When Should A Child See A Dentist For The First Time?

Whether it’s concerning your newborn and their upcoming teeth eruption or you’re looking into how you should go about a dentist visit for your child, you should definitely familiarize yourself about the experience for younger children and the dentist—your first visit might was likely a long time ago!

Knowing the recommendations of when your child should see a dentist for the first time can help ease anxiety—of both you and your child.

The Great Hill Dental in Peabody has you and your family’s best interest at heart—when it comes to both oral health and also your peace of mind. In this article, we’re going to go through when it is best recommended for your child to pay their dentist their first visit.

Although this can be a nervous time in you and your child’s life, we’ve also included some tips and tricks that can help make this visit a memorable one (in a good way), alleviating any associated fear that may come about at the scene of a dentist’s office.

An Introduction

During the early years of childhood, your child’s teeth and development may look different than other children of their age. This is because every child develops differently—with some children having incoming teeth younger than others.

When it comes to seeing the dentist in their first visit, it’s normally recommended that children go to their first visit when they’ve reached the age of one year old or six months after the first tooth has emerged. However, the majority of the population generally tends to take their children much later than that—normally when the child is over two years old.

Why the delay in a child’s first visit?

A lot of adults or parents tend to think that either the child is too young, doesn’t have enough teeth or they simply don’t think that the baby teeth are that important to take care of—since they’ll end up falling out anyway.

However, caring for the child’s baby teeth is not only important because it helps set habits in place that will make oral care in the future much better, it also:

• Can physically help your child chew properly to avoid any complications when they’re older.
• Can prevent or reduce the chance of your child developing a speech impediment.
• Can promote early dentist visits so they’re used to it!
• Can also have an effect in saving space for the way permanent teeth grow in.

Your Child’s First Visit

Let’s face it—not only is the first visit to the dentist a scary one for your child—it can even still be a scary experience for any adult, too!

To help you ease the nerves of your child as they visit the dentist for the first time, here are some tips that can help you transition them into this experience like a pro:

1. Plan your day around the dentist visit. Not only is it important that your child feels comfortable, well-rested, and is being driven to the dentist in a minimized-stressful environment, but it can also be helpful if you plan some fun incentives to help make the appointment day as enjoyable as you can. If you plan a rewarding trip to the movie theater, for example, afterward or take them to eat at their favorite restaurant for lunch, they have something to look forward to, which can make the appointment more endurable.

2. Talk to your dentist about your child’s fear. Most pediatric healthcare professionals have plenty of strategies in place that can help ease a child’s hesitancy. Whether it’s colorful offices, sugar-free candy incentives or playful waiting rooms, there are always fun things in place to help reduce the fear in a younger patient.

3. Familiarize your child with the experience. Whether you’re playing pretend with your child about what they’re going to experience at the dentist or if you literally take your child with you to your appointment, they’re able to get familiar with the experience, which can help reduce the fear of the unknown.

Feeling Good About Your Child’s First Dentist Visit

Whether it’s you or your child that’s the nervous one with their first visit to the dentist, we hope that this article has helped ease any worries or anxiety concerning when it would be best for them to get in the dental chair!