First Visit
Before the first visit:
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that a child's first visit to the dentist should occur by 12 months of age. This visit will enable our dentists to evaluate your child and introduce you to proper oral hygiene. Diet, fluoride, finger and pacifier habits and tooth eruption will be discussed to insure optimal dental health.
Please discuss the positive aspects of dentistry with your child. Convey good feelings to your child about dental visits being a part of growing up. Explain that the dentist will look at and count all of his or her teeth. Please do not tell your child that the dentist will not hurt, as this may have never entered his or her mind. Rather, emphasize that the dentist will be gentle and friendly. Avoid using words like needle, drill, shot, pull or any other word suggesting unpleasantness. Expect your child to do well and enjoy the first visit to our office and chances are, they will. Also, you may want to read a book about going to the dentist, such as “The Bernstain Bears Visit the Dentist” by Stan and Jan Berenstain, “Just going to the Dentist” by Mercer Mayer or “Show Me Your Smaile!; A Visit To The Dentist” a Dora the Explorer book by Christine Ricci.
Infants and Children:
Getting an early start in regular dental care is an important step on the road to teaching your child healthy lifetime habits. We want to share with you the latest available methods for keeping your child healthy and safe.The first dental visit should occur shortly after the first tooth erupts and no later than the child's first birthday. Beginning tooth and mouth examinations early may lead to detection of early stages of tooth decay that can be easily treated. At the first visit we will present:
- A program of preventive home care including brushing, flossing, diet and the importance of fluorides.
- A caries risk assessment.
- Information about Early Childhood Caries, which may be due to inappropriate nursing habits or inappropriate use of sippy cups.
- The latest facts about finger, thumb and pacifier habits.
- What you need to know about preventing injuries to the mouth and teeth.
- Information on growth and development.
See what the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics have to say about your child’s first dental visit. Click Here (direct to link below)
http://www.aapd.org/assets/2/7/GetItDoneInYearOne.pdf