Your Child's Dental Visit
We love kids!  We’re committed to lifelong oral health habits, and creating a happy relationship for your children and their dental care for the rest of their life.
Prevention, health and fun are the focus of our children’s dental visits.  We carefully introduce young children to their exam and cleaning appointments and provide them and their parents with helpful suggestions for great home care that kids want to do.  Our recommendations are age-specific, and most importantly, are coordinated with the child’s comfort level.  We’d rather start out slowly, and have a child have a great visit rather than just try to get everything done. 

Our suggestion for preparing your young child for their first dental appointment is simple – just let them know that we are going to help them to have a very healthy mouth, and that we will count their teeth and help them learn to brush.  You might practice having them open wide for you as you assist them in brushing their teeth at home.  We always encourage parents to help children brush their teeth as soon as the first tooth appears in the mouth.

Additional tips for preparing your child for their dental visit

• Be positive.  Dentistry is much more comfortable than it has been in the past.   If you have anxiety about dentistry or previous bad experiences, try not to discuss it with your child.
• Let your child know that going to the dentist is part of overall health, and that happy teeth and gums help them be healthy.
• Children mimic what you do – consider brushing and flossing along with them and make it fun!  Playing a song for the duration of the brushing is a helpful way to keep them brushing longer. Brushing twice daily even at the earliest ages is a great way to promote lifelong habits.
• Try not to use the words like “brave, hurt, or shot.”  Do mention that their teeth will be cleaned and counted, and they will receive a new toothbrush, floss and a prize. 

As children age, we will include more recommendations for them to take care of their own mouth.  We also make recommendations about fluoride use for children.  We evaluate all the possible sources of fluoride for each individual child, in order to make a recommendation that is appropriate. 

Sealants