Your Child’s First Visit at Polkadot Pediatric Dentistry in Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Roswell
Discussion of your Family’s Dental History
Tooth decay and cavities can be genetic. Therefore it’s important for us to have a conversation about the entire family’s dental health to better understand what to expect in a child’s mouth. Preventative care or strong oral habits can be developed to combat what we know may happen in the future.
Meeting Dr. Nanna and Pediatric Staff
At this first visit, you and your child will get to meet our staff and Dr. Nanna in order to get to know our team in addition to developing a rapport and relationship with Polkadot Pediatric Dentistry.
The First Pediatric Dental Exam of Your Child’s Mouth
At this first visit, our staff will sit down with your feel child to explain in child-friendly language what we will be doing. We’ll demonstrate on a child’s finger or stuffed animal. Once the child feels comfortable we will conduct the examination.
Discussion of Oral Care and Bad Habits
During the visit, Dr. Nanna will discuss with you the strong oral habits to maintain for your child. Often we will go over the importance of fluoride when talking about dentistry for children, which will help your child’s teeth stay strong and healthy. In addition, we’ll go over any bad habits that can lead to tooth decay like thumb sucking or the long-term use of pacifiers.
Question and Answers
The first visit is just as important for the parent as it is for the child. We encourage parents to ask any questions they have about their child’s oral health and to let us know of any concerns they have.
The Polkadot Pediatric Dentistry First Visit Experience
The first appointment will often be a simple, short one to allow the child and parent the chance to get used to the office, pediatric dentist, and team. At this visit, we will also teach parents about their child’s oral health and how to properly care for their child’s teeth.
The goal of the early visits is to help build your child’s trust, so they enjoy coming to the dentist and, in turn, will want to take good care of their teeth.
We recommend for younger children be seen earlier in the day when their child is alert and fresh. Before we start the dental checkup, one of our trained members, will sit down and help the child feel more relaxed by describing to your child how we plan on cleaning and counting their teeth by using kid-friendly language. Afterward, they will demonstrate the procedure either on your child’s finger or on a stuffed animal.
Then, if your child is ready, we’ll go ahead and brush and count their teeth.
For children under the age of three, the child may sit or lay in their parent’s lap for the visit. along with the cleaning, we will also check to see how the teeth are coming in check to see whether or not there are any cavities for any signs of cavity development, and if there are discussed methods on how to prevent cavity development.
We will also provide suggestions on healthy food choices and how to properly and thoroughly brush your child’s teeth, along with providing examples of what toothbrushes and toothpaste we recommend using on your child.
At this visit, we can sometimes provide information about whether or not your child may need an early start of braces. In addition, providing counseling on feeding, grinding, thumb sucking or pacifier sucking.