Dentist yet!?

Question

When should we be taking out LOs to the dentist? My daughter is behind on her teeth coming in. She has 3 on top and 2 on bottom. Another on top is coming soon.

Answer

Yep! We took our first at 6mos. She just sat on my lap and played with instruments and a toothbrush. Then we got a prize and left. Then we came back at a year and they looked at her teeth and counted them and got a prize and left. Then at 1.5yrs kinda the same. Brushed them and got a prize and left. At 2yrs old she sat still for a full cleaning and flossing since she had so many “good” experiences before then! And she had fun! She loved her prizes. She’s 3.5 now and we go back every 6 months just like adults do. We do the same with this guy. Just go for fun and brush and count teeth and get a prize. Hopefully he will let us do a full cleaning and flossing at 2 with instruments and all like big sister did!

Answer

I worked for a pediatric dentist for almost 12 years and we followed the AAPD guidelines which recommend a first dental visit at age 1. It’s more educational for the parents and you become an established patient in case you have a true dental emergency because let’s face it. Kids hit their teeth ALL the time. Mine has busted her top lip two or three times. Luckily we haven’t hit the teeth. We took my daughter for her first dental visit at 16 months. They will do a “lap cleaning” which includes an exam/checking all their teeth for cavities. We saw “bottle rot” decay ALL the time on 1 yr old’s. They will brush on fluoride and go over their diet, Oral Hygiene habits, Etc....

Answer

We did two at our dentists suggestion. We take him to our normal one not a ped one. I will say 2.5 was a disaster (the second appt) and we bailed, mainly because 2.5 in general was height of Covid and he became even more shy and the age of 2.5 in general was a mess 🤣. He went at two and three with no problems. My dentist said it’s basically to continuously add things to build them up to x-rays by four or five. They brush and do the floss picker if kid will let them, count teeth, ask about teeth brushing, etc. it’s covered by our insurance and I think dental hygiene in general is important so I take him but it’s certainly not something that if they don’t go till three or four you’ve ruined them by annnny stretch!

Answer

My son went at 15 months. He sat pretty good on my lap for the most part.

Answer

My LO already went a few months ago because he smashed his teeth and knocked a couple loose. While we were there they had us schedule his first cleaning for around his second birthday. 
He did not do well at all while at the dentist. He screamed and cried and refused to open his mouth. I had to hold him down so the dentist could check his teeth. I'm very worried about his first cleaning now since his first experience was traumatic.

Answer

Yes I worked at a community health center and it’s recommended at one. They put varnish on the teeth to help protect them. Also as others said it’s also a happy visit so they don’t start to have negative associations with the dentist. My boss (who is a dentist) had to do fillings on a 14th month old because of bottle rot. That was enough for me! And if your city doesn’t have fluoride in the water you will need a script for that. Good luck! My girl was totally fine and was excited to just wave and say hi to everyone. Plus it gives you piece of mind. :)

Answer

We actually went when our daughter was 9 months old because she had dark spots on her teeth that I thought were bottle rot. Thank god they were just marks from the fluoride we were using so we stopped using it and they went away. She did great at the appointment! I took her again in January for a check up and she was fine again. We are supposed to go back in July, but I’m due with baby #2 in July so we will probably be going back in the fall at some point.

Answer

I used to work at a dentist office and asked when to take my daughter when I worked there. They told me just whenever I think she’ll be able to sit still for the appointment. They said the typical age range is like 2-3 for first appointment.

Dentist yet!?

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