Our office, as well as the The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Dental
Association (ADA), and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) all recommend
establishing a "Dental Home" for your child by one year of age. Children who have a dental
home are more likely to receive appropriate preventive and routine oral health care.
The Dental Home is intended to provide a place other than the Emergency Room for parents.
You can make the first visit to the dentist enjoyable and positive. If old enough, your child should be informed of the visit and told that the dentist and their staff will explain all procedures and answer any questions. The less to-do concerning the visit, the better.
It is best if you refrain from using words around your child that might cause unnecessary fear, such as "needle", "shot", "pull", "drill" or "hurt". The office makes a practice of using words that convey the same message, but are pleasant and non-frightening to the child.
We invite you to stay with your child during the initial examination, and any subsequent
treatment appointments. Our main goal is to earn you, and your child's confidence, and
trust. Little Smiles has a “team work” philosophy when treating our patients. We believe
that in most cases a parent is a valued member to our treatment team, making the child’s
visits a positive experience. This is best accomplished with the parent being a “silent
helper” in the treatment room. For the safety and privacy of all patients, other children
who are not being treated should remain in the reception room with a supervising adult.
