First Dentist Appointment a Success at River Park Dental

River Park Dental provides a kid-friendly, stress-free dental appointment in Dublin, Ohio!

A big thank you to River Park Dental for sponsoring this post!

I’m embarrassed to admit this and I’ve struggled with a lot of mom guilt over the fact that I hadn’t taken my oldest son, now 6, to the dentist! I had a multitude of excuses, the biggest being the fact that my son is “slow to warm up,” if you will, and very wary about new experiences, ESPECIALLY when it comes to doctors.

We’ve had a few scarring (for me and him) experiences that had made me gun shy about attempting the dentist! When I called Ellen at River Park Dental to set up our appointment, she made me feel like this was totally normal and assured me I was not a bad mom! (Though for the record, they do recommend bringing your kid around age 3 1/2 to 4.)

As we headed to our appointment, I was definitely nervous. I just didn’t know what to expect or how my boys would respond. Ellen assured me that Missy, the RDH, was great with kids and would go at a speed that worked for them. She assured me they were flexible and would just see how it went. I tried to breathe easy and believe that they would not judge me if my child refused to open his mouth and went running out the door (not an unlikely situation).

When we walked in the door at River Park Dental we were warmly welcomed and offered a latte (which was a huge plus in my book! 😉 ).

Not only that, but the waiting room is filled with children’s books, iPads and a tooth-fairy house! My kids were immediately at ease.

Luckily, we were able to pry the kids away from the iPads by promising them the same shows were available while they were getting their teeth cleaned! Offer my 6 year old the chance to watch LEGO videos while doing anything and he’s going to be a lot more willing to cooperate!

Missy was SO good with Jaden, who went first. She explained every move she was going to make and got him to help her count his teeth. She told him that it was going to “tickle” when she cleaned his teeth and even got him to laugh in the process! She took the time to teach Jaden how to brush his teeth at home without missing any spots!

By the time Jaden was done and it was my 3-year-old’s turn, Jaden was ready to walk Mayson though the process like an experienced pro!

Even after being right next to Jaden for his whole cleaning, Mayson was still weary about getting into that dental chair all by himself. Missy offered that Mayson could sit on a parent’s lap or Jaden could sit with him and Mayson chose Jaden to sit with him in the chair!

I’m not going to lie. This was one of my most heart warming experiences as a mother. You know how you spend what feels like 90% of your waking hours breaking up sibling fights? Well, this moment made it all worth it.

After each cleaning, Dr. Saurer came in to check the kids’ teeth and talk with us. She was so kind and gentle with the boys. Being a mother herself, she knew exactly how to talk to the boys.

After each boy finished their cleaning, Missy gave them a token for the treasure box. They took their token out to the front desk to exchange it for the key to open the treasure box and pick out a prize! Oh my, were they in heaven!

Ellen took their pictures and printed them out in front of them, which they thought was the coolest thing! Then they hung them on the wall! No cavities! Yay!

I am so relieved that this first dentist visit is done. It was one of those nagging weights I had been carrying around! And thanks to a positive experience, my boys know what to expect and I don’t have to be nervous about next time!

I cannot say one bad thing about our experience at River Park Dental! If you are looking for a kid-friendly dental experience, I highly recommend them. I’m honestly so grateful for them for graciously getting us through an experience we were all anxious about!

Know Before You Go:

River Park Dental
6605 Longshore St., Suite 220
Dublin, OH 43017
Call (614) 689-8686 to schedule an appointment.

Staff:
Dr. Phing Saurer, DDS, PhD
Ellen, Practice Administrator
Matt, RDH EFDA
Missy, RDH