Our office, as well as the The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Dental Association (ADA), and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) all recommend establishing a "Dental Home" for your child by one year of age. Children who have a dental home are more likely to receive appropriate preventive and routine oral health care.
The Dental Home is intended to provide a place other than the Emergency Room for parents.
You can help make the first visit enjoyable and positive. If old enough, your child should be informed of the visit and told that the dentist and their staff will explain all procedures and answer any questions. The office makes a practice of using words and phrases that describe the procedures and instruments in a pleasant and non-threatening manner. You can help us by refraining from using words that may cause unnecessary fear. Please do not use the dentist as a threat to force your child into cooperation.
It is best if you refrain from using words around your child that might cause unnecessary fear, such as "needle", "shot", "pull", "drill" or "hurt". The office makes a practice of using words that convey the same message, but are pleasant and non-frightening to the child.
We invite you to stay with your child during the initial examination and checkup visits. We do suggest that you remain an observer, and allow our staff to guide your child through the dental experience. We can usually establish a closer rapport with your child when we are allowed to interact with him or her directly. Our purpose is to gain your child’s confidence and overcome apprehension. Believe it or not, the majority of our patients love coming to our office and leave with a smile!
We strive to make each and every visit to our office a fun one!