New Patients

First Visit Preparation for Toddlers and Young Children

You can prepare your child for the dental visit by practicing some of what your child will experience in the dental office.

• Read an age-appropriate book to your child about a first dental visit:
  • Open Wide — Tooth School Inside, by Laurie Keller
  • The Night Before Tooth Fairy, by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Barbara Johansen Newman
  • I'm Going to the Dentist (Before You Go Book), by Maxie Chambliss
  • Show Me Your Smile! A Visit to the Dentist (Dora the Explorer), by Christine Ricci, illustrated by Robert Roper
  • Behold, No Cavities! A Visit to the Dentist (Spongebob Squarepants), by Sarah Willson, illustrated by Harry Moore
  • The Tooth Book (Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners), by Theo Lesieg, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
• Use a rotary toothbrush and brush all around the teeth. Practice opening wide and counting teeth.
• Avoid using phrases that might make the child nervous such as “It won’t hurt” and “It’s not that bad” or words like “shots,” “drill,” and so on.
• Let your child know that the pediatric dentist and the staff are there to make the visit fun for him or her.
• Any information about your child’s temperament and preferences will be a great help to us. At Kids First Dentistry we treat every child as an individual, and our goal is to make his or her visit as fun and pleasant as possible.
• Sit back and let your child enjoy that first experience!

If your child is still an infant, be sure to view "You and Your Baby" for everything you will want to know about your baby’s first visit and what you need to know to protect his or her dental health during the first year of life.