The first dental visit should be when your child’s first tooth erupts or by age one. Having cavities is not related to how old a child is, but rather if they have teeth or not. We will discuss if there are any developmental abnormalities, congenital dental defects, your child’s diet and if they have any dental habits such as thumb sucking or prolonged pacifier use. We will examine your child’s teeth and gums. X-rays will be taken when it is determined necessary to check for decay and to evaluate the progress of the permanent teeth under the gums. We may clean your child’s teeth and apply fluoride to help protect the teeth against decay. Most importantly, we will review with you how to clean and care for your child’s teeth.
We will use the Tell-Show-Do method during your child’s appointment. It is just as the name suggests, TELL your child what you are going to do, SHOW them what we are going to do or what instrument we will be using, and then DO it. This decreases your child’s anxiety and eliminates fear of the unknown as they know what will be used and what to expect next. Tell-Show-Do builds the trust between the provider and the patient and allows us to have a fun and successful appointment.
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Our goal is to provide a safe and fun environment while building trust with our patients and their families. That is why we have a special “on deck” area in our hygiene bay for our parents to watch their children during their appointments. It allows your child to know you are there, while giving them the opportunity to build confidence in themselves, as well as showing you that they can do it “on their own”. They will receive a token at the end of the appointment so they can get a prize for being a great patient!