Your Child’s First Visit Expectations

Child Patients 

For children, our motto is: "Start YOUNG and start with a POSITIVE experience." The best way to ensure a lifetime of healthy smiles is to bring your child to the dentist before they have a cavity or injury to their mouth. We recommend your child's first visit with Dr. Wood occur soon after you see a tooth or by age one. At this appointment, Dr. Wood will answer your questions, discuss nutrition, show you how to clean your child's teeth, and give you instruction on what to do if your child has an injury to their mouth. From there, Dr. Wood will lay out a plan for future dental visits, so your child's first time in the dental chair is a good time. 

At the first visit and subsequent visits, we will complete as much as your child will allow, while still keeping the overall experience positive. Sometimes this means your child will only take a "ride" in the dental chair and play with the "tools." For other children, this means they get their teeth cleaned very early. Every child is unique. The goal of all this is to gain your child's trust so we can start completing dental cleanings sometime between the age of three and six. 

If your child is older than three and has already had a successful dental cleaning, we will happily schedule your child for a visit with our hygienist. 

The most important thing you can do as a parent to make sure your child has a good experience is to be positive about going to the dentist. Never let your child hear you say anything negative about the dentist. As a parent, you already know they will imitate your behavior. We recommend you tell your child how good it feels and how important it is to have your teeth "smooth and clean.” If your child needs a filling or a procedure other than a cleaning, please do not use words such as “needle,” “shot,” “drill,” “hurt,” and “pull.” Words such as “wiggle” (pull/extract) and “sleepy juice” (shot) are better for children to hear. Please let us know if you have any questions about this.