Helping Your Kids to Love the Dentist

Going to the dentist may not sound like fun but for kids who understand the process and want to have a great looking mouth it can be an exciting trip. Most children should start seeing the dental care provider between one and three years of age, depending on the circumstances and the needs of the child during that time. Seeing this provider at this early age is important because he or she is then unlikely to become afraid of the visit. If you do not go and he or she does not have that experience from a young age, you may have more difficulty later on. Tips for Making It Fun To make any trip to the dentist easier on everyone involved, it is a good idea to be sure that your child understands why he or she is going and what will happen when they arrive. It is possible to do this with a few simple tips. • First, children as young as three to four years old can understand what going to the dentist is. Look in a mirror with the child and show them their teeth. Talk about what the functions of the teeth are and how to maintain them. Be sure to include information about visiting dentists to clean them and count them. • Encourage the child to learn more by reading stories from the library about what going to the dentist's office will be like. There are great stories out there that can help children of all ages to understand what is going to happen. • Do not over do it. You do not want the child to fear going because you keep talking about it. Bring it up and talk about the other tasks that need to be done for the day as well. Sometimes, planning a special lunch or trip to the park after the appointment will give them something positive to look forward to after the procedure. • Let them talk to the dentist and get to know the provider. It is a good idea to select a provider that is willing to help the child to feel more comfortable throughout the process. This will greatly improve the outcome of the visit. • Be sure to stay with the child to ease fears and to tell them what is happening throughout the process. These things can help to make those initial visits to the dentist a bit easier to manage. It can also help to ensure that the child is happy throughout the process. You do not want this to be a traumatic experience but it is something they need to do nonetheless.