What to expect at the first dental visit
The American Association of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that an infant by seen by a dentist by the age of 1 or within 6 months of the first tooth coming in.
The first dental visit is usually very short and mainly gives us a chance to meet your family and your child and get to know you. We answer any questions you may have about your child's teeth and approach your child in a kid-friendly manner. Usually we ask that you hold your child on your lap in what we call a knee to knee position so that he or she feels as close to you and as safe as possible. This is also the perfect opportunity to give brief but thorough oral hygiene instructions while we examine all the teeth, looking for any potential problems with the gums, jaw and other oral tissues. If indicated, we will clean the teeth and determine if a fluoride application is needed.
Topics we may discuss with you might include:
- Oral hygiene instructions
- How to prevent cavities
- Toothpaste, mouth rinse, and flossing needs
- Oral Habits such as finger sucking or pacifiers
- Developmental milestones or orthodontic considerations
- Diet counseling and analysis
A parent or legal guardian must accompany the child to the first dental visits and for all examination visits every six months. It is important because medical and health information needs to be gathered, as well as discussions about your child's oral health status. Your child's teeth are important and it may be difficult to convey the message or do demonstrations over the phone or with an email. We also need to obtain legal consent from a parent before starting any treatment.
At the end of the visit, we will schedule the following visits, whether treatment or another six month checkup is needed.
Check out our FAQ section for more question and answer pages that address commonly asked question in the dental office.