Helping Your Grandchildren Learn About The Dentist
By David L. Steed
For many, the dentist can be a daunting experience. He is often thought of as the one who inflicts pain with rudimentary implements while getting paid handsomely to do it. While this isn’t true, anxiety about the dentist affects many of the patients we see every day, especially young children.
A Kid’s Place Dentistry tries to alleviate some of that fear with our child friendly services and doctors that care about patient comfort. Parents and grandparents can also help stem many of the fears that accompany a child’s first visit to the dentist. You are your grandchild’s greatest ally when it comes to learning about the world and using teaching materials like books, movies and games can help them see the dentist in a more positive light.
A great resource for kid friendly learning materials can be found on Pinterest.com. The Pinterest website operates like an online scrapbook where people can share creative projects and pin them to virtual pin boards. The Center of Dental Professionals page on Pinterest has many great ideas for learning about how to maintain a healthy mouth, including printable materials to share with your children.
One of our favorite project ideas from Pinterest is to take a large building block or styrofoam egg carton to use as teeth. By applying salt dough or clay between the grooves you can teach young children the importance of flossing with a string of yarn. This tactile project is fun and engaging for young minds that will remember how much fun they had when they go to their next dental appointment.
Another strategy to prepare them for their first visit to the dentist is to read books or watch educational videos while answering any questions they might have. It is an excellent way to bond with your grandchild and gives them safe environment to learn about potentially frightening experiences. With websites like Youtube, Hulu and PBS, you can find educational programs about visiting dental offices and maintaining proper oral health for free. Many popular programs such as The Magic School Bus series and Sesame Street have episodes about the dentist that are great fun for kids.
For reading materials the website wegivebooks.org has some of the newest and most popular children’s titles for free. You can browse their collection of thousands of books and easily search by subject, genre, author or title. The non-profit organization has many fun books to read with your family including “A Trip to the Dentist,” by Penny Smith.
At a Kids Place Dentistry we try to make the experience at the dentist as fun of a learning experience as possible. We know that going to the dentist can be scary at times, but our team of dental professionals is invested in your children’s oral health. If you have any questions about children’s dentistry or where to find more great learning materials please visit our website dentalprosutah.com or contact our offices in Salt Lake City, Utah.