Children's dentistry
Taking your child to the dentist in Helsby
Bring them early and keep bringing them, and check-ups become an ordinary part of growing up. We see children as soon as their first teeth appear.
A private new patient examination for your child is £100. Under-18s are seen free on the NHS, subject to availability. We are on Chester Road in Helsby, and see families from Frodsham and the villages around it.
The first visit
An easy first visit
The ideal first appointment is one where nothing needs doing, so your child's first memory of the dentist is a calm one.
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Come to one of yours first
Bring them along to your own check-up before they ever have one. They watch, nothing happens to them, and the room soon feels familiar.
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They can sit on your knee
Small children often do. Sitting in the chair on their own can wait until they are ready, and we go at their pace.
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A look and a count
The first appointment is usually short. A quick look at how things are coming along, and a conversation with you about brushing.
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A sticker on the way out
Given by us at the end, rather than promised at home beforehand. They leave pleased with themselves.
Every first visit is useful, however it goes. Some children keep their mouth firmly shut the first time, and that still counts. They have met us, sat in the room and seen there is nothing to worry about. We try again in a few months.
Check-ups
What we are looking at
A child's check-up is quick, and most of it is watching how things are developing rather than treating anything.
Children's teeth change fast. Baby teeth arrive, loosen and come out, adult teeth push through behind them, and the jaw grows around all of it. Most of a check-up is keeping an eye on that. The rest is spotting anything going wrong early, while it is still small.
We usually suggest a check-up every six months for children. Your dentist may suggest a different gap after seeing them, based on their own teeth.
If something does need treatment, your dentist assesses it first and explains it to you and to your child, in words they can follow. Children cope far better with a filling they understand than one that arrives as a surprise.
At a child's check-up
- The teeth that have come through, and whether any are starting to decay
- How the adult teeth are coming in behind the baby ones
- The gums, and whether brushing is reaching everywhere
- How they bite together as the jaw grows
- Brushing, and what is being drunk between meals
If they are anxious
Three things that help before you come
Most of how a child feels about the dentist is decided before they get through the door, and a lot of it comes from how it was described to them at home.
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Talk about it as something ordinary
A ride in a chair that goes up and down, and someone counting their teeth. Try not to promise that it will not hurt, because that plants the idea that it might.
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Keep rewards small
A big reward tells them this is something to be endured, and you will be expected to repeat it at every visit. Make it about the trip out with you instead.
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Let them do the talking
Encourage them to tell us how they brush and what they are good at. A child who is talking has usually stopped worrying.
Tell us when you book. If your child is frightened, has had a difficult appointment elsewhere, or has additional needs, mention it on the phone. It changes how much time we book for the appointment, and how we handle the visit.
Common questions
Questions parents ask
The things people ring up about before they book.
When should my child first see a dentist?
As soon as their first teeth appear. That sounds early, and it is meant to. Nothing usually needs doing at that age, so their first visits are about getting to know us.
My child is frightened. What can you do?
Quite a lot. We book a longer appointment, work at their pace, and let them look at anything we are going to use before we use it. The second visit often goes very differently to the first.
My child has knocked a tooth out. What do I do?
Ring us straight away, and ring 111 if we are closed. First, work out which tooth it is. If it is a baby tooth, do not try to put it back, because that can damage the adult tooth forming above it. Just bring your child in. If it is an adult tooth, pick it up by the white crown and not the root. Rinse it in milk or saliva if it is dirty, then put it back into the socket and have them bite on a clean cloth to hold it there.
If it will not go back in, do not let it dry out. Keep it in milk and come straight in. The sooner it is back in, the better its chances.
Book your child in
Request an appointment or give us a ring, and let us know how old your child is. If they are in pain, ring rather than send the form, so we can see them as soon as possible.