When should I first bring my child to the dentist?

Children can begin coming to the dental office as early as 18 months of age with their parents during their regular visits. This allows the child to become familiarized with the dental environment and become accustomed to the different sites and people in the office. Children are invited to sit in the dental operatory with one parent as the other parent has their preventive appointment with our hygienist. This allows the child to see mom or dad get into the dental chair, lye back in the dental chair, have their scaling and polishing done along with their fluoride treatment and discuss their oral health with our dental team. This experience of regular visits and seeing what is happening in the office is valuable when it comes time to see the child for their first visit. Often times we will attempt to take a look in your child’s mouth between the age of 2 and 3. We should begin an initial examination appointment at the age 3 at the latest.

This appointment will allow us to:

• Complete an initial examination of the teeth, gums and soft tissues of your child’s mouth
• Initial professional cleaning of a polishing
• Discuss at home brushing techniques, use of a non-fluoridated vs. fluoridate toothpaste for your child and flossing your child’s teeth
• Discuss different foods that can cause cavities
• Discuss baby bottle decay

What is Baby Bottle Decay and how to prevent it:

Baby bottle decay is cavities occurring in your child’s mouth as a result of long periods of exposure of the teeth to sugary liquids. This is usually milk but it can often be juice, soft drinks or other beverages as well. Children should not be going to sleep at any age with any of the above mentioned liquids in their mouth in a baby bottle. This long-term (4-10 hours) exposure of the teeth to sugar causes significant decay of the teeth very quickly, often most noted on the upper front teeth and secondarily on the back teeth in both the upper and the lower arches. In order to prevent baby bottle decay, a child should not be allowed to fall asleep with any sugary liquids in their mouth. Baby bottles should be removed or have only water in them.