Getting routine dental care is something that is necessary for your entire life. Routine dental care helps keep your teeth looking good and is an important part of preventing problems like decay and gum disease. For children, routine dental care is also about making sure everything is developing correctly. There are a number of childhood dental issues that can be caught and addressed early as long as you make sure your child gets routine dental care. The American Dental Association recommends that you take your child to the dentist within six months of the first tooth appearing or no later than one year of age. If you have a child that is a little older and still has not scheduled that first appointment, now is the time. A toddler or child who has never been to the dentist may feel unsure or apprehensive about the process. There are a few things you can do to prepare your child for that first dental appointment. Positive experiences with routine dental care early on can help set your child up for a lifetime of good oral care.

Share your own experience

One way to prepare your child for that first dental appointment is to share your own experience. You may not remember your very first dental appointment but you can talk about the experiences you do remember. You may share that you have felt nervous about the dentist before. Talk about the ways that the dentist helps you keep your teeth healthy. Sharing your own experience is a way of showing your child that he or she is not the only one who has to go through this process.

Talk about what to expect

The unknown can be scary – especially for kids. You can minimize the unknowns in relation to the dentist by talking to your child about what to expect. Walk through the basic steps of an appointment. You can go step-by-step through the process to ease your child’s mind – sign in, wait to be called back, provide some physical information (temperature, weight), get x-rays, have teeth cleaned by a hygienist, get an exam from the dentist. Your child will likely have questions as you explain the process of routine dental care. Questions are good! Encourage your child to ask questions and provide the answers to the best of your ability. It can help your child feel more confident about going to that first dental appointment when he or she knows what to expect.

You and your child may feel some apprehension about that first dental appointment. Once the first appointment is out of the way, you will both feel better about the process. Spending some time with your child discussing your own experience with the dentist and talking about what to expect will both help that first appointment go more smoothly.