Your First Dental Visit

What can you expect at your first visit?

Our office is committed to providing exceptional and enjoyable services in all aspects of dental care for your child. Each of our offices have been inspired by children; we intentionally designed the atmospheres of our dental offices to incorporate elements that children relate to and understand. Things like bright colors, fun textures, a play yard, video games, cartoons, books, TV programs, kid-sized equipment, and friendly faces help ease your child’s fears and apprehensions.

Once a child is relaxed, we will call them back for the exam. Generally, we prefer to take your child back alone, while you remain in the waiting room. We find the children are able to relax sooner and more easily this way. Our team will explain all procedures and answer any questions your child may have. We use techniques such as “tell, show, do” where we name the instrument, show them how to use it and let them experience it themselves. We are trained to give each child our full attention at their appropriate level of development. As a result, most children are more calm, comfortable, and confident during the exams and procedure.

Our team of dentists and hygienists use some of the most innovative approaches as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. New research, technology, and assessment tools are allowing us to go even further to assess your child’s risk for cavities and other oral issues. A few of the things we screen for during a visit include: lack of saliva in your child’s mouth, enamel defects, elevated bacteria, and plaque on your child’s teeth. These advanced screenings give us an enormous amount of information about your child and whether he or she is at high, moderate, or low risk for the formation of cavities.

In most cases, our initial appointment will be for examination only. Depending on the age of your child, a cleaning, fluoride treatment and x-rays may also be done. If dental treatment is necessary, a treatment plan will be discussed with you. No restorative work will be done at the first appointment.

Included in your first dental visit:

Pediatric dentist and hygienist early evaluation of your child
A detailed assessment of your child’s specific risk for cavities
An extensive consult to help prevent or reverse those factors
Determination of risk for future illness and creating a plan for prevention
A personalized folder with information to take home on the factors discussed
A courtesy follow-up phone call to answer any questions on topics covered
A copy of any X-rays taken