So, somebody asked me ‘what is the right age to bring their kid into my office?’

Good question.

I always tell them to just bring the kids in with them whenever they come in after the kid is about 2 years old.

The advantage of having the kid see the parents (and older siblings) have their teeth cleaned and having fun in the office is immeasurable.

It gets to be like a privilege or a right of passage.

This is an advantage that I have as a general dentist is that it’s really easy for the parents to introduce the doctor, office and environment to the child in a very non-threatening manner.

I’ll usually let the child sit on the parent’s lap at the end of the parent’s appointment and do as much as the kid lets me.  Typically this might just be to have them open and let me check that their teeth are lining up in a healthy orientation.  If I want to check the teeth I can usually get away with having the kid let me ‘count’ their teeth with an explorer and check for cavities at the same time.

As the child gets a little older we just start doing a little more of the actual cleaning and it’s easy because the child already has a little familiarity with the office, the chair and me!

Strangely enough, I’ve found that the kids have the biggest problem with the tastes of things and the light in the operatory. We have a special selection of flavors for kids and dark glasses that make them look like the Terminator!

They actually don’t associate the dentist with pain at all and we work hard to keep it that way.

It’s very rare that I will have a child not be comfortable with actually having their teeth cleaned by the age of 4.

As a cosmetic Dentist from Bryn Mawr that treats the whole family I’ve been lucky with this approach of introducing a child to dentistry. Find a private dental clinic near you and get the all dental services for your kids that you’ve been looking for!

Dillon Family Dentistry, 1084 East Lancaster Ave Rosemont PA 19010, Phone Number: 610-228-0329