Preparing your child for the Visit
We want the best possible experience for your child and for him/her to feel at ease being at the dentist for a lifetime of healthy smiles. The American Dental Association (ADA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) all recommend establishing dental home by age 1. To schedule your child’s first dental appointment, please call our office @ 281-947-6111.
Q. What can I do to prepare my family for my child’s first visit?
A. It's important to speak calmly and positively about the upcoming visit, even if you have feelings of anxiety about dentists!
Your vocabulary matters! Dr. Kwak always tries to connect with your child at his/her language base. Sometimes this requires using word substitutes that create less anxiety.
Words to use: count, clean, brush, vitamins, splash, tickle, water, hugs, tickle, toothbrush, princesses, superheroes. These are easy words for your child to understand and are more fun. Here are some specific examples:
Sugar bugs instead of cavities. Nobody wants bugs in their teeth. Yuck!
Superhero paint or princess paint instead of fillings. We let your child pick what superhero they want and this makes them more excited for his/her dental care.
Water whistle instead of a drill. Dr. Kwak utilizes a water whistle because sugar bugs don’t like the sound of the water whistle and they run away from your tooth while the water washes them away.
Iron Man Tooth, Superhero Hat, and Princess Crowns instead of crowns.
Words we don’t use: pull out teeth, shots, needles, drills. These words can scare adults; why would saying these words to your child help them? Please do your best to not use these words with your child.
If your child needs a procedure, please wait to let us explain it to him/her. We are fluent in “kid” and we can help translate the terms to more kid-friendly language.
Make this exciting and fun! We will do our part to make this as fun as can be, but we need your help. Please try not to let others tease your child about going to the dentist and unknowingly create a nervous kiddo. Talk about dentistry in a positive way! Here are some great resources to hype up the visit.
Some books that you can order or check out at your local library:
One title we recommend AVOIDING is Bernstein Bears Visit the Dentist because the Sister Bear gets a tooth removed and we don’t want your child to expect that to happen.
If you feel comfortable with screen time, these are great episodes to watch before the visit.
Daniel Tiger Gets his Teeth Cleaned – Daniel Tiger visits Dr. Plat for his very first dental visit. This is a Youtube link, but the full episode is available on PBS website and Amazon Prime Video.
Peppa Pig Visits the Dentist – Peppa and George visit the dentist. George is a little bit anxious and brings his dinosaur to help him with his visit. Great idea, George! – we encourage bringing your child’s favorite toy to help accompany him/her for the visit.
Stop by our office without your child during our normal business hours to pick up our New Patient Welcome Kit. It's a great way to get your child used to some of the same tools we will be using on his/her appointment. Also, it's fun to play “dentist” at home so your child will be a pro for the first visit! This is also a nice way to say you have been to the office and how fun everything is going to be. Remember to talk it up to your child!
Q. What happens at the first visit?
A. Here at League City Pediatric Dentistry, we have set up our office to make nervous kids comfortable during every visit—especially the first one! Our kid-friendly waiting room is filled with activities to help children relax before going inside and all our operatories are private rooms for your family's privacy.
Dr. Kwak will attempt a comprehensive evaluation. In order to do a comprehensive exam, sometimes dental radiographs will be required. Dr. Kwak follows the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommendations on prescribing for radiographs. (Please read more about our Low Radiation Digital X-rays and the safety information on our Preventative Care page here.) Your child will also get a dental cleaning and fluoride application.
If your child is younger, the first appointment will often be a simple, short one to allow the child and parent the chance to get used to our office and our team. At this visit we will also teach parents about their child’s oral health and development and how to properly care for their child’s teeth. Please feel free to bring your child’s favorite stuffed animal so Dr. Kwak can do an exam demonstration to your child!
If your child is more anxious and in a non-emergency situation, Dr. Kwak may recommend using the first appointment as a de-sensitization visit. It means we will use the first appointment to help your child get used to our office and meet our team before doing any routine procedures or needed treatment. We sometimes recommend this approach so that the child is has a chance to have a quick visit that is pleasant enough to help any feelings of anxiety and fear. You can schedule another visit in a week and can use the time to review all the positive aspects of what happened on the initial visit and get your child excited about the next one. (Hopefully your child will do better then!) Dr. Kwak will discuss all of this with you and come up with an individualized plan.
