15 Tips for Your Special Needs Child’s First Pediatric Dental Visit

Here are some tips for parents of special needs children, including anxious children, to make a dental visit go smoothly:

• Consider timing. If possible, schedule morning appointments, when young children are usually alert, not tired.
• Prepare your child. Explain why it is important to go to the pediatric dentist for the special needs child specialist. Stay positive and build excitement and understanding. Bringing a child in and having the dentist only count his teeth as he lies in the chair can be a great starting point for familiarizing him with the sights, sounds and smells of a dental office.
• Don’t talk about shots or pain with children. Use positive phrases like “clean, strong, healthy teeth” to keep the visit from sounding scary. You might also explain that the dentist for special needs child specialist helps him have a beautiful smile for many years to come.
• Prepare yourself. Discuss your questions and concerns with Dr. Sara before the exam. It’s a good idea for the parent to visit the office alone before the child’s first visit.
• Prepare the dentist. Provide a complete health record, including conditions, medications and current issues. Don’t be embarrassed to discuss your child’s behaviors so we can be prepared. Don’t be afraid to offer Dr. Sara tips that you think may make the visit easier for your child.
• Play Dentist at home with a pretend exam. Get your child to recline, open her mouth wide and allow you to look at the teeth, for example. Perhaps use a toothbrush to touch the inside of the child’s teeth.
• Let your child role-play by using a toothbrush to clean the teeth of a stuffed animal or doll. The key is getting your child familiar with the routine so that she’s more comfortable for the real visit.
• Have a no-nonsense attitude: Teach your child that visiting the children’s special needs dentist is a necessity, not a choice. Explain that the dentist will take care of his teeth so that they are strong enough for him/her to eat favorite foods.
• Bring along whatever your child requires for comfort. If they have a favorite blanket, animal, beads or fidget toy bring the item along. Allow the child to have it at all times.
• Incorporate oral care into daily life. Dr. Sara will guide you on this. As a special needs parent, you may be dealing with many significant health needs in your children. But it’s important not to let oral health slip.
• Consider requesting that daily oral care be added to your child’s Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) during school time.
• Get some apps and/or books. The “Off We Go to The Dentist” app for iPad shows your child what is likely to happen. It also plays some typical dentist office sounds .“My Healthy Smile for iPhone” helps teach children about good oral health. It also can ease anxieties about dental visits. Picture books with detailed illustrations and easy-to-understand language can also help children.
• Read Spongebob Squarepants’ “Behold No Cavities! A Visit to the Dentist” And here are seven picture books to get young children read to go to the dentist. Other helpful books include “A Trip to the special needs kids dentist” by Penny Smith and “Going to the Dentist” by Fred Rogers.
• Before the appointment, Dr. Sara will discuss healthy lifestyle and diet options as well as daily oral hygiene techniques suitable for your child.
• Tooth decay is almost 100 percent preventable. With proper care, every child can have a healthy smile.

Dr. Sara is a dentist that work with special needs kids for over 2 decades.  She is committed to providing a comprehensive dental treatment for infants, children, adolescents and special needs kids. As a leading pediatric dentist for special needs children, Dr. Sara provides the most technologically advanced, time-tested dental care for kids with special needs.

Pediatric Dentistry: Dr. Sara B. Babich, DDS
116 E 84th St,
New York, NY 10028
(212) 988–4070
Web Address:
https://www.nycpediatricdentist.com/ 

Our location on the map: https://g.page/dr-sara-babich-pediatric-dds-nyc 
https://plus.codes/87G8Q2HV+83 New York

Nearby Locations:
Carnegie Hill | Yorkville | Lenox Hill | Upper East Side | Midtown Manhattan
10029 | 10028 | 10021| 10044, 10065, 10075, 10128 | 10022

Working Hours:
Monday: 9AM-6PM
Tuesday: 9AM-6PM
Wednesday: 9AM-6PM
Thursday: 9AM-6PM
Friday: 9AM-4PM
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed

Payment: cash, check, credit cards.