Health & Fitness
Preparing Your Child for Their First Trip to the Dentist
Avoid getting peed on like me and prepare your child for their first trip to the dentist with these tips.
We have a loose tooth in the house. Finally. My eldest has been living for the day when her teeth fall out. Most of her classmates are toothless and boy, does she think it's cool. Never mind how difficult it is for many of them to eat. I think she realized this when she tried biting into an ear of corn last night. She just thinks it's the coolest thing. The only problem is that the adult tooth apparently couldn't wait for the baby tooth to move out before setting up shop. Behind it. Great. I think we see braces payments in our future. Maybe even Invisalign. I could pull it. It's almost on the verge of popping out but it's a stubborn little thing. Just like it's owner.
I'm not sure if I should pull it out with string fastened to the door like my parents did either I or my sister. I can visualize the action but can't remember whose tooth the string was around. It's all blurry from blocking out the trauma or maybe just old age.
Dealing with this tooth issue reminded me that I neglected to share the details of my visit with Dr. Stephen Bernstein, DMD, FAGD of Dental Associates of Valley Stream in March. Blame it on being 40. Blame it on motherhood. Dr. Bernstein was extremely informative and patient after experiencing my attention starved 3 year old who kept interrupting us. I guess I need to have an etiquette session with him. My son, not the Dr.
For those of you wondering at what age to take your child to the dentist or how to prepare your child for this experience, which can go either way let me tell you, I have the answers. I got peed on by one of my kids. The experience was just too much too soon for them. Here's a few dental details courtesy of Dr. Bernstein. Hopefully you won't get peed on.
Dr. Bernstein says:
1. Take your child for his/her first dental visit around the age of 3 - 3.5. (I took mine at 2. Bad move)
2. Make sure the child is comfortable
3. Take reading materials and read a book about going to the dentist
