At what age should a child see the dentist for the FIRST time?
I think my pediatricians (one from before I moved and one after!) both told me 2 years unless there is a problem.
We drive all the way to OKC and see Dr. Jason Lee, he has 2 offices, one on N. Portland and one in Midwest City. He is a Pediatric Dentist and I will SHOUT out loud to you that little kids really need to see a Pediatric Dentist. I don't care what anyone else says, they are professionally trained to treat small children. They spend hours and hours and hours learning about baby teeth, growth problems, mouth diseases. They are best. I say call your insurance company and get the list of providers and call each one, find the best fit for your family and make an appointment. Don't be surprised if you have to wait because they stay very busy. Dr. Lee plays with the kids and teaches them how to floss, how to brush, how to take care of their mouthes. He is awesome and I won't take the kids anywhere else, EVER, until they tell me Sooner Care won't pay for them to see him anymore because they are too old.
K didn't see him until she fell and broke a tooth off. He put her to sleep, (he practices at Baptist, Childrens, and Midwest City Hospitals) and did all her dental work in one swoop. We took J at 2 years and he loved it. When he hears we are going to see Dr. Lee he gets all excited and keeps asking how long. He sits still in the chair through cleaning and polishing and never moves a muscle except to laugh and grin.
I cannot tell you how important I believe Pediatric Dentists are to young children.
My best friend decided she didn't want to go to OKC so she took her daughter to a regular dentist, he found a cavity, he numbed her, drilled and fixed the tooth. The filling fell out 3 times and he finally decided it was just a bad tooth and pulled it out. She was just 3. That's 3 times in the chair for fillings, and one extra time for pulling it. He's a good dentist too. A lot of people won't go to anyone else. He just isn't trained for baby teeth.
As a dental hygienist, I would say around age 3 would be a good time to start, unless you have problems before that. Some pediatric dentists will say to come in as soon as your child gets her first tooth, so it's really up to you. At that point, the visit would be more to educate you on the care of your child's teeth. If you wait, you want to be sure that you brush your child's teeth morning and night, and avoid sugary drinks. Dilute your child's juice 50/50 with water, which will help the sugar concentration. Keep in mind that the first visit may not go well at all. Ask the dentist if you can bring your child in for a trial run, or "happy visit" as we called them. That way it hopefully won't be too overwhelming. The ultimate goal is for your child to have a positive experience, which will in turn encourage her to come back for check ups as well as problems as she gets older.
We went between 2 and 3. My father-in is a dentist. That was his recommedation.
I was told when they get their first tooth. This was 6 months for two of my children, and 4 months for another. Then by the time they are 2, they really get the hang of it because they are used to going every 6 months.
My pediatrician said 2 so I have been taking both my boys since they were 2. Find a pediatric dentist.
Usually around age 3. My son will be 4 in March and has been 2 times for a cleaning.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends taking a child by their first birthday.
Find a pediatric dentist you would like to take your daughter to and ask them what age they start at. Some say wait until at least 4yrs, but ours saw my daughter at 3yrs just because she jumped up in the chair at the end of my visit and said "my turn".
J.
H.,
Hello. I always heard you want to take your child to the dentist around age 2, so I'd say make an appt soon. And I would recommend finding a pediatric dentist that's very kid friendly. Hope that helps.
~ J.
We use a pediatric dentist, Ryan Brackett, in Yukon. He recommended to start at 3 years old so they are used to visiting the dentist without any procedures, so to speak. We have been once more for my son to see the dentist and for his teeth to be examined. We go back later this month for his next check up.
