How to Make a Dental Visit Fun for Kids

Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.

Even as adults, we’re not really jumping up and down about the thought of going to the dentist whether it’s for our annual check-up or for some other reason (such as a cavity filling). Therefore, it’s totally understandable why a child may not really be looking forward to it, either. Yet, surprisingly so, there are things that you can do to make the dental visit fun (or at least a really pleasant experience) for your son or daughter. We have enclosed five handy tips to keep in mind:

Pick the right dentist. Some women prefer a female gynecologist because they feel like she may be able to better empathize with what they are going through. For a similar reason, it’s a good idea to look for a dentist who either exclusively works with children or has a good reputation for connecting well with kids.

Make sure there’s a “fun” waiting room. Most of us are pretty familiar with the fact that going to the dentist requires doing quite a bit of waiting around. So, if the waiting room is filled with toys, games, books and other “kid-friendly” things to do, not only will that serve as a great distraction for your child, but they will start to associate going to the dentist with hanging out in the room that is loads of fun. For this reason, it’s a good idea to actually check out the dentist office before bringing your child so that you can be sure that the atmosphere is happy, light and just right for putting your child’s mind at ease.

Leave out a lot of details. Telling your child that you are taking them to the dentist is one thing. Telling them that they may have to lie on their back and have dental tools put into their mouth is another matter entirely. Children tend to have a pretty big imagination and so it’s a good idea to leave out as many details, beforehand, about the visit as possible.

Bring a video along. These days, most dental offices have a television in their rooms so that people can watch their favorite programs while procedures are taking place. For this reason, it’s a good idea to call the office ahead of time to see if either they have access to children’s programming or if you can bring one of child’s favorite videos for them to watch during the procedure.

Plan a trip for afterwards. Whether you’re taking your child to the dentist in Anchorage AK, Nashville, TN or Seattle, WA, it’s pretty much a universal expectation that you should prepare yourself to reward your child for being a good patient. If your child knows before going to the dentist that you have a special surprise awaiting them, that will give them something to look forward to; so much so that they actually might be the one pushing you to hurry up and get them to the dentist so that they can hurry up and get to what’s awaiting them after it. Don’t look at it as a “bribe”. Choose, instead, to look at it as “creative parenting”!