Your child’s dental visit to Teddy Teeth will be made much easier if you follow these simple guidelines. However, please do consider your child’s personality and individuality when applying these principles.
Do’s
- Tell your child that you are visiting a friend/ “uncle/aunty” who is also a doctor who likes children and he may just check his/her teeth
- Tell him/her that getting teeth examined regularly will protect the teeth and help find problems – like cavities (black spots on teeth) – at an early stage
- If possible both parents should accompany the child on the first visit
- Allow sufficient time for our doctor to talk to your child. The time spent in establishing rapport and gaining confidence will save time during treatment as he/she will be more cooperative with the his/her doctor “friend”
- 85-90% of children cooperate for all dental treatments. Inculcate a positive attitude towards dentistry from an early age in your child
- Bring your child’s complete medical records (including immunization status) for our assessment.
- Should your child require a dental procedure we will normally explain in detail about the treatment, including preventive and post treatment follow up measures. If you do not understand something, please insist on a more detailed or less technical explanation. We will be happy to oblige. Your child’s dental health is our primary concern too!
Don’ts
- Do not tell your child about pain, blood, injection, etc. We will gently break it to him/her if the dental procedure warrants it.
- If your child pesters you with his/her fears about the visit, it is better to side step with an indirectly reply assuring them that “doctor uncle/aunty will do the best thing for you”. Do not mislead him/her about the time the treatment will take. Simply say you don’t know.
- Do not threaten your child with statements like “because you do not brush your teeth properly, doctor will give you an injection!” OR “because you eat chocolates your spoilt teeth will be removed by doctor”. This may result in inducing fear in your child for the dental visit and in later years could result in dental anxiety or phobia.
- Do not insist that the treatment should start on the first visit itself. Your child needs to get comfortable with the dental visit and may require some time to prepare himself/herself. We will advice you after interacting with your child.
- Do not voice your fears about the pain, blood etc in front of your child.
- Discuss these separately with us and we will give you an accurate assessment of what to expect.
- Avoid dental appointments during naptimes or when they are tired
- Do not bribe them with a gift prior to the appointment. You may reward good behavior in the clinic after the visit.
- Your child is a raucous bundle of joy and energy! Do not expect perfect visits, also do not complain about him/her to the doctor in front of your child. Discuss your concerns separately with us.
