A responsible parent ensures their kids’ first dentist appointment is no later than their first sixteen months. This appointment is necessary to ensure that their child’s teeth are developing correctly. Many people tend to avoid this or procrastinate these early appointments because of some fear they have for dental checkups, making them miss all kinds of dental development issues that should have been detected early on. This attitude can spill over to their child, making dental appointments very stressful. Here are some tips on how you can make your child’s first dental visit a breeze.

Tell Them About The Visit On The Day of the Appointment.

Kids have an overactive imagination, especially around the age of three to ten, and telling them about the appointment long before the appointment can cause their minds to wander and build all sorts of scenarios. Scenarios that might create fear of the appointment and dentists in general. This is another reason why you must schedule appointments with the dentist as early as a year old so that they can build a bit of familiarity with them, which reduces the risk of them developing fears of the appointment. So to avoid such situations, it’s best that you inform them on the day of the appointment.

Be Positive About the Trip.

Our kids can be surprisingly sensitive, allowing them to sense the moods or bad juju that their parents or people surrounding them are giving off. Which is an issue because adults around them can carry fears of the dentist or hospitals in general due to past experiences, and due to their ability to absorb any new information like sponges, kids might adopt the same vibe. So as a parent, you’ll have to give off good vibes about the trip to help alleviate your wards’ fears. 

Tour the Dentist’s Office in Advance.

Another way you can make this first trip a breeze is by touring the dentist’s office before your appointment. This is hopefully to help your kid familiarize themselves with the environment, the pediatric dentists, and other staff. They can even explain what they do, and a good pediatric dentist office will be filled with all sorts of colorful charts that will teach the child about dental hygiene and make the appointment less scary. 

Read Some Books and Watch Some Videos.

Engaging in activities with your kid effectively makes them warm up to the idea of something. Reading children’s books about dental hygiene and checkups or watching videos related to such topics will not only educate your kiddo about the appointment but also educate you as the parent, putting you at ease. You can also combine these books and videos with colorful charts and games, as children tend to respond more to visual and tactile stimuli.

Invite Friends Along.

Nothing makes kids act braver than their friends or peers. Kids can bring down a mountain when they are afraid of crying in front of their friends. This is why you need to bring along their friends or kids of your friends for their first appointment. It will make the atmosphere more pleasant and will give them the bravery they need for the appointment. You can plan with the parents of their friends to do their first appointments together and even organize a small hangout together to make the experience much more positive.

Choose Bubble Children’s Dentistry For Your Child’s Dental Needs 

However, the most important tip is to take your child to a reputable and friendly pediatric dentist. They must be cared for by someone kind, gentle, and patient—otherwise, one bad experience can lead to a fear of future dental visits. At Bubble Children’s Dentistry, we provide expert care in a fun, supportive environment where kids feel safe and comfortable. Contact us today at (617) 655-9410 to schedule your child’s appointment!