Advice for Pediatric Dentist for 1-Year Old

Dr. Candice Wakefield is amazing. She's in north county, but she's great with kids. I waited until Mordecai was 3, having been told the same thing, and she gently explained that the dead tooth he had from a bump (that his pediatrician said was fine, no need to take him to a dentist) had started to rot and the rot was spreading to the teeth next to it. If I had known, my three year old would have only had one tooth pulled when the accident happened, instead of two teeth a year and a half later! I wanted to take him to a dentist, but the pediatrician dissuaded me, and now I wish I would have followed my mommy instinct. Remember-- YOU know your kid best!
And Mordecai still loves Dr. Wakefield, even though she pulled his teeth.

TAKE HIM! We followed the "wait until 3" advice with our oldest, and ended up having to coordinate an anesthesiologist at a hospital for 7 crowns and a major filling. Basically all her molars were bad by 3! We thought we had done everything right. We brushed her teeth once they erupted. She never went to bed with a bottle. She doesn't drink soda. It was quite a shock.

So with our second, we are a bit more over cautious. I think I took him in at 18 months. The dentist gets his fingers bitten, but can at least see if the teeth are looking good. They didn't really try to get in there and clean them at that age, but it eased my mind...and our budget. An office visit is much cheaper than 7 crowns!

And our dentist said that our son should use the kids flouride toothpaste, not the training toothpaste, from age 2. He can't spit it out, but the dentist said a pea size of flouride swallowed wouldn't hurt him.

I worried about the same thing so I talked to my dentist. She said the reason 1 year is recommended is so that they can explain to parents the importance of caring for their child's teeth. She said that because I've asked my pediatrician and her about it that I am already aware of the problems that can plague their baby teeth and I don't need to have a special appointment with her. I brush his teeth after every bottle and meal. I don't use any toothpaste yet as he is under 1 year.

I actually waited, not entirely by choice, until my daughter was 4. I tried to get her into the dentist sooner than that but due to insurance changes and then the soonest appointment was four months out. Dentist said her teeth looked great! Everything had come in fine, there was good spacing, no cavities. I was not told that it was too late or anything.

I was also told 3 was soon enough by her pediatrician, UNLESS I had any specific concerns. Like if there was an injury to the mouth or I noticed something not coming through right.

She brushed with the training kind until she was about 3 1/2, because I was worried about the flouride. She wouldn't spit it out. I had asked my dentist about it and he said that as long as she has teeth in her mouth she needs to use a flouride toothpaste and not to worry about her swallowing it. I switched her onto mine, but she wouldn't brush herself anymore and fought me in brushing her teeth. I found some some Colgate Kids with flouride and this is going much better. She also doesn't swallow it anymore either. She was really good about her flouride treatment and proud to show the dentist her teeth.

Our dentist is John Gentles. He is way out in North County near the New Halls Ferry and Lindbergh/67 intersection.

We take our kids to Pediatric Dentistry of Sunset Hills. It's right at Watson and Lindbergh, across from the Old Navy. It's in an office building; 3555 Sunset Office Dr., Suite 210, ###-###-####. There are several wonderful dentists in the office; we see Dr. Mark Fernandez and love him. I started my kids at two years old, and at that point all they did was count the teeth and look at them. I would call the office and see what they recommend. My kids have always looked forward to going to see the dentist, so they much be doing something right!

we use the pediatric dentists dr. levitt and dr. applebaum. they are on old ballas in creve coeur, so they are a little ways from kirkwood, but very good and good with children. (I drive from Clayton to get there). I started taking my son there at about 1 or 1.5 years old, as he also had a lot of teeth early. they were recommended by my dentist, Doxey Sheldon.

Mark Hesker DDS, PC, located in Creve Coeur, about 1/4 mile from St John's Mercy Hospital, is a licensed pediatric dentist, and is awesome.
Address is 450 North New Ballas Road SUite 200, SOuth Wing, PHone number is ###-###-####.