Waiting for your toddler to grow up a bit before you take them to their first dental appointment? It may be too late. Dentists insist that the first tooth check-up for children needs to be before their first birthday. The earlier you schedule regular check-ups, the earlier they will adopt good dental hygiene habits.

If you think that’s too early, hear this: the first year of your child’s life is the time when the first set of teeth start to appear. Regular examination at this stage is critical for healthy teeth later. It will dispel fears of visiting the dentist like many older children harbor. Get them off to a healthy start early. Here’s a guide to selecting a friendly pediatric dentist for your precious little ones:

Qualified Practitioner

Pediatric dentists are specially qualified with two to three years training in addition to the years at dental school and college. The special training teaches them to deal with children effectively, dispel their fears and understand kids with special needs by adopting a friendly demeanor and creating a warm, welcoming environment.

Clinic Designed to De-stress

Pediatric dentists set up the clinic in a way that makes their young patients feel more comfortable and relaxed. The interiors are bright with delightful play areas for calming them and keeping them engaged mentally and physically.

Friendly Staff

The environment plays a big role to calm down any patient, no matter what their age. Interiors are just the starting point. Staff and medical assistants are trained to be fun, friendly, interactive and full of smiles so that your child unwinds and starts smiling too. A technique called “tell, show, do” is adopted to treat your child:
● They tell your child about the treatment so they are prepared
● They show them what they will do
● They do what they talked about

This way, your child learns to trust the doctor, open up more, understand the procedures and calm down more and more with each visit.

Proactive Approach

Pediatric dentists take a proactive approach than reactive and advise parents to do the same. Explain procedures gently to your child before they step in. Teach them about good dental hygiene. Remind them how delightful the clinic and medical practitioners are. Help them learn about common problems, identify them and tell you about them so that you can make the dentist aware. Children are more susceptible to tooth problems. It helps dentists attend to their little patients better if they are calm and cooperative.

Painless Procedures

Medical advancements have incorporated many painless treatments to treat conditions, such as cavities, with dental sealants that are coated over the affected tooth, gently to prevent further tooth decay. Fluoride treatments allow teeth to become more resistant to infection and decay. Dental sealants and fluoride treatments can together combat 95% of tooth problems, dentists say.

Child-Friendly Services at Lumina Dental, Maple Ridge

At Lumina Dental, your child’s approach to dental care is as important to us as oral health. Our qualified dentist and specialists go the extra mile in a kid-friendly environment to make sure that your children look forward to the scheduled appointments as much as we look forward to meeting them and looking after their dental health.

Our general dentistry includes cleaning, cavities, crowns, fillings, whitening, and specialization in braces among others. We accept patients of all ages. Call us to make dentistry fun for your child and yourself.