Introduce Your One Year Old to the Dentist
Parents often ask me this question, “When should my child start seeing a dentist?”
The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, recommend that you start bringing your child to a dentist when his or her first tooth begins to push through, which is typically no later than between the ages one and two.
I recommend you introduce your child to a dentist after
his or her first birthday. Here’s why.
Get Your Child
Acquainted with a Dentist’s Office
One year of age is a great time to begin to familiarize
your child with a dentist office. Let them see the office, explore, and meet
the staff. This will get them comfortable with the dentist office environment
and prepare them for routine visits throughout
their lives.
I see a lot of patients who say they fear the dentist.
These people usually have one thing in common – they were never brought to the
dentist as a young child so they could get to know the dentist and staff.
Familiarity in the early stage of life helps prevent these fears from
developing in the first place.
New Parents Have
Many Questions
If you are a rookie parent or even a veteran parent, it's natural to have questions. Children do not come with instructions on how to care
for them. Fortunately, there are many people to help you along the way and a
dentist is one of them. For example, what if your child falls and injures his or her mouth, what should you look for? Most dentists are
more than happy to sit down with you and answer these questions,
discuss how best to care for your child’s teeth and provide you information so
you can plan and know what to expect when it comes to your child’s dental care
future.
Your Child’s
Lifestyle
Your child’s lifestyle will have a lot to do with his or
her dental care. Do you live in a city or do you live in the country? If you
and your child live inside a city or town, then fluoride is most likely being
added to your drinking water supply. However, if you and your child live in the
country and the drinking water in your home comes from a well, then fluoride is
not being added.
Proper amounts of fluoride are important for your child
to help prevent tooth decay by making teeth resistant to acid attacks from
plaque bacteria and sugars in the mouth. Fluoride may also reverse early decay.
Early Dental Care
Tips
Age one is a good time to discuss early dental care tips
such as using a wet rag to clean your child’s teeth prior to using a toothbrush or
when the time comes to use a toothbrush for the first time, what type of
toothbrush and toothpaste should you buy? How much toothpaste should you use
and what method should you use to brush your child’s teeth?
While there is usually not a lot of time that needs to be
spent on examining the teeth of a one year-old, as you can see from the reasons
outlined above, this is a great time to start bringing them to the dentist. It
will help you as a parent and it will help your child.
If you have additional questions or would like to
schedule an appointment, please contact me by calling 330-733-7911
, or send me
a private message via our website. Here’s the direct link to our website
contact form: Contact Us
