If you have a young child who tends to be a bit of a handful when you take them to dental appointments, you want to make sure you take the necessary steps to make the trip smoother. They may need to sit still in a chair for a fairly lengthily amount of time, and this may be a real challenge for them. However, there are some things you can do to help keep them calm and settled at their appointment; take a look:

Set the appointment at the right time of the day

The very first thing you need to do to help your child's dental appointment go how you want it to is to be sure you set the appointment for the right time. Observe your child throughout the day for a few days and make a note of the time of day when they tend to be the most settled. You don't want to choose a time that interferes with a nap, but a time where you see they are happy to sit down and watch TV, read a book, or color quietly. Set the appointment for this time of the day.

Have a serious discussion with your child 

The day of the dental appointment, you want to explain to your child that you need them to sit still and be on their best behavior. Let them know you expect this out of them and there will be repercussions if they misbehave. However, you may also want to offer them a reward for doing well. Get them focused more on the reward than the possibility of punishment, positivity can be much more effective than negativity with small children. In fact, psychologytoday.com related a study from Dutch neuroscientists that showed that rewarding good behavior was a better way to handle difficult children than doling out punishments. Before you take 

Practice the knee-to-knee exam

If your child is very young, you may want to not only explain to them how the family dentist will clean their teeth, you may want to do a make-believe exam with them. Many dentists do the "knee-to-knee" exam, where the child will sit on a parents lap and the dentist will cradle the child's head. Show your child how their teeth will be examined and brushed in this position so that they are less fidgety and apprehensive when they have to do it at their appointment.

Bring a quiet game that keeps their attention

If your child has a quiet game that they can play for long periods, let them bring it to the dentist's office with them. If their favorite games tend to be loud, you may want to take them out and buy them a new game right before the appointment. A new toy will be exciting to them and should do a great job of keeping them interested for most of the appointment, if not all of it.

It may also help to let the staff know not to call your child back to the examination room until the dentist is just about ready to see them. This way, they won't have to sit in the room for very long which may agitate them. The advice above will make your child's dental appointment go much more smoothly.