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10'

FAMILY

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A nervousLiatJoshiputoff takinghersontothedentist,butonetripto a newLondonsurgerychangedeverything

Atrip to a dull waiting room,followedby a dull andclinical treatment room,where a (possiblydull andclinical) dentist pokes around

in your mouth isn't much fun for theaverage small child And if you'rea parent who doesn't find visiting thedentist terribly appealing yourself, it canbe hard to muster the enthusiasm to talkthem into it and avoid transferring your

-ewnapprehension to your offspring.I'm embarrassed to admit it but for

these reasons my son, Luca,reached theage of four never having set foot ina dentist's clinic and never having heardthose anxiety-inducing words "openwide". I know full well he should havebeen before then - dentists recommenda first visit by around age one butI confess I'd been putting it off.

With the push of a slight yellowytingeappearing on his not so pearly whitesand a nocturnal teeth grinding habit, itcould wait no more. The pull: SwissSmile, one of a new breed of dedicatedchildren's dentists, designed to makethe experience not merely bearable but(almost) enjoyable - not only for thechildren but the parents too, given thepromise of champagne on arrival formothers or fathers.

Paediatric dentists are fairlycommonplace in the United States andother parts of Europe (Berlin's"Kidsdocs" dentists is a perfect example- entirely airport-themed, with airlineseating in the waiting room anda baggage carousel where little patientspick up their post-treatment treat- www.kidsdocs.info).but areonly just appearing over here.

The first check-up at SwissSmile Kids is free (after thatit's £60 a visit) so choosingbetween our dreary local NHSdentist, or the glass-fronted,boutique hotel-esqueplushness of Swiss Smile'sMayfairpremises wasn'ttaxing. There are grand,bright-coloured chandeliers,contemporary leather chairsand richly-painted walls.There are even fluffywhitetowels for drying hands inthe lavatories.

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Tooth fairy: Uat.JoshI takes her son Luca for his first visit to Dr MIchaeIAtar, one of a new breed of chIId-frlendlydentist

We're ushered into a waiting roomwith a capacious LCDtelevision setinside a Rococo frame and find a coupleof (grown-up) patients relaxing on thepony skin-covered sofa, browsing glossymagazines as if they're here for spatreatments rather than a root canal job.

The receptiorust soon collects us andtakes us downstairs to an immaculateplayroom - wooden train set here, doll'shouse there, piles of shiny new

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children's books, neatly-stacked potsof crayons in every colour. Whywe didn'tcome here initially I don't know.

Luca gets stuck in with the trains butrm dreading having to drag him away tothe serious business of teeth checkingand prodding. Then DrAtar,SwissSmile's paediatric dentist, qualified withan impressive list of academic honoursand his status as a father of four, greetsus with a reassuring smile, takes us to

his "magic chair" in the1 treatment room and, instead of

saying "open wide" asks Luca to-1 roar like a dinosaur so the

check-up can start. Hisapproach is one part dentist,one part children's entertainer-as well as the "magic chair",there's "the wind" (that blowything dentists dry your teethwith during an examination)and "the sun" (the light heshines in Luca's mouth to see).Luca is handed a pair of cool(well,cool if you're four)Batman sunglasses -

~ ostensibly to stop the glare of"the sun" but more likelya

distraction prop. It works and he'sgiggling away at Dr Atar and his trick

A quick count and check through Iteeth and we learn there's no decay (yet.We get a gentle talking to about tneed for thorough brushing, reassur.about the grinding andrecommendations from DrAtar abOldrinks (no juice apart from atmealtimes; applejuice is a sugary e\

Afterwards, Dr Atar's words retaininfluence as magical as his chair. Nolonger does Luca try and wangle outmorning brushing and he accepts tbnew juice rules without questionbecause "Dr Atarsaid it".

I wouldn't go as far as claiming Ltis begging to return but he seemed jenjoy the appointment rather thanmerely tolerate it, or worse. DrAtar'imaginative dental chair-side mannwas certainly reassuring for us bothabout building trust. I alwaysexplaieverything so there are no surprise!for the parents or the child," he say!"Sometimes the parents are more 11about the dentist than the kids."