first trip to the dentist- any advice?

[denaverbena]

Headed to the dentist in the morning with my almost 3 yr old.  We've been talking a lot about the dentist and acting out a visit to the dentist to try and help prepare her.  I'm still afraid though that we're going to walk in there and she'll refuse to open her mouth or cry and cry and just want to leave.  How did it go on your first trip to the dentist? Any advice?

[treegardner]

Are you going to a pedi dentist or a regular dentist? Our pedi dentist didn't even look at his mouth at the first visit. It was basically a tour of the office, explaining how everything worked, getting to know each other visit. We then made a cleaning appt a few days after that. Our pedi dentist is really big on making the child feel comfortable and not scaring him. There have been times when I've had to hold DS down in order for the dentist to work on his teeth, but DS has serious dental issues that needed to be fixed ASAP. Good luck!

 

[denaverbena]

Thanks.  It's just a regular dentist and they don't do an office visit first, just a cleaning.  I hoping her excitement about picking out a toothbrush will help get her through it. 

[denaverbena]

Visit went great!  She actually loved it and keeps wanting to brush her teeth!