What will happen during the first appointment?
by The dentist will come personally and look for the child in the waiting room and welcome him/her and the accompanying adult . The accompanying parent shall be invited to enter the practice room with the child to make the latter feel as much at ease as possible. The child may then choose to sit on his parent’s or accompanying person’s lap, on a chair or on the dental chair or if he/she wishes to sit there by himself/herself.
After the parent or accompanying person having explained the purpose of the visit, the dentist verifies the state of oral hygiene of the child in a playful manner. This often involves giving names to the instruments and involving the child as much as possible (the child is encouraged to try the instruments on his/her hand, touch them, take the mirror, etc).
The dentist accesses the quality of teeth brushing, the state of health of the teeth and gums, the state of dental occlusion (position of the teeth and manner in which they grow) and identifies the caries if any. In children above the age of 5, the dentist performs a digital radiography (see section “care”) that enables her to detect proximal caries. Throughout this procedure, from the preparation to the communication of the results, the dentist explains all the steps to the child using suitable vocabulary.
Depending on the risk of the child to existing caries, the dentist will talk with him/her about his/her nutritional habits and underline how important it is to “team-up with his/her parents” in order to maintain his/her teeth in good health.
As soon as the diagnosis is made, the dentist draws up a treatment plan, informs the parents and answers to their questions, if any. As regards children that require orthodontic follow-up, the practice Dentist4kids closely cooperates with a number of specialists.
Before their departure, the dentist informs the child and his/her parent(s) or accompanying person(s) regarding the next steps, the timing and rewards the child with a small gift of his/her choice.