Kids first dental visit

A child's first dental visit should be as fun as possible so that he/she will develop a positive association with the experience, and hopefully be on the right path through adulthood. It is therefore most ideal to have this first dental visit before the child experiences any toothache.

The first dental visit may take place between the ages of 18 months and 2 years, or even earlier.

The dentist selected should be someone with experience and a special interest in treating kids, or the parents' own dentist whom the child might have met previously.

Government School Dental Services provide routine care (to a certain extent) only for school age children, not pre-school children. The responsibility of the dental care of all infants and toddlers therefore falls entirely on the parents.

A few tips for parents in preparing their child for his/her first dental visit:

• Practice with the child to open his/her mouth nice and big.
• Try to encourage the child to maintain mouth opening for at least 30 seconds, even when a foreign object is being placed into the mouth, such as a small teaspoon.
• Emphasise that the visit will be fun and interesting.
• Avoid using negative words/phrases, such as "pain", "hurting", "sore" etc. Use positive words/phrases instead. For example, instead of saying things like "Don't worry, it won't hurt.", say "It'll be cool to count and see how many teeth you've got." or "Lets' see if your teeth are nice and strong."
• If you intend to offer a reward for well behaviour, preferably something small and healthy, and make sure that you keep your word.