Tips for Your Child's First Dentist Visit
While dentists recommend that kids see a dentist for the first time by their first birthday, twice-yearly dental checkups and proper care at home are the keys to ensuring healthy teeth throughout childhood. For toddlers, however, the first dental visit can be a scary experience for them. Strange instruments, loud noises, and new faces can upset even the most well behaved 2-year-old. However, with careful preparation and cool incentives, the first trip to the dentist can actually be fun.
Meet and Greet
Make sure your child feels comfortable by introducing him or her to the dentist on his first visit, before any of the metal tools are broken out. If your child is able to build a little relationship with the dentist, they won’t be as intimidated upon the first visit. Also, allow your dentist to show them the (not so scary) instruments they will be using and assure your child that they can stop as soon as they feel pain or worry.
Let Them Learn
Using models, an oversized toothbrush, and even puppets if possible, see if your dentist can show your child the basic of caring for their teeth. This will teach your children proper care to make sure they aren’t neglecting their hygiene. Also, as mentioned above, your dentist can go through each tool at the office, explaining the purpose and benefits of them. Most of the fear of a dentist visit comes from the unknown; explaining as much as possible will keep your little one content.
Provide Entertainment
Providing some sort of entertainment, which is really more of a distraction, will allow you and your child to have a much easier visit to the dentist. Bring along your child’s favorite toy or stuffed animal to make them feel more comfortable at the office. Also, some type of portable device like a tablet for them to play games or watch movies on would certainly make their first dentist trip better.
Offer a Prize
If your child knows that a prize or reward of some sort is waiting for them, they will most likely behave a lot better. This same philosophy holds true for the dentist as well. Usually, a dentist’s office will have some type of prize box or basket for children to choose from after their visit. Sweeten the deal by offering them a small toy or prize of their choosing on the way home!
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Written by Stephanie Parker from Sleepingbaby.com, inventor of the Zipadee-Zip
The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.
When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.
Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!
To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!
For more information, visit sleepingbaby.com.
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