At Toothworks, we encourage you to bring your child in for their first dental check up by the time they are one and definitely before they are three. It is no big secret that many people are afraid of dentists. Some of these people are full grown adults. That being said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many children also have odontophobia; a term for dental phobia.
Sadly, this dental fear causes thousands of people avoid going for regular dental care and when a serious problem comes along, their visit to the dentist can be a painful experience with all that would need to be done during the visit. It is important to introduce your child to the dentist early on in their life and to do everything to build trust and familiarity so that their future opinion of their dentist is a positive one.
One of the things to do is to start early. Bring your child into our Toothworks Clinic even before their first appointment so that they can see the place and become familiar with it. They can meet the dentist and the team so that when they come in for their first actual appointment, the faces and place do not seem new anymore.
Make dental care at home a priority. Let your child watch you when you brush and floss your teeth so they see it as something they should mimic. When your child’s first teeth appear, take out time to brush them with a baby toothbrush that is specially made for these teeth. When you make dental care a habit, your child will not fear or feel anxiety to these habits.
Let our friendly staff at Toothworks know when you are bringing in your child for their first appointment. Our dentist will guide you as to when you should come in for the first time and we will make this a special occasion for your child. We will do everything to make them feel welcomes and comfortable. We often take older children on their first visits on a tour around the clinic and a ride in the dental chair. All this usually makes them feel less anxious.
Use the words drills, shots, pulling out teeth in front of an adult, and they will cringe with fear. Avoid using these scary words in front of your child. Talk to our staff at Toothworks and they will guide you on the appropriate words to use with your child if you are preparing them for an extraction or filling.
Call us and schedule your child’s dental appointment and we will be happy to take them on an interesting tour around the clinic!
