Tips for a Positive Dental Experience
- Schedule 1st visit by age 1.
- Schedule morning appointments for young children, when they tend to be rested and cooperative.
- Use simple and positive words. For example, they will get their teeth counted, have pictures taken, and receive a new toothbrush.
- Do not bribe your child to come to the dentist.
- Never use the dentist as a threat.
- Please keep your anxiety to yourself.
- If you have concerns about your child’s first visit, please talk with our new patient coordinator.
Calming an Anxious Child
Our pediatric dentists and our team have special training to help anxious children feel secure during their dental appointments. Our pediatric dental office is designed for kids, and our team members choose to work in our pediatric dental practice because they enjoy working with kids. We often describe the atmosphere in our office as similar to a kindergarten setting, we are like kindergarten teachers who educate and happen to work on teeth.
We often use a method called “Tell-Show-Do”. This method allows the child to see beforehand exactly what will be done during an appointment. Coaching, using distraction techniques, modeling with another patient, and praising the child are other management styles. You can make each dental visit enjoyable and positive by refraining from using words that cause unnecessary fear, such as “needle/shot, pull, drill, or hurt”. These can be replaced by more friendly terms such as “California Cooler, wiggle, Mr. Bumpy, and sleepy”. If you want to talk to your child about their dental visit then please let us help you with the terms you use, so that we can all be consistent with what is said.
