How to Prepare 2 Yr Old for First Dentist Visit

I did not do anything to prepare my children to go to the dentist. Honestly.

I found that by acting like we were just going to the doctor, it helped a great deal.

I am not afraid of the dentist and never have been because my parents never instilled that fear within me. It is kind of like reacting to your child falling-the more you react, the more they cry.

I told my children that we were leaving to go to the dentist 30 minutes before walking out the door. My four year old(at the time) asked me a ton of questions and I answered them honestly. When he asked me if it would hurt, I said, "Oh yes, but just a little." When he asked me if he would get a shot, I said, "Yes, if you have cavities and have to get a filling, but we are not doing that today." I told him that there would be bright lights, a little bit of noise from the cleaning tools and he would get an xray or "picture" of his teeth. We talked about how it would be neat to see pictures of his teeth and we wondered if the cleaning tools would sound silly, loud, quiet, etc. No fears. No tears. Both my three year old and four year old did awesome. Just our experience. But worth a shot!

My son goes to the same dentist I do, and for the first time, they suggested just bringing him to one of my cleanings so he could see what it was all about. They had a little chair for him to sit in, and the hygienist was great, showing him all the things they were using to clean mommy's teeth, and giving him a toy when it was all over. He was almost 3 at that time, and we explained that he would be getting his teeth cleaned next time, and talked about it occasionally, especially when I was brushing his teeth. So the next time I went for a cleaning, I got mine done first while he watched, then he got his done while I watched. The hygienist put sunglasses on him so the light wouldn't bother him, and he did great! In fact, this last cleaning appointment we had, one person cleaned me while someone else took him across the hall and cleaned his teeth without me even being in there! Now, I don't have that fear of dentist thing, but a good friend of mine does, and she didn't want to pass that on to her daughter, so she instead had her husband take her daughter to the dentist, and her daughter has no fear at all! Good luck!

i just did this last week with my almost 20 month old. and i really did not do anything. do you prepare her to go to the Dr.s? i just told him we are going to the dentist. i don't know if all children's dentists do this but the one i went to took him by himself to this room with a window so i could watch. (i know i was scared of this at first but since i could watch i felt much better). i think they do this because they don't want the parents projecting their fears to the child. there is no reason for children to be scared (they have not had to go through anything yet). so anyway he did great and we will go back in 6 months for anther check up! :)
just try not to worry, she will be fine!!

Both of my girls (with different dentists) had a "happy visit" for their first visit. They learned about going to the dentist and what would happen, got to try out the different instruments, and were shown by a puppet how to brush their teeth correctly. They even got to brush the puppet's teeth! They were happy to go back after that. It wasn't a real check up, but really helped to prepare them. Check with your dentist if he does something like this.

our advice way back when is to wait until all the molars are ( not 6 year old ones though ) and that was about 3 yrs old. They will hardly do anything my guess... Unless a big issue.....I would wait and not waist your time.
our dentist is wonderful, Affliated Childrens Dental.
They have a tv for kids show, show them all around the area, let them feel the tickle tooth brush, they participate in counting and soooo good with the kids. Take their picture ( or use too ), give them prizes and your good to go. They don't worry about any xrays until all these teeth are in and have been placed and that was about 4 or so.

I personally would not make a big deal of it. When you brush her teeth at night, remind her that they have to be extra clean for the dentist. They usually only do a lap exam on 2 yo. They will check them out and brush them, not much more than that. It really is harmless.

My kids always went with me when I have my teeth cleaned and they loved to watch what they were doing. She thought it was really cool. When it was her turn, they let her ride on the chair and look in her mouth, and that was about it. Later, when they did get a cleaning, I told them that the cleaner just spun around with flavored paste on it to make the teeth clean and shiny. They put it on her finger so she knew what it was like. I'm glad you're starting early enough. My girlfriend didn't take her daughter until 3rd grade because she thought she'd be scared. But, by then she already had a few cavaties. Better to start off on a good foot before there are problems.

We have the Elmo video on teeth. We have watched it dozens of times, even before we were preparing for the dentist visit. On it, there is a boy who visits the dentist for the first time and it shows the chair, cleaning, taking pics of teeth, etc. My son was ready for all of it when he went to the dentist last week and did very well. Good luck!

less is more. If she will let you brush her teeth, you are half way there. Make sure your dentist is going to be patient and gentle with your child.

there is a really cute Dora goes to the dentist book that helped us. My daughter is 4, her first visit was when she was 2 and she was really excited about it. good luck. i'm sure she will do great.

