Tips for Managing Your Children at Pediatric Dental Visit

Your kids’ pediatric dentist knows that managing the dental needs of multiple children can be a challenge. They expect that you will schedule your children’s dental visits on the same day. In this way, you get to enjoy the convenience of having all your kids visit the same dental practice.

How to manage visits with a pediatric dentist

The idea of getting all the kids’ dental visits squared away in one trip sounds good on paper, right? The catch is that kids have different personalities, even twins. Some are nervous, while some are eager for what they see as adventure. Some are boisterous, while others are able to sit quietly with their coloring books.

Sometimes, two kids can be scheduled for procedures at the same time, and both of them may be nervous. You might have a third kid in the waiting room as the other two see the dentist and their staff. How do you manage them all? Here are five tips to help you pull it off.

1. Use positive reinforcement

Frame the dental visit as a project to be tackled by a team of superheroes or secret agents. In this case, the team is your children. You can incentivize the children by agreeing on a reward for completing the "project."

This will create a goal-oriented mindset in the children, which will make them calmer and easier to manage. After the parent provides a common end goal, they can proceed to cater to the individual needs of each child.

2. Go through the steps of the dental visit with the children beforehand

This part follows the "project briefing." Take the children through the different steps of a typical dental visit. Let each child know what to expect at the dentist’s office, but only using language and terminology approved by the pediatric dentist. A parent should remember to tell each child the good outcome that will result from their dental visit.

3. Pack smart

If one of the children is nervous, pack a toy or a game that will calm them during the visit. Pediatric dental practices often have friendly spaces that put children at ease. That said, some children need something familiar to help them relax in the dentist’s office. That is where a child’s favorite stuffed animal or electronic game comes in.

4. Where necessary, arrange for help

If a parent needs to be with one child during their procedure, they can ask for help from another adult that the children know. This person can stay with the other kids in the waiting room or even during their procedures. Alternatively, some practices have staff that watch over children whose parents are temporarily occupied.

5. Where needed, arrange for sedation dentistry

Just like some adults, some kids get extremely anxious in the dentist’s chair. A dentist may recommend sedation dentistry for the child, which will allow a dental procedure to go easier and free up the parent to check on the other children.

Get pediatric dental care for your young family in a single visit

Your pediatric dentist knows the challenges that come with taking care of the different needs of siblings. That is why their office schedules dental appointments in such a way that you can bring all your children in at the same time. You can expect their office to have a friendly staff trained to create a rapport with your children and a kid-friendly space that will keep your kid relaxed and occupied as they wait for the dentist or their siblings.

Request an appointment here: https://www.hvkidsmiles.com or call Hudson Valley Pediatric Dentistry at (845) 363-4177 for an appointment in our Middletown office.

Check out what others are saying about our dental services on Yelp: Pediatric Dentist in Middletown, NY.