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Getting your kids into the habit of regular dental checkups early on can make a huge difference to their dental health in general, and can go a long way towards offsetting escalating issues like gum disease in later life.
Unfortunately, getting your child into that dental chair, especially once they’re old enough to know what’s happening, is often easier said than done. Far from creating positive dental habits, enforced attendance when your child is already hysterical can create negative associations and phobias that will have the opposite effect of what you intend.
By comparison, whole-family dental appointments are more likely to create lasting, positive dental associations. And that’s not the only benefit of making dental appointments a family affair. Keep on reading to find out why else this family focus might be worth your while.
Creating a calmer experience for everyone
Moms have a unique ability to help their children calm down, and this is as true at the dentist as it is anywhere else. Of course, you would attend dental appointments with your child anyway, but when the spotlight is on them and you’re simply standing back, emotion and fear can still escalate. When you’re all attending a family appointment together, however, your child will feel calmed by your presence in the center of the room, instead of out of sight in the corner, and will likely be way happier to hop in the chair after they’ve seen mom doing the same thing.
Making time for you
You’re a busy, sometimes overwhelmed mom, and while your children’s dental appointments are likely a priority, you may not have time to book appointments for yourself. By making your dental care a key part of family appointments, however, you’re able to make time for yourself while still teaching your children a crucial lesson. The need to book regular family appointments for the sake of your children can especially help you to get into more positive dental habits, and even highlight issues like poor dental hygiene, the need for repair work, and even the potential of options like teeth straightening. None of which you would likely have the time or headspace for if you were having to make separate appointments for yourself.
The lasting power of leading by example
Getting your children into any regular dental routine should ideally help to promote a healthy lifestyle that they maintain when they’re adults, but that’s not guaranteed. If your children never see you in the dental chair, there’s a far higher risk that they’ll simply slip out of the habit when they’re adults, too, either because they assume it’s not as important in later life, or because they use your lack of attendance as an excuse. By comparison, children who grow up physically seeing your attendance of six-monthly dental checks are far more likely to feel the need to keep on doing the same themselves, even when the responsibility falls on their shoulders.
Take the stress out of dental appointments by talking to your provider about attending as a family.
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