First Pediatric Dental Visit

You can help make your child’s first pediatric dental visit a pleasant one.

How you talk about the dental experience with your child can be the difference between a good visit and a bad one. Please refrain from talking about negative dental experiences and your own fears (if you have them). Kids can pick up on those emotions quick.

Setting healthy dental habits early is one of the most important things you can do for your child’s dental health. It goes beyond hygiene, however, and comes down to communication. When it comes to teeth, skip the grind, and avoid threatening your child over oral hygiene. Instead, praise your child when they brush, and encourage them to have a healthy, beautiful smile. Don’t admonish. We hear plenty of parents warning their children that if they don’t brush, they will suffer the consequences in the dental chair. Please don’t confuse dental treatment with punishment. No one wins at that game.

Like with everything else, words matter. So when talking teeth, stay away from the words that may frighten your child. Here we never use words like hurt, drill, pull, shot or needle around our office. So, it’s helpful if you don’t use them here, or at home.

Many adults also like to share their fears of the dentist. We know, we hear them often. But we also want you to know adult fears of the dentist are why we exist. We want to re-write the script for future adults, by showing them what a great experience it can be to go to the dentist. We also want to set good habits early, so we can do our best to avoid unpleasant dental experiences down the line.

Besides not scaring your kids before coming to see us, there are other things you can do to help make the first visit as smooth as possible. Please bring proof of insurance (if you have it) as well as your social security number. We have simplified the forms process. You will receive an email and/or a text on the day of your appointment so you can fill out forms online. And if you don’t get the link, don’t worry. We can always do your forms here at the office.

Thanks for your time and interest. We can’t wait to see you at Sprout Dental.