Adults who are afraid of the dentist are those who had very traumatizing first dental visits when they were kids. To avoid this happening to your children, here are some tips to prepare them:

The nice thing about children’s books nowadays is that they come in different topics. Visit your local library or bookstore and find a book with a theme about dental hygiene. Read the book to your children at night a week or a few days before the visit.

Go online. Find websites that show pictures of dentists, a dentist chair and a dentist’s tools. Learn with your kids. This way, they’ll be familiar with the tools and seeing them in person won’t alarm them much.

If your children ask if it hurts, then be honest. But be sure to use words that children can understand and assure them that dentists do their best to not make it hurt too much.

Allow your children to bring their comfort object such as a stuffed toy or blanket. This will help assure them and make them more comfortable.