Our office, as well as the The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Dental Association (ADA), and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) all recommend establishing a “Dental Home” for your child by one year of age. Children who have a dental home are more likely to receive appropriate preventive and routine oral health care.
During the initial visit, you and your child will become acquainted with our office, our team, and methods. We encourage parents to accompany their children during the initial visit to make them as comfortable as possible. Please remember that you play a large part in preparing your child for his/her first visit to the dentist. Act relaxed and at ease. Avoid using any words that suggest unpleasantness. It is best if you refrain from using words around your child that might cause unnecessary fear, such as “needle”, “shot”, “pull”, “drill” or “hurt”. The office makes a practice of using words that convey the same message, but are pleasant and non-frightening to the child. The less to-do concerning the visit, the better. Expect your child to do well and enjoy their visit.
- Do schedule the visit early in the day. We like to see youngsters when they are rested and the appointment won’t conflict with mealtimes or naptime. Children usually feel best in the morning and are more cooperative.
- Do make appointment day an easy one. Make sure that your child is well rested and that we are the first outing of the day.
- Don’t give your child instructions on how to behave (such as telling him not to cry, sit still in the chair, or to be “good”) in the office
- Don’t bribe our child to go to the office.