PREPARING YOUR CHILD FOR THEIR FIRST DENTAL VISIT

"A new little patient taking in the new sights"

A child's first visit to the dentist is an important milestone. Just as your child sees their pediatrician for "Well baby checks" so should they see the dentist for evaluation of growth of their jaws, face and teeth starting at age one.

Studies show that about 20% of 18 month olds have decay. If this decay is caught early it is much easier to repair and avoids pain for your child. If a small cavity is found early it can be repaired easily. With our new laser technology, most cavities need no injection and no drill to fix!

Start out by being excited with your child about their first dental visit as a sign of growing up. If you have fears of dentistry do not share them with your child either by talking negatively about dental experiences or overcompensating by reassuring too much that "everything will be OK. This makes them think, “Why all the reassurance? This must be really bad!”

Don't make promises about what is going to happen other than to say that the dentist will look at your teeth and his helper will clean them. Do not promise trips to McDonalds, Toys R us, or others rewards as this causes children to say to themselves, " This must be pretty bad if I get a reward like that.” Dr. Wade will reward your child and you can encourage the child to be proud of themselves for doing such a grown up thing as to take care of themselves. If you choose to give a reward, make it a surprise afterward.

We will explain everything that we are doing to decrease children's anxiety. Younger children, however, will still be likely to cry or seem upset by a simple tooth cleaning. Do not let this worry you. It simply means that they are not yet comfortable with their new role as a patient. This will develop with time and repeated visits.

Children sort out their feelings through play. Don't be surprised if before or after their visit they "Play dentist" for a while. This is healthy and you might want to join them in playing. This will show your support.

To summarize, be encouraging but matter-of- fact about their visit. Don't make it more than it is. Use kind words that do not cause an upset reaction to describe the experience. You can honestly say that you are not sure how Dr. Wade's does things but you hear that it is fun, with movies to watch and fun prizes and we can ask Dr. what he is going to do. “I hear he likes to talk to kids a lot, and likes to tell them just what is going on. He’s actually kind of silly from what I hear!” Also, go to our website at www.mykidsdentist.com  and look at the office tour so the office is not an unknown and look at other parts of the site as well, such as the description of Dr. Wade and the staff that has pictures.

Keep your talk, “matter of fact”, and remember that if you have had bad dental experiences keep them to yourself. There is truly no other dental office like ours! We go to great lengths to make sure each child receives what they need in a positive and fun manner.

Good luck and thanks for being part of the team to help your child grow into a relaxed dental patient!
 

First Visit

" Listening to kind 'Tell - Show - Do' guidance, where we tell what will happen, show it on a finger or a puppet, then do the procedure"

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that your child should visit the dentist by their first birthday.
The "age one, well baby" visit is one of the most important preventive services we can provide.

Early childhood cavities, sometimes referred to as baby bottle cavities are PREVENTABLE.

What to expect at the Age One Dental Visit:

-Your infant's teeth and gums will be gently examined.
-You will be shown simple but effective ways to clean your child's teeth.
-Diet and nutrition, as related to tooth decay, will be discussed with you.
-Other preventive measures such as the application of fluoride, either applied directly to the teeth or as a supplement to your child's diet will be thoroughly explained to you.
-Future appointments will be made depending upon the results of our findings.

Working together as team, we are confident that the majority of dental problems can be prevented.

YOUR CHILD'S FIRST HYGIENE APPOINTMENT

When your child becomes one year of age, we recommend they have their first visit with the dental hygienist. This visit has two goals. First, to gently introduce your child to the dental experience and second, to begin in office preventive procedures.
Our staff has over 70 years of combined experience in treating children and will make their initial visit comfortable, easy and even fun.
We use a "show and tell" technique to help your child understand what is happening. The children can see, touch and play with everything they will be shown. Age appropriate words are used. For example, a saliva ejector is called "Mr. Thirsty" because it drinks water from your mouth; an x ray machine is a camera because it takes pictures of your teeth. A dental instrument is touched on a fingernail before it is touched on a tooth.
Each new step is gently introduced and positively reinforced by our staff.

At this visit, we want to examine your child's teeth and gums, clean their teeth, apply topical fluoride and take appropriate XRays. What is actually accomplished depends upon the ease in which your child adapts to this new experience.

The first visit can often be anxiety producing for a young child. Parents are expected to accompany their children. It is not unusual for this age to not want to cooperate initially and crying and refusal to sit in the dental chair is common. Please don't be surprised if this occurs. Allow my staff time to "win" your child over. Children take great pride in overcoming their fears and leave feeling very good about themselves and what they have accomplished.