The first visit of a child to the dentist should not be a traumatic experience. Check out how you can please and cheer him up, what you should definitely avoid when you first meet a dental chair.
Many parents wonder how they should go on their first visit to the dentist, to which experts respond: around the third year of life.
At that time, he is mature and adult enough to visit and be treated by a dentist, but in order for the first meeting to be as painless as possible, the parent needs to prepare the child for the dentist in several ways.
Here are some helpful tips to make the first visit to the dentist as easy as possible for your child and for you
Part of the preparation can be a symbolic game in which you will play with your child. He can be the dentist and fix teeth a teddy bear.
In this way, you prepare the child for what will happen at the dentist, which is that he will sit on a special chair, that he will have to open his mouth, rinse his mouth with water and most importantly, examine his teeth with dental instruments, which in this case you will replace with a spoon and with the fork with which the child normally eats.
Arrange a visit when the child is most rested and ready to cooperate, and for the first time to get acquainted with the dentist, the space and instruments that will be surrounded.
Don’t lie to the child
The trick is not to lie to the child, but to do everything you can to present the experience of going to the dentist to the child in the most positive way possible from the very beginning.
So describe to him everything you might encounter in the office but let it all be said in a positive context without using the words “pain, grinding, injection, fear” etc.
“The best example of this is the situation when a child falls. In most cases, the child starts crying only when the parents run to “save” him, which actually lets him know that something bad has happened.
If you don’t make a drama out of a child’s fall and don’t run right away to lift it, in most cases the child will just get up and simply move on. The same thing happens if a child constantly listens to a parent talk about the dentist as a terrible and painful experience. Even if a visit to the dentist is routine with a minor procedure, the child is very likely to panic. The easiest way to achieve that is through communication. ” Invent a safety signal, if you are worried that your child might get scared and start panicking while in the dentist’s chair, especially while he has his mouth open and feels vulnerable, talk to your child before going to the dentist and come up with a safety signal. Make it something very simple, preferably something with your hands. Agree with the child, if he gives a signal that you will tell the dentist to step back briefly and allow the child to take several deep breaths, take you by the hand or hold your comfort toy close to you.
Stay calm and relaxed, this is actually the most important piece of advice because children “copy” all their emotional qualities from their parents. If the child is unsure whether going to the dentist is intimidating or not, your anxiety will be his answer. So don’t walk up and down the office, look anxiously at the dentist, or turn your head during the examination.
NOT TO DO!
• Bribe your child to visit the dentist
• use going to the dentist as punishment
Once you have prepared your child for the first visit to the dentist and the introduction of the child to the dentist will now be relaxed and you have forever resolved any fears for future visits to the dentist.