Preparing for your child’s first dental visit can be tricky. We encourage you to talk about us before you visit. Your child has been to the physician’s office many times, usually for shots, so it’s understandable if they are a little unsure of us. Here are some tips to help you prepare:
Please don't talk about bad experiences that you have had, or the time your child's sibling freaked out and bit the dentist. (That last one's a joke, hopefully that didn't happen!) Don’t talk about needles or pain or discomfort. Take a calm and matter-of-fact approach. If they have any questions about what we do, reassure them that we are only here to help them keep their smiles healthy.
If they are very nervous, you are always welcome to bring them with you to your own appointment. This helps them become acclimated to our office and staff, and to see how easy a dental visit can be. Seeing someone they are familiar with and look up to successfully go through an experience that is new to the child makes a big impact. If they see how calm you are they will soon realize how easy it is to visit the dentist.
There are also a good selection of books about visiting the dentist that you can read with your child. Here is a short list of children's books that will help put your young one in a good mindset.
Arthur's Tooth by Mark Brown - The famous aardvark is nervous about a loose tooth.
The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist by Stan and Jan Berenstain - The title says it all. Who doesn't love the Berenstain Bears?
Elmo Visits the Dentist by PJ Shaw - That Elmo is everywhere these days...
Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer - This is one about Little Critter. We hear he's pretty famous with the kiddie demographic.
Show Me Your Smile: A Visit to the Dentist by Christine Ricci - Dora “explores” the dentist office.
A Visit to the Dentist by Eleanor Fremont - This one's about Little Bill's dental visit.
There are many more books about dentistry that are geared toward children. These particular ones have been mentioned to us by our patients as good reads that helps their children.
There's another book that's geared toward a slightly older set of kids called What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy. It's written by Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked. It probably won't ease any dental anxiety, but it's definitely good for a laugh.
