First trip to the dentist?

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

When did your DC first go to the dentist? DD is just about 21 months and I know the AAP recommends by 1.

She still cries when the ped tries to look in her ears and such so I know it will be a traumatic experience, but I also know she gets over things like that really quickly. Dental hygiene is really important so I want to take her soon.

Any advice or experiences?

[scoop22]

dh and i make our appointments back to back for several reasons. but ds comes with us. he was so scared.. i would love to hear some advice.

ds also has done with me to my dr. visits. he thinks it is him the dr. is seeing. those our horrible visits as well.

thanks for the post :D

[KrisM]

I hadn't heard of a 1 year recommendation. DS went at 3 and it was horrible. He was supposed to have a second visit at a new, and hopefully better, place yesterday, but I cancel because I was sick.

I can't wait to hear what others do.

[Pennylane]

My pediatric dentist said there was no reason to see a child before 3 unless they were having some type of problem.

Ann

[bubbaray]

Our pediatric dentist wants to see them at age 1, that is also the recommendation from the College of Dentists here too.

[JBaxter]

I was a hygienist for 17yrs and 3 was a routine time for first dental visits. I always recommended that the child come along with a parent on a visit before theirs that way the see everything is OK. I started all my boys at 3. It would have been silly to take 2 of mine at 1yr old because they only had 1 tooth. If you notice problems then take them earlier but 3 is a good time to start.

[StantonHyde]

I did it at 3. Our ped said that having them go at one may be good for their teeth but it does not take into account the child's development--especially 2 year olds who are terrified.

I was ready to hold DS on my lap the whole time but the hygenist made it really fun and called all the tools funny names and all the other ladies came and made a big fuss over him and then he got to pick a sticker and a toy. He loves it now!!

DD could be interesting though.

[HIU8]

DS is 3 yrs and 3 months. He had his first dentist appointment today. He did really well for the first 3/4 of the visit. The last 1/4 was hard as he was done and didn't want to sit still for the rest of things. He didn't cry or scream though and was really happy to get a new toothbrush and toothpaste.

[tny915]

Our ped recommended the first dentist visit around age 3. We bought a Dora Show Me Your Smile book and read it every day for a good week, which helped DD get an idea as to what was to happen at the dentist. We even brought the book to the dentist office. We have a great ped dentist with a very child-friendly office, friendly hygienists, TVs with videos for distraction, and the 2 dentists bring their dogs into the office. Each new patient feeds treats to the dog if they want to and gets a picture. Lots of stickers, new toothbrush and pink toothbrushing timer, and a prize drawer after the appt's all done.

That being said, DD was a doctor's office crier until she was almost 4. Dentist office was no different, and due to some plaque buildup the dentist ended up having to clean DD's teeth a bit more thoroughly then we all would've liked on an initial visit. I held DD on my lap, held her arms down, a hygienist helped hold her legs down to keep her from kicking, and the dentist went to town. But DD recovered quickly and her teeth were absolutely sparkling white afterwards. Teeth had a strong yellowish tinge before this visit that we'd never even noticed.

The 2nd visit at 3 1/2 was hard as well, but DH took DD in so I can't comment too much on how she did. There's no way it was as hard as that first visit. DD has her 3rd visit in a couple months and I really think it'll be better, just due to experience and maturity.

After the first visit, dentist recommended much more thorough brushing at home. Brushing for 2-3 min, holding DD's lip open and really getting that toothbrush into all the crevices. Up to this point we'd just been letting DD brush however she liked b/c we heard and read everywhere not to make tooth-brushing a battle. So we'd make up lots of games and songs to help the process. These days we're able to floss too, which I never would've imagined doing.

Good luck with the appt!

[erosenst]

We went at 18 months, because she was having some problems. (She had excessive plaque buildup on a couple of teeth, and was a VERY late/slow teether, although they all came in eventually.) At that, and the next appt to check the plaque, the dentist kept her on my lap, did a VERY quick exam, popped the plaque off the two bad teeth, and was done til she was 3.

At three, we went for her first "real" appt. This practice let me sit in the chair and hold her; others (MANY others) will not let parents in the exam room, as the little kids generally have more problems with parents there. They do a full cleaning and polishing, plus a check. They were great with her, and she did great.

If at all possible, go to a pediatric dentist. They're really trained to work with little kids...and are experienced with the ones who don't like it so much...

Emily
Abby 4

[MommyAllison]

We took DD at 15 months, and again at 24 months. Her pediatric dentist wants to see kids at one year, then two years, then every six months from then on. My family has a horrible, horrible dental history, so we wanted to get DD started early to make sure there weren't any cavities, etc. So far, no cavities or concerns, she does have crowding that probably won't resolve on it's own, but that's all. At each visit, the dentist has come in to talk with us and DD, then looks in her mouth and counts her teeth. DD has cried both times when it comes to the actual looking in her mouth, but recovers as soon as she can sit up again, and then talks excitedly about the dentist after the appt is over. :) They haven't had us try the exam chair yet (maybe next visit?), we are in a small, private room with seating, and a tv with cartoons playing, as well as some toys. They have me hold DD on my lap, facing me, and then I lay her backwards so her head is on my knees, legs around my waist, and the dentist is facing me and peeks quickly into her mouth. Even though she screams, both of the dentists we've seen in the practice have been great with her, super patient and kind and understanding. They mainly encourage early visits so that kids get used to going to the dentist and it is just a normal, not scary thing.

