Dentist -- Teaching Your Kids There is Nothing to Fear

If you have kids then you know how difficult it is to get them to do anything you want them to. Getting them to eat their vegetables, clean their rooms, or just simply listen to what you are saying can be a challenge. Getting them to go to the pediatrician is often a fight that many parents dread fighting. Let's face it they've had a bad experience from day one at that office, what with all the shots. You need to do your best to get them off on the right foot with the dentist so that it's one less thing you have to fight about.

You should start your child young with the dentist just like you do with your pediatrician. Most oral health care practitioners would say when the first tooth starts to come in you need to start seeing them. This way your little one is accustomed to go to their office. Don't worry they don't expect your six month old to cooperate or sit on his own. It's more of a familiarity thing. He'll look at your child's mouth and possibly take some x-rays to ensure that the teeth are developing properly.

When you do take your child to the dentist take them to someone who specializes in pediatrics. They know how to deal with kids and will be able to make your kids feel at ease quicker. They also have a tendency to have some things that other doctors don't have that help relax the kids. Some of them have TVs in the exam rooms so your kids can watch SpongeBob while they get their teeth cleaned. Others have headphones that play music or just help drown out noises that can make kids feel unsettled during their visit. Also many of them allow younger kids to sit in Mom's lap during the exam so that they feel more at ease.

But probably the most important thing you can do to get your kids to not be afraid of the dentist is to go yourself. If they see that you make dental appointments, and keep them, they will learn there is nothing to be afraid of. Even if you hate going, make it look to them like it's no big deal. That way in the future you can be certain that you'll get less of a fight and they'll be more comfortable going.

The dentist office is not designed to scare kids. By making sure that they are comfortable with their doctor and have plenty of distractions you can get your kids to go without a knock down drag out fight. At some point in their lives they may have to have a cavity filled and that's never fun, but if they learn that they can trust their doctor then maybe getting them to go before it gets to be a really big problem won't be hard.