A dentist appointment, my daughter's first, is schedule for 5 days from now. She already seems to have a healthy fear of the dental experience, although the origin of her apprehension is a mystery to me. Maybe those of us not destined to become tooth doctors are born with an inherent unease when it comes to strangers working inside our mouths.
Anyone have any tips for getting her (and us) through this first visit? I am thinking ice cream, but then again, I am almost always thinking about ice cream...
- Jeff - OWTK
- OWTK is a daddy blog where musings on parenthood, society and culture mingle with kid's music reviews, children's book reviews, and reviews of various toys and films. If you've got a family-oriented product and would like to submit it to OWTK for a possible review, please contact me (email address in the logo)
4 comments:
Ooph. No real advice here--my dh does the dentist trips with the kids, and I do the doctor visits. If you're lucky, your dentist will have ideas about kid-treatment--I know we experimented with different dentists before finding one that was kid-friendly.
you and me both, brother (on the ice cream). Our first experience didn't go so well. The dentist was a jerk, to put it kindly. I've gotten some recommendations now and after the memory wears off, I plan to let her just go meet them, no poking about in the mouth unless she agrees, and just take it slow.
I think the best advice has been shared...Find a good dentist. We have the most wonderful pediatric dentist. His office has no walls (that's right no walls). It takes away the intimidation factor. Everyone sees everything. There is no hiding anything. (There are a few private rooms for cavities and other issues). There are flat screen tv's in the ceiling showing your child's movie of choice. And a video game waiting room. And they get you in and out of there in like 20 minutes. From check in to payment. I swear if the adult dentists were like this, we'd all fell alot better. Good luck with the visit.
Zak
Thanks for the advise. We have selected a purely pediatric dentist practice and our hope are high for a positive experience. Shannon, I dig the take it slow and let her give consent to the poking around in her mouth.
Zak, love the scene you describe...flat screens tvs and such. Sounds like the dentistry version of ESPN Zone. Do you kids request a cleaning, just to watch tv on the ceiling? haha, that is so cool.
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