Dental Visits: 6 Simple Ways to Prepare Your First Dentist Appointment

Dentist appointments can be intimidating, everyone knows that. But this can be further exaggerated when it comes to your very first dental visit. Fear often eclipses the prospect of oral health for many first-timers, however, there are ways to feel more comfortable and confident about dental visits.

With that being said, if you’re in need of dental services in northwest Calgary, we here at Pro Grace Dental want you, your children, and your relatives to feel safe and secure every time you visit us.

1. Keep a good attitude

If you have children and it happens to be their first time, try to remain optimistic about it all. For a child, nothing will make a dental visit more unpleasant than their parent(s) displaying dental anxiety in front of them. Your child will respond to the signals you unconsciously display. In fact, in one study, it was confirmed that dental apprehension can be passed from parent to child.

With this in mind, it’s important to put your own preconceived notions aside, and keep a healthy and positive attitude toward going to the dentist – at least in front of your children anyway. It will help them relax and assist them with associating positivity with their dental visits.

2. Read books

Many times, fear promulgates simply because of a lack of accurate information. If your dental health is generally good; meaning, you brush and floss daily and don’t have junk food as the primary staple of your diet, then your dental visits are going to be just fine.

But even with this being the case, it helps to do your own research. Pick up a few dental books and read through them. They will open your eyes and help you see that you really have nothing to be concerned about.

Here are a few recommendations to get you started:

• Darby’s Comprehensive Review of Dental Hygiene, 9th Edition
• The Dental Diet: The Surprising Link between Your Teeth, Real Food, and Life-Changing Natural Health
• It's All in Your Mouth: Biological Dentistry and the Surprising Impact of Oral Health on Whole Body Wellness

3. Schedule at the right time

One powerful way to prepare you for first-time dental visits is to book your appointment when you’re in a good mood. When are you the most chipper? Is it in the morning after a workout? Or maybe once you're fresh off work ready to enjoy the rest of your day?

Once you’re conscious of your emotional upticks, you can take advantage of that by getting in touch with us here at Pro Grace Dental to book an appointment. You’ll feel better and more open. And that will make all the difference in the world when it comes to a more pleasant dental experience.

4. Positive reinforcement

If you’re quite anxious and fearful of your first dental visit, then commit to going through with it anyway, and as a reward; do something nice for yourself. Give yourself an evening of lazing around and watching your favourite Nextflix special; treat yourself to a tranquil and relaxing massage; or go for a nice long nature hike with friends.

This is the type of positive reinforcement that will make you excited to do things that you may typically dread without this incentive.

5. Bring a friend

Whether you’re a parent bringing your child to the dentist for the first time, or you’re the one taking the plunge is irrelevant. Having a familiar face by your side is helpful to relieve anxiety. It helps to make you feel safe and secure in a foreign place or during a new experience.

6. Be open with your dentist

Be honest and forthright with your dentist about your oral habits. Don’t try to sugarcoat things. If you eat a lot of sugar, tell them; if you drink too much coffee, tell them; if you’re feeling aches and pains due to these habits, tell them.

While you may be embarrassed to admit certain lifestyle choices in regards to your dental health, it’s always better if you do.

Your dentist can’t fix what they don’t know is bothering you.

By disclosing any pains, aches, discomforts, etc, and being honest about oral habits, your dentist can administer the proper treatment to help alleviate any afflictions you’re experiencing. So be sure to provide them with any pertinent information that would help them help you.

Key takeaway

It doesn’t matter whether it’s you, your child, or anyone you know who’s going in for their first dental appointment. Almost all new experiences are anxiety-inducing when you first take the plunge. But all it takes is one or two experiences before you realize it’s really not that big of a deal.

And before you know it, you’ll be wondering why you were ever scared in the first place. And our excellent staff at Pro Grace Dental are all here to help you along the way. Contact us today to book an appointment.