Going to the dentist can be stressful for a child. Choosing the right dentist and the right time are two important parts of your child’s dental care. The sooner your child learns just how to take care of their teeth, the better their dental health will be in the years to come.
It’s recommended that you first bring your child to the dentist between two and three years old. Your child should visit the dentist by the time they are three years old because that’s when their primary teeth will have come in.
Your Child’s First Dentist Visit
The first visit will primarily consist of making introductions between our team and your child. We want to make sure your child is comfortable with new faces and our dental tools. Of course, we’ll also complete a quick checkup to make sure the teeth are progressing healthily. Our dentists want your child’s first appointment to be a fun one! We supply your child with small, positive experiences such as counting their teeth, giving them a “ride” in the chair, and providing them with a prize at the end for being such a good patient.
After that initial appointment, we’ll begin to see your child every six months for checkups. This is also a time to teach your child how to properly brush teeth and take care of their dental health.
Benefits of Taking Your Child to the Dentist Early
Taking your child to the dentist as soon as their teeth begin to come in holds a multitude of benefits that will help protect their teeth.
Promote Healthy Habits
The earlier, the better to start bringing your child for their regular dentist visits. From a young age, they will begin to develop good teeth care habits, understand how to take care of their teeth, and even how to notice when something’s wrong with their teeth. This promotes healthy habits that they’ll continue throughout their life.
Establish Trust
Not only will your child begin to feel comfortable brushing their teeth and maintaining their dental health, they’ll also get comfortable with our dentists and our team. They’ll begin having positive associations with the dentist that will help later on when they’ll have to schedule their own appointments.
Reduce Risks
Going to the dentist by the time they are three years old also greatly reduces your child’s risk of plaque buildup and cavities. Preventing cavities and other dental problems saves you money, lessens the number of dental procedures your child must go through, and promotes healthy growth in your child’s teeth.
The Importance of Taking Care of Baby Teeth
You might wonder why it’s so important to take care of baby teeth if these teeth are only temporary. Baby teeth are incredibly important to the healthy growth of permanent teeth. We want your child’s baby teeth to be lost naturally when they come loose from permanent teeth pushing into place.
You can immediately see the benefit of properly maintained baby teeth by the way your child chews, speaks, and smiles. Baby teeth serve as a placeholder in the jaw for your child’s permanent teeth. Long term, if the baby teeth are lost because of cavities or other dental issues, permanent teeth can move out of place to a new space created by the loss of a tooth. This results in crooked and crowded teeth. While your child will grow and change, their teeth will stick with them all of their life. It’s important to care for them because teeth need to last a lifetime.
Family Dentistry Services with Park Avenue Dental
If you are hesitant to bring your child to the dentist, don’t be! Our team wants you and your family to be comfortable every single visit. If you’d like, you can bring your child along to your next dental checkup so they can see just how easy it is. You and your family’s dental health is our priority. We have a range of children’s dental services including:
- Regular dental exams and cleanings
- Habit counseling for children
- Early assessment for straight teeth and a proper bite
- Cavity repairs
- Dental injuries
