In our family dentistry office, we know that the families who visit us have unique and often individual challenges. There are also similarities that run in families based on genes, learned habits and taught behaviors. This makes being a family dentist extremely interesting and gives us the additional ability to diagnose and treat problems more quickly. Treating generations of the same family is a unique and privileged position that allows us to work with the newest children in the family as well as the patriarch and matriarchs of the family as they get older. For us, the goal is always the same, get the family to a level of health where all they need is a biannual cleaning. While this may seem, to some, like an ambitious goal there is a sense of accomplishment when we can get a patient to be this healthy.
Children, typically, love the family dentist. This is not because they are unafraid of the dental process, much to the contrary, but it is because they get to see a familiar face and work with someone who can explain the process to them. As a family dentist, one of our main charges, in working with children, is to reduce the child’s fear and perhaps overcome what may become a lifelong fear of dentistry in the early years. This is one of the main reasons why we recommend that parents bring the child in early, often as soon as the first tooth has broken the surface. Allowing us to become part of the equation will help your child become more comfortable, and will enable us to participate in giving your child great oral habits so that they may never have to visit us in pain or for serious gum disease. Each childhood visit is an opportunity for us to give you the tools you need, and your child the guidance they need, to ensure strong, healthy, and vibrant teeth that will stay healthy for years to come.
Building a strong relationship with the child, also allows us to help you with some of the more difficult parenting tasks like getting younger children to brush twice per day. The number one complaint we get from parents, in our family dentistry office, is the lack of desire most children have to every brush their teeth. Over the years, we have learned and shared best practices with our families to help overcome this. One practice that seems to work particularly well, especially with younger children that are first-time brushers, is to make tooth brushing an adventure and incorporate it into story time. Some parents make up stories about fierce dragons that live in the mouth; others create plaque monsters that are attacking the tooth kingdom. Whatever the story, this helps to engage the child’s imagination and makes brushing the teeth more about an adventure and less about the boring task of standing around rubbing their teeth with a brush. In our family dentistry office, we understand that these small changes can make a big difference.
