First visit information

Your child’s first dental appointment

A child’s first dental appointment is a new and unique experience that may or may not result in a cooperative child. Children’s personalities and temperaments are all different at different times; so don’t be surprised or embarrassed if your child does not cooperate in the dental office. The pediatric dentist and staff are experienced in coping with this behavior.

While preparing for your child’s first visit, take a relaxed approach when telling them about the appointment to decrease their anxiety. Tell them about a half-hour before you leave and treat it like a trip to the market. Do not reveal your own apprehension about dental visits. Create a positive experience and emphasize that everyone with healthy teeth visits the dentist.

Please be silent and supportive of your child during their treatment. Children will normally listen to their parents instead of us and may not hear our guidance. You might give incorrect or misleading information.

Many children do not want to lose control of their situation, the result is acting out. On a rare occasion and with the parent’s authorization, we will ask the parent to leave the treatment room if we feel it will improve your child’s behavior.

No one knows a child better than a parent!

Please advise us of any condition that might be helpful in understanding your child’s behavior. Let us know how your child is feeling that day. A child’s emotional behavior can be significantly affected by external factors. We want to make The Kids Dentist a safe and enjoyable Dental Home.

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Our Terminology

Our practice philosophy is to be honest with your child and explain everything we are about to do to them. To avoid frightening them, we use child friendly terms rather than words like “needle” or “shot”. Please support us by not using negative words and encourage your child to have a positive experience.

Use terms like:

• Sleepy juice, rather than needle or shot
• Tooth Washer, rather than Drill
• Clean a Tooth, rather than Drill on Tooth
• Wiggle a Tooth out, rather than pull or yank a tooth
• Sugar bugs, rather than cavity/decay
• Count Teeth, rather than examination
• Tooth Counter, rather than explorer
• Rain Coat, rather than rubber dam
• Sweet Air, rather than Gas/Nitrous Oxide