How to Prepare Your Child for the Dentist

Even for adults, visiting the dentist can be a scary and uneasy experience. If you’ve got little ones in tow though, you can certainly expect that their impression of the dentist is much worse than yours or any other adults. Instead of making dental visits difficult for everyone, there are a few easy methods that you can implement to ensure that your child becomes much more comfortable with getting dental care. By preparing your child for the dentist, you’ll never need to worry about a stressful and difficult dental visit with your child again.

Prepare Your Child Early

Most dental professionals recommend that you take your child to the dentist when their first tooth starts to grow in, which usually occurs at about six months after birth. By starting to take your child in for dental care so early, you’ll be able to help your child become familiar with the dentist, dental procedures, and the dental experience itself. True, your child may not remember anything about their dental visit at age one or younger, but it still doesn’t hurt to make sure that their dental development and their familiarity with the dentist is right on track.

Don’t Promise that “Everything is Ok”           

When it comes to children, simplification is certainly good, but it isn’t always the best. When you oversimplify, children tend to develop unrealistic expectations. This line of thought is also true when it comes to dental procedures. If you explain to your child that “everything is ok” and that there is “nothing to worry about,” your child will not understand the importance of a dental visit and will also snub the value that they are getting from getting their teeth checked. Instead, you should explain to your child why dental care is important and how dental care works to protect their dental health by ensuring that their teeth are happy and healthy. If treatment does need to occur, then you’ll be there for them no matter what.

Practice Dental Hygiene

Another step that you can take to prepare your child for the dentist is to practice good dental hygiene with your child as early as possible. For example, you can purchase a large set of fake plastic teeth and a large toothbrush and encourage your child to show you how to they would floss and brush properly. When going through this, you can work in some information about the dentist, how a dentist will make sure that their teeth are being brushed well, and so forth. Not only does the procedure of practicing good dental hygiene help your child become more familiar with the dentist, but it also encourages your child to care about their teeth.
Overall, through practicing dental hygiene, keeping realistic expectations, and visiting the dentist as early as possible, you’ll be able to easily familiarize your child with the dentist and dental procedures. As a result, you can enjoy your child’s next dental visit without stress and without problems.