Does Your Child Need To See a Pediatric Dentist?

Does Your Child Need To See a Pediatric Dentist?

So, you are planning to take your child to visit a pediatric dentist. But unfortunately, you watched a movie last week that showed a tooth extraction in scary detail. Now your child is afraid to go to even the best children’s dentist in your area.

The fact that your child already has an idea what a pediatric dentist is will make things easier for you. However, it is a good idea to bring them along during your dental check-ups to let them be comfortable with the dentist, the clinic, and the clinic staff.

Also, it is usually suggested that the first visit of your child to the pediatric dentist should be for a “wellness” check-up and nothing more.

Here are seven things to be aware of if you are planning your child’s first pediatric dentist visit:

Bring Your Child To Your Dental Appointments- as discussed above, it is a good idea that you make your child comfortable with the dentist. Getting to know the environment that a dentist works on will erase any fear that your child may have about dentist and tooth extraction. Just make sure though that the visit was pleasant enough to convince your child to visit a pediatric dentist.

“Wellness Check-Up”- the first visit should only be a wellness check-up of the teeth of your child. Nothing more. This is to ensure that your child will not experience any pain or a bad experience with the pediatric dentist.

Choose A Dentist Well- a quick search online will definitely give you an idea of what pediatric dentists have to offer. So, let’s say you are living in San Antonio, the online search for pediatric dentist in San Antonio will give you an idea of who to contact after evaluating their services.
Schedule Ahead of Time- inform the dentist and the clinic staff that you need their help in making your child comfortable since it will be his first visit. Try to make things easy and amusing so that he will want to come back.

Block Pain- as much as possible, do not give the child any idea that a visit to the dentist can be painful especially if it will involve a tooth extraction. Never threaten your child with a dentist visit. This will instill the fear that you want to avoid.

Point out a model- children like to emulate superheroes, TV characters, and several others. Tell them that their heroes have regular dental check-ups.

Play Dentist- it can be fun for both you and your child if you play dentist. This way, you can have a fairly good idea of the health of your child’s teeth and the child will be introduced to the world of dentistry. Set up a chair and ask other children to join as well.

You can certainly add more to the above factors to consider when you are planning the first visit of your child to a pediatric dentist. Just make sure that all the steps you take will make your child want to return again to the office of the pediatric dentist.