It is very important to have your child prepared ahead of time for their first dental appointment. Read them a book about the dentist. Have them come to a sibling’s appointment. Don’t scare them. Make it sound like fun. This will help make the appointment a great experience.
The first thing we will do with your child is to have a short question & answer time. This will often relax your child. We will review with the parents and the child proper brushing & flossing techniques. Also, we will discuss healthy diet ideas to build strong teeth & bones.
Next, we will give them “a ride” in the chair. We will often have them put on a pair of sunglasses so that the light does not hurt their eyes. Your child will help us to count their teeth and to look for cavities.
Depending on their age and tooth development, we may take x-rays to check for decay and future growth concerns. At this time, we will begin the actual cleaning. We use fun names for the items we are using such as Captain Hook, Mrs. Tickler, Mr. Thirsty or the motorcycle.
If we have decay or home hygiene concerns, we may administer fluoride in a tray to your child. They get to choose from a variety of flavors; This gets them involved in their care.
The final step will be to have the doctor come into the room to look at the x-rays and to do an exam on your child. He will look for proper occlusion and developmental issues as well as areas of decay.
Now for the fun part! We will take your child to the “treasure box” and take their picture to be put on our healthy smile board. We will remind them one more time to brush and floss every day and that we will see them in 6 months for their next visit.