A surprising number of adults who avoid the dentist can point to one specific memory from childhood. Which makes a child's early visits worth getting right - not because anything much happens at them, but because of what they set up.
Go earlier than feels necessary
The guidance is around the time the first teeth appear, or by their first birthday. That sounds absurdly early for a mouth with two teeth in it, and that is rather the point.
An early first visit is not really a dental examination. It is a child sitting on a parent's knee, having a quick look, riding the chair up and down, and leaving. Nothing happens, which is exactly what you want them to learn.
By the time something does need doing - and for some children it will - the room, the chair and the person are already familiar. That is a completely different experience from a first visit prompted by toothache.
How to prepare them (mostly by saying less)
The most common mistake is well-meaning reassurance. Telling a child it will not hurt introduces the idea that it might.
- Keep it casual and matter-of-fact - the dentist counts your teeth and checks they are healthy
- Avoid the words hurt, pain, needle, drill and sore entirely, even in reassurance
- Do not share your own bad experiences, and try not to project your own nerves
- Do not promise a reward for being brave - it signals that something to be brave about is coming
- Book a morning appointment when they are fresh, not after a long day
- Read a children's book about visiting the dentist beforehand if they like stories
What actually happens
For a young child: a look at the teeth and gums, a count, sometimes a quick clean, and a conversation with you about brushing, diet and habits like thumb-sucking. Ten minutes at most.
As they get older, check-ups do more real work - spotting decay early, watching how adult teeth are coming through, and applying fluoride varnish or fissure sealants where they help. Sealants in particular are a small, painless, preventive thing that stops a lot of future fillings.
It is free until they turn 18
Basic dental care is publicly funded for children and teenagers in New Zealand up to their 18th birthday. We are a registered provider for adolescents, so examinations, cleaning and standard treatment cost you nothing.
It is worth using. Free preventive care in childhood is the cheapest dentistry anyone will ever have, and the alternative - an adult mouth that has never been looked at - is the most expensive.
If your child is already frightened
Tell us when you book, and we will plan the appointment differently - more time, more explanation in child-sized steps, showing them instruments before using them, and stopping when they ask us to. Happy gas is available for children where it is appropriate.
Sometimes the right first appointment is one where nothing is done at all. That is not a wasted visit. Rushing an anxious child is precisely how you produce an anxious adult.
Two things worth knowing
Baby teeth matter. They hold the space for the adult teeth behind them, and losing one early can cause crowding later. 'They are only baby teeth' is one of the more expensive assumptions in dentistry.
And if an adult tooth is ever knocked out - off a bike, off a scooter - handle it by the crown, keep it in milk, and ring immediately. Within the hour makes a real difference. For a baby tooth, do not try to put it back, but still ring so we can check nothing else was damaged.
General information, not a diagnosis. Written and reviewed by Dr Adrian Paul, BDS (Otago), principal dentist at Lakeside Dental Practice, Queenstown. If something is worrying you, see a dentist.
