The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry say that a child’s first dental visit should happen within six months after the your baby’s first tooth appears, but no later than your child’s first birthday. At this stage, prevention is key. Our goal is to educate both the child and parents on oral health care in order to prevent future problems that may cause your child pain or cost you money.
You will be asked to complete medical and health information forms concerning your child and provide us with any dental insurance information. Please come prepared with the necessary information. Our forms are available on our website if you wish to complete these ahead of time.
At this first visit, we will have you hold your child during the exam while we check all of your their existing teeth for decay, and look for any potential problems with the gums or jaw. If necessary, we will clean their teeth and assess the need for fluoride. The first dental visit is usually short and involves very little treatment. This gives your child the opportunity to meet our dentist in a non-threatening and friendly way. Our dentists will discuss oral health care basics for children, along with any other concerns which may include cavity prevention and proper nutrition, dental developmental issues, fluoride needs, thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, lip sucking and teething. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have.
We encourage you to bring your child to our office every 6 months for a check-up. This builds your child’s comfort with visiting our office and allows us to monitor the health and development of your child’s teeth. Once your child turns 3 years old, they have built up the confidence to allow our dental assistant to do a full dental cleaning and allow our dentist to do an exam while they sit in their very own chair.
All five of our dentists have pediatric specialty training, and our dental staff work exclusively with children. We truly are experts when it comes to your child’s dental health and we take pride in making dental visits a positive experience for children.
-Scott Weyers, DDS