Like any good habit, getting dental care with a smile starts in childhood. After one or two baby dental visits, it will be time for your child to start a lifetime habit of regular successful dental appointments. As a parent, your modeling, approach, and preparation make a big difference in your child’s experience with dental appointments.
Here are some tips on what you should do to get your child ready for a positive visit to Pleasant Smiles Dental of Pleasant Hill, California. Our team, led by Nupur Gupta, DDS, specializes in children’s dentistry services.
Dental care for the whole family
Good dental hygiene habits start at home. Let your child know when you’re heading to the dentist yourself, and stay aware of how much complaining you do within earshot. It might not be a bad idea to bring your child along to your own dental appointments, to let them get comfortable in the environment and start to make friends with our staff.
You can help your child develop good oral health habits by making tooth care time a positive family activity. Shop together for fun toothpastes, or put together special rituals for daily tooth-brushing times. When it’s time for dental checkups, adding fun steps like rituals and rewards can help to get your child in a positive frame of mind.
Reinforcing healthy habits
While you don’t necessarily need to deliver stern lectures about the risks of future tooth loss, gum disease, or cavities, it’s important for your child to learn how to take care of adult teeth that need to last a lifetime.
Let your child know about the benefits of good dental hygiene habits, including making regular trips to the dentist for checkups and professional cleaning. With good oral and dental care, you can lower your risk for cavities, tooth loss, and gum disease, and keep your breath fresh into the bargain.
Good oral health has multiple other beneficial impacts for whole-body health and wellness, as well. You can avoid potential complications like heart damage and inflammation if you pay attention to your oral health from the very beginning.
Keep a positive approach
Dentistry can become a site of anxieties and fears later in life. To keep your child from developing anxiety about dental appointments, be sure to model positive attitudes and behaviors. You can also reassure your child about any potential anxieties. Let them know that there’s nothing to worry about, and that the team at Perfect Smiles Dental of Pleasant Hill are friendly and here to help.
Set your child up for success by scheduling appointments at non-stressful times, and make sure your child isn’t too hungry or tired when it’s time for their dental visit. If your child continues to struggle with dental anxiety, let us know, and we can work with you to discuss options like light sedation to get your child the dental care they need.
Schedule your child’s dental exam at Perfect Smiles Dental of Pleasant Hill by calling our office now, or book online at your convenience.