly pediatric dentist
It matters when selecting between a general dentist and a pediatric dentist for your child. Following dental school, pediatric dentists receive further training focused on treating growing smile, child development, and psychology.
To make children feel more at ease during their visits, they employ strategies, in which they explain and model procedures in advance.
3. Tell Your Child on the same day of the visit
When children (or adults) are unsure of what to anticipate, their imaginationmight become uncontrollably wild. Because this might cause anxiety, we advise against informing your child too far in advance of their first dentist session.
However, surprising them by showing up at the dentist without warning is not ideal either. The best approach is to inform them on the morning of the appointment.
Explain that a nice tooth doctor will count their teeth and show them how to keep their smile healthy.
Answer their questions but avoid too much detail and words like:
- Drill
- Pain
- Shot
- Needle
- Hurt
How to prepare yourself as a parent
It is not just your youngster who has to be prepared for their first dental visit. There are additional things you can do to ensure a seamless visit in addition to scheduling the appointment.
You might inquire about your visit in advance if you are aware that your youngster could be anxious about their visit to the dentist. Their nervousness may be reduced if they inspect the dentist’s chair and office beforehand.
Your child might require extra attention. Giving the dentist’s staff advance notice will enable them to be ready on the day of the appointment. They will be eager to learn, but you may need to teach them just what will benefit your child.
Forms must usually be completed in advance of a first-time dental appointment. While some offices might need you to fill these out in person, others might let you fill them out online.
In any case, it is a good idea to arrive early for your appointment in order to give the dental office any last-minute information they may require.
