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Visiting the Dentist Social Story

First-person social story that walks a child through a dentist visit step by step, from the waiting room and exam chair to x-rays and cleaning, with calming strategies along the way.
Grades
Not Grade Specific
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Oct 26, 2026

Subject
Special Resources, Life Skills
Topic
social story, dentist social story
Preparation
Print ready

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Social stories use a patient and reassuring tone to teach children about social situations in a way that can be easily understood. Social stories are particularly useful for children on the autistic spectrum for whom social cues can be challenging and who often suffer anxiety if they do not know what to expect from a situation however social stories can also be useful for any child who is struggling to understand a situation or concept or needs help to understand a social skill or social cue, expectations, perspectives, common responses or is troubled about an upcoming event.

This social story is to help children to know what to expect at a visit to the dentist to ease any anxiety prior to their visit.

These books should be used over and over to reinforce the point so I would suggest either putting the pages into a display book or laminating and binding them.

Clipart images courtesy of Kari Bolt.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Describe what happens at each stage of a dentist visit
  • Name a coping strategy to use when a step feels uncomfortable

Teaching tips

  • The coping strategies could be practiced aloud as each one comes up in the story, such as pausing for deep breaths.

Skills covered

  • Self-regulation — rehearsing deep breathing, covering ears and closing eyes at the moments the story suggests them

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • Dentist visit
  • X-rays
  • Teeth cleaning
  • Deep breathing
  • Coping strategies

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