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 make the first
visit to the dentist 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 less to-do concerning the visit, the better.
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. During future appointments, we suggest you allow your
child to accompany our staff through the dental experience. We can usually
establish a closer rapport with your child when you are not present. Our
purpose is to gain your child's confidence and overcome apprehension.
However, if you choose, you may come with your child to the treatment room.
For the safety and privacy of all patients, other children who are not being
treated should remain in the reception room with a supervising adult.
We strive to make each and every visit to
our office a fun one!
For your convenience prior to visiting our office, please
click on the link below to print the New Patient Health History
Form, complete the information and
bring it with you to your first visit.
To print the form you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If
you do not have Adobe Acrobat, please
click
here to download it for free to
your computer.