Help your child prepare for a Health First Colorado dental visit

Confirm the child's program before applying a benefit rule

For standard Health First Colorado members through age 20, the current child summary describes no annual dental dollar maximum. EPSDT can support medically necessary care and a provider request beyond listed frequency limits. A specific service may still require documentation or prior authorization.

Do not apply that rule automatically to Cover All Coloradans or CHP+. Beginning July 1, 2026, enrolled Cover All Coloradans children ages 0–18 have a $1,100 annual dental limit and orthodontics is not covered under CAC. CHP+ is a separate program with its own benefit materials.

Use simple, honest language before the appointment

Tell a young child that the dental team will count and look at teeth, use a small mirror, and help keep the mouth healthy. Avoid promising that nothing will feel uncomfortable or using frightening details. Older children and teens can receive more information and help build their own question list.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises explaining the purpose of an appointment in understandable words, validating feelings, and inviting questions. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry describes behavior guidance as individualized communication and trust-building, not punishment or shame.

• Read a neutral picture book or look at non-frightening images of a dental visit.
• Practice opening the mouth and letting a trusted adult count teeth with clean hands.
• Let the child choose a comfort item that the office allows.
• Do not use a dental visit as a threat or reward for behavior.
• Tell the office about a previous difficult visit so it can plan rather than be surprised.

Information the office should receive in advance

• The child's preferred name, communication method, developmental level, and words that help or upset them.
• Sensory sensitivities to light, sound, touch, taste, waiting rooms, or reclining.
• Medical conditions, allergies, medicines, recent hospital care, pregnancy when applicable, and involved specialists.
• Mobility, transfer, positioning, interpreter, visual, hearing, or support-person needs.
• Past dental experiences, known X-ray difficulty, and strategies that have worked in other care settings.
• Who can legally consent and which other caregivers may receive information or bring the child.

Plan the day around the child's needs

1. 1

   Choose a workable time

   When possible, avoid a usual nap, school test, rushed transfer, or time when the child is consistently overwhelmed.

2. 2

   Follow the office's eating instructions

   Routine visits and visits involving sedation can have very different instructions. Never impose fasting unless the treating team specifically directs it.

3. 3

   Bring the essentials

   Bring member information, medicine and allergy list, requested records, legal-consent documents, comfort items, and a concise care summary.

4. 4

   Agree on communication

   Ask the team how it will explain steps, offer breaks, assess pain, and include the child in decisions at an appropriate level.

5. 5

   Leave with written next steps

   Ask what was completed, what remains, home instructions, warning signs, coverage checks, and the next appointment.

Behavior support is broader than sedation

Dental teams may use communication, tell-show-do, positive reinforcement, distraction, desensitization, sensory adaptations, and other individualized approaches. AAPD guidance says choices should consider medical and dental history, temperament, pain, treatment urgency, prior experiences, informed consent, and alternatives.

Sedation and general anesthesia are separate clinical decisions with risks, benefits, facility requirements, and benefit rules. Never assume they are required because a child is anxious or covered because another service is covered. Ask who recommends it, why, who will administer and monitor it, what alternatives exist, what authorization is needed, and which location will provide care.