by Kristina K.Summers

Created on: May 07, 2009

No matter how old you are, the thought of going to the dentist fills most of us with at least a tiny bit of apprehension, or in some cases even dread. It's not as if we aren't brushing, flossing..the whole bit. It is just that moment of truth...you know when the doc looks down at you with thinly veiled contempt and says, well, it's only ONE filling. It is enough to make any one of us hate going to the dentist at all.

Considering that, think about your children. If you have young ones who are quickly approaching the age where they will climb into that plastic-covered chair for the first time, then you are probably wondering how you can possibly make it as pleasant an experience as possible. The last thing you want is for your child to develop any irrational fears about going to the dentist. After all, the relationship you build with your dentist is akin to the one you build with your family doctor. You're going to be seeing them at least once every six months, so you might as well try to make it as easy as possible.

So first things first. When I was preparing my son for his first visit to the dentist I did a few things that I hoped would help relieve any anxiety he might be feeling. First of all we took a trip to the local library. My little guy was already a huge fan of story time so I made a point to ask the librarian to point us in the direction of the "how to" section for kids. A kindly volunteer, she was familiar with the subject matter and guided us over to the "My First" section complete with my first dog, my first trip to the doctor, my first trip to the zoo, and of course the holy grail, my first trip to the dentist.

We sat in the little chairs and I read the book aloud to my special little guy. It had great illustrations and really got to the heart of the matter. Before we left, my buddy knew how important it was to brush twice a day, to floss and to not eat so much candy. By the time my husband arrived home from work, his first born was well versed in proper dental hygiene, making sure to remind his father to brush after dinner. I couldn't help but smile.

As for the practical side of things I did make sure to explain that the dentist and his (or her) assistants would need him to lay back in a special chair that could go up and down. They would look deep into his mouth with a cool stick with a mirror on the end and then poke around a bit to make sure everything looked good. I told him that at any time if he felt scared he could hold my hand and

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