I am so excited I get to review this app! Early this year, we have tried to gently introduce our 3 years old boy to the idea of visiting a dentist while I went for my long overdue check-up. The visit does not work very well for my boy as he was afraid and not feeling happy with the new environment and strangers asking him to lie on the chair and open his mouth.
We did try again when my SIL brought her kids to their annual dental check-ups and asked us to bring our boy along so he can see how other children behave and enjoys having their teeth checked and cleaned by a dentist. This round, our boy is more at ease, probably because his cousins are so happy and excited and showed no signs of fear but my boy is still keeping his guard up but still, it is a step closer. So I hope this app will help to build up his confidence! Anyway, my review as below...
* Title: Luca Lashes and His First Trip to the Dentist
* Price: $1.99
* Category: Books
* Released: Mar 24, 2012
* Version: 1.0
* Size: 76.6 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Luca Lashes LLC Apps
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later
Description from the product page:
"Prepare your child for their first trip to the dentist with Luca Lashes! Read and interact with this story about one of the many “first” experiences children have. This is an interactive, educational and multilingual, audio app series available in English, French, Italian, and Spanish.
This app continues the Luca Lashes series, and helps your child experience their first dentist visit through the eyes of Luca Lashes, the Brown-Eyed Boy with Magic Eyelashes. Children can experience the sights and sounds of a dentist office through interactivity (touch, sight, and sound), and parents are given a list of supportive information to assist with this interesting first experience all children go through. The Luca Lashes series is intended for children in the 0-4 year range. "
What's good?
* It is engaging and interactive and I love that we can also touch the page on the screen and the page sways according to your direction you sways it!
* I like the storyline where it tells how Luca experienced his first dentist visit and discover what was it like to be in a dentist office. I also informed my boy as we go through this book that mummy and daddy will be with him, that he does not need to worry at all and I also informed him what to expect in the dentist visit.
* The illustration is beautiful and I like that the pages shows how an ordinary dentist office looks like and the cool gadgets (the goggles and bibs!) and what the dentist did after the check up.
Other Things to Note
* I understand it is the character's 'power' to gain confidence and be brave by blinking his eyelashes twice but for me, I decided not to stress on this to my boy (compared to other pages, I will normally repeat and explain again to my boy) as I don't want him to be blinking at things. Maybe it's just my weird preferance but other than this, I think this book is a great start if you want to introduce the idea of having their hair cut in a salon to your little ones.
* Another thing I noted is the Suggestions for Parents page at the end point number 6 which mentioned "If your infant/toddler drinks bottled water or well water, pediatric dentists suggest that water should have fluoride in it for optimal dental health." I read in an article that "parents should avoid giving babies fluoridated water as babies exposed to fluoride are at high risk of developing dental fluorosis - a permanent tooth defect caused by fluoride damaging the cells which form the teeth." so I am a little concerned here at both statements.
You can purchase the "Luca Lashes and His First Trip to the Dentist " app from the iTunes App Store.
I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"