As a mom of a little guy who LOVES the dentist and I fear them my best piece of advise would be to call the dentist and ask them politely if they allow you back the first visit and if they use a board during the exams.
I called around and found several Ped. Dentists that use a board that they strap the kids onto to hold them down....These were also the dentists that did not allow the parents to come back during the visit.
To get him ready for the visit we watched a John and Kate plus 8 show that had the little ones at the dentist and he thought that was cool. We also practiced having him open his mouth and showing us where all his teeth were. It worked like a charm!
We just called a regular dentist and he happened to have a special chair just for the little ones, with TV. the tech tuned in Disney and he watched while they cleaned and my DH spoke to the dentist. Next time he will go back alone with no problem!

Good luck!

I used to be a dental assistant so I am a big dental heath nut. My first advice is to make sure you are going to a pedodontist -- a dentist that specializes in children. It will be such a fun experience for them they will actually look forward to going!! It's a far less "sterile" looking envoirnment -- less intimidating, less nerve-racking. Not to mention they are used to dealing with just kids, so they have much more patience than the average dentist.

I think it's great that you don't want to instill fear in your daughter towards the dentist. I have my own phobias, and even though going to the dentist isn't one of them,I would never critisize you for this fear -- however, it is so important that you show your daughter by example how important it is to go and have your teeth taken care of! There are dentists out there that cater to "weenies" (for lack of a better word!)...people with dental phobias! Look for one and go!! You can do it!

Lastly...I would recommend playing dentist with your daughter. Let her look in your mouth, count your teeth, "brush" them with your toothbrush, etc... And then you do the same to her. Spend some time looking in the mirror at your mouths and explain how great it is that we have doctors that help us take care of our teeth. Truly...we are so lucky to have dentists all over this country. I lived in South America for 2 years and still have emotional trauma from seeing everyone with rotted, or missing teeth!!

Good luck and make this fun for her -- and she shouldn't have any problems!

A.,
We always practice before we go to any doctor. We have a little toy medical kit and the playdhough dentist kit. So we practice what it will be like (not with the drill or anything like that) to sit in the chair and to count the teeth etc., then my daughter gets to pretend that she is the dentist and she works on me. It really is fun and takes the unknown out of going to the doctor. Good luck with your appointment, hope it all goes well! (The books & tv shows mentioned before are also excellent idea!!!)

If she likes Dora th Explorer, there is a Dora goes to the dentist book. My son really liked it because it talks about things that happen at the dentist like getting an x-ray. She will be fine and so will you. :)

If you are lucky the pediatric dentist is skilled in this area, usually they will take the child back alone to do the exam because most moms are nervous about this! Moms fears even well hidden are seen by children. You need to remain calm if they do want to take the child alone because they are professionals and they have the skills needed to get her to show her teeth to them, the calmer you are the better it is for all involved! both of my girls have been going to the dentist since they were 2, and every once in a while they do get cavities but they are not scared of the dentist either and the oldest just finished with braces and loved going to the dentist!!

good luck and remember, just stay calm, its the best!

A.

We started taking our daughter to the dentist at 2 1/2...the first 2 times she went she cried most of the time but then after that she did great! Our dentist office has lots of fun games and things to do...she even got a t-shirt...and tokens to get toys when she was done. I don't think you really can prepare a 2 year old for much of anything...just go and have a positive attitude...they really only brush their teeth and look at them the first visit...nothing too traumatizing. Maybe just brush her teeth more often then normal and say this is what the dentist is going to do.

I too am afraid of the dentist, thanks to my mom having had fears...my first time going was when I was 13 and had four huge cavities in my permanent molars...not fun.

I took my kids too at age 3 (recommended by our dentist to begin then) and one was weary and she did ok. My son though was deathly afraid and I told him that he could bring Elmo and if he wanted to for the first time, that Elmo would only have his teeth cleaned. The dentist office said it's 50/50 the first time at age 3 if the child will let them even look in his/her mouth. When the hygenist said, 'Hop on the chair.' He did and then immediately yelped and flew off the other side of the chair (quite hilarious!).

I calmed him down and told him that she wanted to see Elmo's teeth. So he sat and the hygenist checked Elmo with him in my son's lap on the chair. Eventually as my son saw that it didn't hurt, he did let the hygenist peek in his teeth. She kept checking Elmo's mouth, and then his...she was awesome!

FYI...at this little of an age, they do not scrap with the pointy instrument, just look and clean the teeth. Eventually they get 'xrays', but they came a couple of appts. later when the child was calm and use to the routine.

Good luck, C.