3 Ways To Make Your Child's Visit To The Dentist Easier
Your child's first visit to the dentist's office can be a frightening experience. Luckily, there are a few ways that you can make this experience much more palatable, less scary, and sometimes, even fun. Throughout the course of this brief article, you'll learn of just a few of the ways to make your child's visit to the dentist an easier experience.
Roleplay A Visit
Even for adults, experiencing something new for the first time can be a bit of a scary experience. That is why you can alleviate your child's anxieties by roleplaying a scenario in which you play the dentist. You will simply guide your child through a few routine scenarios. For example, one of the first things you should do is have a toothbrush handy, and carefully count your child's teeth. Make sure that you explain what you are doing, and count out loud, so that your child know that this is a social experience in which he or she is also participating.
Early Adopter
The earlier that you begin taking your child to the dentist, the easier the experience will come to be, and he or she will come to expect certain things from a dentist visit and become less frightened. You can't begin willy nilly and simply begin as soon as the child is born, of course. There are two general guidelines for when you should first start making appointments with your trusted pediatric dentist: shortly after your child celebrates his or her first birthday, or whenever his or her first tooth comes in. Whichever comes first is a good indicator of when you should make that first appointment.
Avoid Words That Describe Pain
Words like "pain" or "shot" are words that you should avoid mentioning around your child. It is best not to speak of your child's trip to the dentist office as one that is filled with pain. When rearing your child, it is said that honesty is the best policy, but understand that your pediatric dentist and staff have a bevy of vocabulary words that are truthful to the child, but will not exacerbate his or her fears and anxieties about what occurs in the dentist office. If your child asks you about pain, you might want to simply tell them that the dentist wishes to count their teeth and examine their smile; which is, in fact, usually what they will do during a first visit.
Knowing what to say to your child before their first dental appointment, or how to explain the very experience of a dental visit, can be difficult. Hopefully, this brief guide has given you some insight on how to broach the subject.
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