Child’s First Dental Visit and What to Expect During It
YOUR CHILD’S BABY TEETH are just as important as their permanent teeth. Kids may not keep their first teeth forever, but they require just as much diligent care as future permanent teeth. In fact, maintaining your child’s dental health when they are young will provide health benefits well into adulthood as well as set them on the right track of good oral health habits!
We asked Dr. Allison Vitelli-Rodriguez, DMD, when should the child’s first dental visit be and what to expect during it.
Dr. Vitelli: We are always being asked, when is the appropriate age to start bringing children for their first dental appointment? Answer: as soon as your child starts getting teeth. It is important to always to have in mind that the first dental visit for a young child will be something new and different, meaning that is completely natural for them to be apprehensive to the idea of visiting a dental office. But, at this age we perform a cleaning using a toothbrush. This is more comfortable for them mainly because they are familiar with it and it is softer for their teeth and gums.
The main areas of discussion during first dental visits are oral hygiene appropriate for the age of the child, cavity formation, oral habits, such as thumb sucking and/or pacifier, dental trauma and diet, among other areas of concern to the parents. Since sometimes brushing is not the favorite task at home, we provide tips on how to hold your child during brushing. And more often than not, your child will want to brush first and then parents can check after them. This is also a good way to encourage self-motivation to our littlest members of the family.
Thank you for continuing to be a part of our practice family!
Image by Flickr user Frédéric de Villamil used underCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
Comments are closed.