When Should My Child Have His First Dental Visit?

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

19 Mar 2009 09:19 AM

Yesterday I spent the morning at the park with my youngest kids, another mom and her child. As I was trying to navigate pushing two swings on opposite sides of the swing set and avoid getting hit by all of the swings in the middle, my mom friend asked me a good question. "Do you think he is too young to see a dentist?"

Her child was three-years old and hadn't yet been to the dentist. There was an issue with his teeth that she was concerned about, but she wasn't sure if he was too young to be seen by a dentist.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a first visit by the age of one. Seeing a child this early can catch any issues such as baby bottle tooth decay, gum disease and issues resulting from thumb sucking, finger sucking or pacifier use.

Our own family dentist doesn't recommend a visit before three-years of age unless there is a problem or concern. This is because most young children under the age of three won't comply with the visit, and forcing a child to open his mouth can cause a prolonged fear of the dentist. We made sure that our pediatrician performed a mouth and tooth check at each well baby visit, so we followed out dentist's advice.

If a child is not compliant, most dental offices will ask you to reschedule your visit to another time. A little preparation before the visit may lessen the chance that you will have to reschedule. Plan to have an appointment during the time of day that your child is at his or her best. For my kids, this is usually in the morning and not too close to lunch or nap time.

Many dental offices ask parents to wait in the reception area instead of in the room. Personally, this would be my cue to find a new dentist. Our practice has never once asked us to step outside, and in fact encourages us to hold our young children on our laps to make the exam easier.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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Samual (11722) 19 Mar 2009 10:50 AM

Here you go every 6 months for life

Dale Harcombe (10327) 19 Mar 2009 02:53 PM

Our son and daughter were pre-schoolers when they first went, so they would go and not need anything done and see there was nothing to be scared of. We had a lovely dentisit who used to let our daughter ride up and down in the chair, so she associated the dentist with fun. Very different from my dental experiences when young.

247mom (5) 19 Mar 2009 03:10 PM

I have been a Dental Hygienist for over 20 years. I strongly recomend a child's first vist to be any where between two and a half to 3 yrs of age. Not necessaryly a saperate appointment but either with a sybling or even a parent. As Dale pointed out in her post this is for the child to associate a dental office as a fun place. In our office for the child's first visit he/she would get a ride in the chair, try to do an exam inside the mouth depending on how the child reacts, a new toothbrush and also a chance to pick a toy from the treasure box. After this first visit the child is ready for an appointment of their own and look forward to their visits.

Heidi (5269) 19 Mar 2009 03:33 PM

Our dentist recommended our kids go in for their first appt at about age 3. Our son will be 3 in August. DH and I are scheduled for our regular checkup in September, so he'll probably go with us then for his first real appt.

Mary Ann Romans (26881) 21 Mar 2009 03:51 AM

I found it really helpful to make all of our appointments at once. Not only does this make things more efficient, but they all got used to the office and seeing the whole family get exams.

Heidi (5269) 22 Mar 2009 09:01 AM

It's definitely convenient to do all the appointments at once. My husband and I have been doing ours together since our son was born so Dad could watch the little guy while I'm getting my teeth cleaned. We usually make an afternoon out of it and go out to lunch afterwards :)