With luck, Tiny Dentist on iOS will cure your kids' fear of the dentist

At first glance, Tiny Dentist seems like the perfect little simulation tool, as you turn your iPhone into a virtual dentist's office and work on patients' teeth. The game is currently the #5 most popular app on the free App Store, but only children will be able to really get any enjoyment out of the experience.

If you're looking to just dive into the game headfirst, you'll find the experience totally lacking an in-game tutorial, penalty system, or many other features that make a game "a game." You're simply presented with your first patient, who may have cavities, food or tartar stuck to their teeth, bad breath and so on, and are left to figure out what each of the many in-game tools actually does. Thankfully, you don't have to go into the experience completely alone, as an in-game manual is available from the main menu under the "Grown Ups" button.

This manual explains the app's true purpose: to teach children the ins and outs of simple dentistry so that they're no longer afraid to visit the dentist in the real world. This manual also explains the basic principles of each tool and their use.

If a patient comes with cavities, you'll need to drill the bacteria out and the place a filling in the hole. If a patient has tartar, you'll need to scrap that off with the appropriate tool. If they have bad breath, you'll spray their mouths with mouth wash. Yellow teeth can be bleached, and crooked teeth can even be straightened via braces that are applied one tooth at a time.

Tiny Dentist has adorable graphics, so the game never becomes graphic, but it also doesn't come with much incentive to keep going. Aimed at children ages 3-9, the game's target audience will likely have a ton of fun with the game, but any adults probably won't.

Download Tiny Dentist on iOS for free >

Have you or the children in your life tried Tiny Dentist? What do you think of this dentist simulator? Sound off in the comments!