February is Dental Health Month

To be more exact, February is National Children's Dental Health Month. This is sponsored by the American Dental Association. This awareness program does make February more special.

Have you ever wondered what a dentist might do to make children more comfortable about visiting? Well here are some ideas from the office of a practicing pediatric dentist that you might want to consider or compare.

• Explain healthy habits like healthy snacks, how to take care of your teeth and the importance of regular dental checkups.
• Reception area includes books, puzzles, games, Game Cube and pinball machine. Another office actually had 3 arcade machines.
• A "No Cavities Club" was formed that includes a weekly drawing for prizes.
• Use of air abrasion (drill-less) dentistry. With this technique tooth decay can be removed without the drill, and sometimes without the shot. This technique is not always able to replace the drill.
• A laser cavity detection system makes it possible to find cavities when they are quite small and easier to deal with.
• Nitrous oxide if needed to help decrease anxiety.
• TV's head phones and DVD's to keep them busy.

As you can see, there are quite a number of things that can be done to accommodate children and take away most of the anxiety associated with a trip to the dentist.

Do you need to make an appointment?

Dennis