See How to Make Your Child’s Visit Productive
One of the things I do tell all my pregnant patients and new mothers is the importance of their child’s first visit. They … most of them have this question as to, When is the right time to come to a dentist? I would say the right time would be 1 year of age or within six months of having their first tooth. You want to make sure that you take … your child goes to the dentist regularly, because it is a strange place to them. It’s a place where they see strangers and weird noises, and they have funny stuff all over. It’s important that we raise our children to be not fearful adults, like fearing to come to the dentist.
What you can expect from your child’s first visit is basically we are singing with them, talking to them, counting teeth with, counting their teeth, and just showing them everything. Showing them what a mirror is, showing them the explorer, which is, as a – we show them as a tooth count – it’s your finger counter, or tooth counter. After their visit they get balloon animals made. We have a treasure chest; if they were good boys and girls, they can go in there, claim their prize. Our kids – I don’t think I’ve had … most of our kids are very happy to come here, and they look forward … they have stories for us when they come.
We, of course, have TV up. When they lie back, they see the television monitor. They’re watching their favorite cartoons. They have headphones, so they don’t really have to hear any scary noises. It’s important, I do feel as a mother, and as a parent, I think your child’s health care is important, and it is very important for us to raise children who are compliant and not fearful dental patients who understand the importance of oral health.