5 tips from a Dentist for your child’s First Dentist Visit

Welcome to Locally Grown! Locally Grown introduces you to the people and stories behind local Lake County businesses. Have you met this month’s featured business, Children’s Dentistry in Lake Zurich? The staff at Children’s Dentistry is committed to making dental care safe and comfortable for children of all ages, and they are featured today to share with you their tips for a successful first trip to the dentist.

Five Tips For A Successful First Trip To The Dentist

1. Prepare your child by reading a book or watching a show featuring a favorite character visiting the dentist.
2. Make sure that fear-inducing terms such as “drill” and “shot” are never used in correlation with a trip to the dentist.
3. Keep the experience positive by not using the dentist as a warning or punishment for not brushing their teeth. For example, avoid statements such as “If you don’t brush your teeth the dentist will be mad at you/drill your teeth/give you a shot.”
4. Our kids feed off of our emotions, and any anxiety you personally experience while in the dentist’s chair can easily be transferred to your child. Make a commitment to stay as positive as possible and to not discuss your past dental experiences.
5. Less is often more when it comes to talking with our kids. Refrain from going into detail about dental equipment, procedures, and possible scenarios.

Oftentimes, kids surprise their parents with doing very well at their first dentist visit! Many parents mistakenly believe that by waiting until the child is at least 3-4 years old, their child will be more cooperative at the dentist. More often than not, this isn’t the case and kids as young as one or 2 years old do very well in the dentist chair! Some children will cry or experience fear at their first visit regardless of age, so it’s important to understand that this is normal and with each visit it will get better.

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month

Another initiative Doc is proud of is their school presentations.  In recognition of February as National Children’s Dental Health Month, his staff travels to local schools and delivers programs to educate children on proper oral hygiene and good dietary habits.  They offer free presentations that are fun and interesting for kids, including an exciting experiment.  They also donate goody bags that include toothbrushes and activity books to get the kids started on their oral hygiene journey.

If your organization is interested in scheduling a presentation for your students ages 3-5, please contact their event coordinator, Rachel, at (847) 726-0300.  This is their seventh year, and last February they visited 30 locations and met with over 2,000 children in our community.

Connect with Children’s Dentistry Group, LLC
195 South Rand Road, Suite 110, Lake Zurich
(847) 726-0300 | YouTube | Facebook

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Disclosure: Children’s Dentistry Group, LLC  is our featured Locally Grown Business of the Month. This series of features is part of a paid partnership with Little Lake County. Contact sales[at]littlelakecounty[dot]com if you are interested in featuring your own locally-owned business in our series.