The first visit to the dentist, when and how should it be?

Going to the dentist is a traumatic situation for children . It is because as humans we are afraid of the unknown. We do not know what we are going to face within the consultation and that produces uncertainty and insecurity. The fear of dentists is usually learned. Perhaps because of something that the child saw on television, because of stories that his friends tell him and sometimes even those fears are transmitted from the parents themselves to the children. The best way to reduce these fears is by making the first visit from an early age so that little by little they become familiar and do not let themselves be influenced by the stories of others, that they verify themselves that there is no danger.

Well, once you’ve decided on the first step, when is the ideal age to take my child for a first visit? There is no agreed age . Some dentists claim that the sooner the better, that after 6 months the child can be taken to the dentist for a first check-up, even before the first milk tooth has emerged , to check the condition of the gum and give preventive measures. Others say that the first visit may be from the first year .

Giving preventive measures to parents is important because in recent years more and more preschoolers have been seen with cavities, this is due to bad habits that some have when feeding the little one and that they are unaware of. Some examples of bad habits are putting sugar in bottles or getting used to giving sugary juices between meals. The appearance of cavities is mainly due not to the amount of total sugar that the child takes but to the frequency with which it is taken . In this sense, it is more dangerous for you to drink two juices spread over six times during the day than if you only take one to accompany lunch and another to accompany dinner.

Regardless of the months, the most important thing is to go with the baby to a first visit so that they can advise us on a correct care of the children’s gums and teeth. From there it is advisable to return approximately every year for a quick review of the mouth.

HOW TO PREPARE THE CHILD FOR A FIRST VISIT TO THE DENTIST?

Although professionals recommend that they go before the year, it is true that most parents take their children much later in preschool ages. If that is the case, we have to try to make the first times pleasant for the child and not to live it with anxiety . Little by little you should become familiar with the office, the dentist, the instruments used in a check-up, the rest of the staff, the smells …

– Do not wait for your children to hurt their teeth to go to the dentist . Try to go earlier, when they do not need it, so that the child does not associate the dentist with tooth pain and they are marked by bad experience. If you wear it when its first cavities appear, it will be very difficult to remove the fear in the future.

– Talk to your son and give him security. You can tell him that this visit is to check that his mouth is clean and nothing else. If he behaves well, reward him with something, there is no need to spend money either, give him a detail, leave him half an hour more in the park … a small reward so that he associates the positive memory of the reward with the visit to the dentist. You will appreciate it in the future.

– Try to have the first consultation in the morning . Thus, the child will be clearer and will have a better predisposition, in the afternoons they are more tired. There will also be fewer delays because there are usually fewer appointments in the mornings. This means waiting less to be seen. The waits seem eternal for children.

– Visits are better if they are of short duration until little by little the children become familiar and remove possible fears. The dentists will report everything they are going to do to the little one so that nothing takes them by surprise.

– Play dentists. If your child is preschool, it is a good idea to spend some time playing “dentists” together. You can explain what exactly they do, for example you can use a doll as if it were a patient and you the professionals. You will have fun playing and it will improve your predisposition to go.

– And above all … never show your fear of the dentist (if you have one) children learn by observation and parents are the figure they pay most attention to . Fearful parents give rise to fearful children.

WHEN TO START ORAL HYGIENE

In reality, hygiene should start from the moment the child is born with the washing of the gums . It is enough to pass a wet cloth around the gums to remove any bacteria that may accumulate on them. Later, with the first teeth, parents can buy a special brush suitable for babies and take care of brushing them themselves. With water it is more than enough . When the child is approximately 5 years old, it is advisable to teach him to brush his teethin a correct way so that the gums are not damaged and with a special toothpaste for children, twice a day is enough (one in the morning and one at night). At those ages they usually already have the necessary dexterity to be able to do it themselves although obviously they do not do it perfectly.

A fun way to get them involved in brushing their teeth is to tell them to wash them together and then supervise each other. Ask: “Have my teeth been clean?” and open your mouth. Then the other way around “Let’s see, open your mouth … have you cleaned yourself well?” More than brushing their teeth, the interesting thing here is that they learn a hygiene habit so that they get used to doing it themselves without the parents having to insist every day.

Finally, if your child does not like to brush his teeth, it can help to buy a brush with pictures of his favorite characters . They are of all kinds. In addition, for the child to acquire good dental hygiene, it is important that we see us brush our teeth every day with a positive attitude, without seeming that we do it out of obligation. You have to lead by example .