Taking your child to the dentist, Taking your child to the dentist

[USF Student]

Hello, I am a student at the University of South florida and I am working on a project for one of my MBA courses. We need some input from parents who take their children to the dentist in order to help with our design. Basically we have been assigned to introduce a new product into the market, our product is a pediatric dental prop (the devise that holds your child's mouth open when the dentist is doing work)

So far our design is for a bite block, which is essentially a block that is molded in the shape of a child's mouth that they bite down on. What set's ours apart is what we are doing with the branding. We want to have a character on the bite block. This character has a back story and is a kind of superhero who helps the toothfairy and fights the evil plaquinators. We are planning to have an accompanying DVD that the children can watch when they are in the dentist office and maybe some toys. Really we are trying to take the anxiety out of going to the dentist and make it more like a game that the children can identify with.

Here are my questions:

How many children do you have? What are their ages and gender?
Do they experience anxiety about visiting the dentist?
Have they had experience with a "dental prop" and what was this experience like?
Any extra input on the subject that you feel is relevant would be appreciated.

Also if there are any pediatric dentists please let me know, I have a seperete set of questions for you. Thank you for your help.

This post has been edited by USF Student on Mar 31 2010, 02:55 PM

[DVFlyer]

Some kids are better than others.

For our last dentist visit, my son (4) had to be put under general anesthesia to get the work done. Previous attempts were a disaster.

My daughter (5) did better for her visits.

[MommyToAshley]

My daughter is 7 and has been going to the dentist since she was 3. She had a little anxiety at first, but the dental hygentist really put her at ease. She looks forward to going to the dentist because they give out little prizes afterwards. But, she's never had any work done besides a cleaning and sealants put on her molars.

[coasterqueen]

My 7 year old and 5 year old have been going since they were 3. The first 1.5 years was just every 6 months when I'd go in they'd go with me and have their teeth checked/counted. At 4.5 they started having them cleaned. So by the time they finally got them cleaned they had no anxiety. Both have only had cleanings done and Kylie (7) has had sealants put on her molars. That's it.

My 7 year old has been seeing an orthodontist since age 5.5 and they just keep an eye on how she's loosing her teeth. No anxiety at all.

[USF Student]

thanks for your responses everyone, i didn't realize that the kids today were so good about going to the dentist, i remember having lots of anexiety when i was little.


the topic is open until about the end of april so please keep posting parents.

[PrairieMom]

Mine both started going at age 3 . Now 7 and 4. They both l-o-v-e going to the dentist. At age three both would let them count teeth and even let them do minimal cleaning. My 7 year old has even had teeth pulled, and it was a positive experience for him. They can't wait to go back.