Children And Their First Visit To The Dentist

When should your child visit the dentist?

There is no right or proper age for a child to have their first visit to the dentist. Some dentists recommend that kids first dental visit should take place sooner rather than later, and that after 6 months would be a good age to take the child to see the dentist for a first check-up. The visit can take place even before the first baby teeth have emerged, to check the condition of the gums and give preventive measures. Others say that the first visit can be from the first year.

Giving preventive measures to parents is important, because in recent years more and more preschoolers have been seen with cavities, this is due to bad habits that some have when it comes to feeding the little one and that they are unaware of. Some examples of bad habits are putting sugar in bottles or getting used to giving sugary juices between meals.

The appearance of cavities is mainly due not to the amount of total sugar that the child takes, but to the frequency with which it is taken. In this sense, it is more dangerous to drink two juices spread out six times during the day than if you only drink one to accompany lunch and another to accompany dinner.

Regardless of the months, the most important thing is to go with the baby to a first visit so that they can advise us on the correct care of the children’s gums and teeth. From then on, it is advisable to return approximately every year for a quick check-up of the mouth.

Although professionals recommend that they go before the year, it is true that most parents take their children much later in preschool age. If that is the case, we must try to avoid making the child anxious about seeing the dentist by making the first few times pleasant for the child and not live with anxiety. Little by little you should become familiar with the consultation, the dentist, the instruments used in a check-up, the rest of the staff, the smells…

• Don’t wait for your children’s teeth to hurt to go to the dentist. Try to go before, when they do not need it, so that the child does not associate the dentist with tooth pain, and they are marked by the bad experience. If you take him when his first cavity appears, it will be very difficult to remove his fear in the future.
• Talk to your son and reassure him. You can tell him that this visit is to check that his mouth is clean and nothing else. If he behaves well, reward him with something, there is no need to spend money either, give him a detail, leave him half an hour more in the park… a small reward so that he associates the positive memory of the reward with the visit to the dentist. You will appreciate it in the future.
• Try to make the first consultation in the morning. Thus, the child will be clearer and will have a better predisposition, in the afternoons they are more tired. There will also be fewer delays because there are usually fewer appointments in the mornings. This means waiting less to be served. For children, waiting is eternal.
• The visits are better if they are of short duration until little by little the children become familiar and remove possible fears. The dentists will inform you of everything that they are going to do to the child so that nothing comes as a surprise.
• Play dentist. If your child is preschool, it’s a good idea to spend some time playing “dentists” together. You can explain what exactly they do, for example you can use a doll as if it were a patient and you the professionals. You will have fun playing and improve your willingness to call.
• And above all… never show your fear of the dentist (if you have one) children learn by observation and parents are the figure they pay the most attention to. Fearful parents give rise to fearful children.