[ThreeofUs]

Our pediatric dentist just wanted to see DS to check on tooth development, and that was at age 2.5.

He was very very good about working with DS (who is about as sensitive and cautious as it's possible to be!), and the office environment was fun and non-threatening.

Good luck!

[Melanie]

Ds was Three.

[Rainbows&Roses]

My dentist recommended 3 and that is when when we took her. He has kids of his own and is really great with her. They did a chair ride up and down with her sitting on my lap and counted her teeth and just looked around a bit. At 3.5 years, they cleaned her teeth while she was sitting on my lap. At 4 years she was brave enough (and she is not a brave girl) to go into the room next door while they were cleaning my teeth. No tears ever! I do reward her for her bravery when we get home though and she is easily bribed!

ETA Prior to 3 she went with me to several appointments and sat on the floor watching me. I think that helped with her not being so nervous.

[belovedgandp]

I just took my 4 year old for the second time this week. I took him with me to watch my cleaning right before he turned 3. My plan then was for him to see my appointment and then schedule one for him when I was there. The hygienist and dentist said there wasn't a hurry, so for my convenience we scheduled our appointments back to back for six months out.

His first appointment was at 3 1/2 and he had no problems. He watched me go first. The hygienist did a great job of showing him each tool and using it on his fingernail so he'd know what it felt like before putting it in his mouth. They had sunglasses - but DS insisted on wearing his own - which was good for the light.

Our second visit this week went fine. He remembered enough from the time before that he was excited to go again. They had some unexpected openings and a second hygienist was available. DS went into the room next to me without a problem at all.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We went around 18 months and then every 6 months after. For a long time they did the check with him on my lap. All they did was count the teeth, look at them and brush them. Very fast and easy. he hated the poker thing so they didn't use it.

Unfortunately he has a cavity now. :( We tried unsuccessfully to get it taken care of. I b!tched about it over on the bp board b/c our dentsist said not to mention the "c" word and just say he had a tooth that needed some extra cleaning. I didn't want to lie to ds but I trusted the dentist's recommendation. It was a tiny cavity so he wouldn't need novacaine or anything probably so it most likely would have been quick and easy. Well, what did the stupid dentist say as soon as ds hopped into the seat? "Let's get that cavity taken care of." Argh! We couldn't get ds back in the chair and it was awful. I have an appt scheduled with a pediatric dentist and ds knows about it. It is going to be heck to get him to go. If I gain any wisdom on handling that anxiety I'll let you know.

Beth

[KBecks]

Alek is scheduled for his first at 3 years. I guess we are very behind. I'll ask them to take a quick peek at John too then.

[overcome]

DD will go this summer when she is around 33months. I have saved the episode of Jon and Kate Plus of 8 of when she took the sextuplets for their first appt., so I am going to have DD watch it with me a couple times (except for the part when one of them was screaming).

Getting a book is a great idea...I will do that too. I don't know how she will react. She is very cooperative at the Dr, with the exception of shots.

[bubbaray]

We have the Usborne book, the Berenstein bears book and the Dora book. None were as effective as the J&K+8 episode....

DD#1 screamed from her first appointment (~18m) until about age 3.5. Luckily, her ped. dentist has a soundproof room for the babies, LOL! I think its his mask that scares her. She's fine now and is in the big kids area. She's had xrays (that took a couple of visits to get her to agree to that -- if you have a problem with it, have them give you an extra film to practice with at home).

DD#2 will have her first appointment this May when DD#1 goes. DD#2 will be about 16m then. He counts teeth, checks alignment, for cavities/plaque. They go over proper brushing/flossing.

We actually were thankful that we had a ped. dentist that we were patients of at an early age for DD#1 because she had 2 "tooth accidents" and they got her in and checked them, followed up in a week. Plus, we had an after hours number to call for the second accident that was more serious.

Our ped. dentist has them come around 12m, then every 6m after. DH's and my dentist says age 3 is good enough, but if you want to start earlier, that's what the College of Dentists (the governing body) recommends.

[kijip]

Toby had an evaluation shortly after his teeth started to come in...around 1 1/2. He has been every 6-12 months since then.

[saschalicks]

We were told 3 so, that's exactly what we did (OK a bit after 3) w/DS1. I ordered http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/details.asp?sid=J2614&gid=43364402&title=Going+to+the+Dentist%2C+Mini&sqlwhere=submit%3Dsearch%26search%3Ddentist this book and I pulled it out 3 days before his appt. It is a wonderful book. The morning of his appt we took it w/us. Everytime the hygenist was going to do something I would say remember when Jesse had that done in the book. He was wonderful and had no problems. I highly suggest a Pediatric dentist.

[julieakc]

Here's my response to an old thread with the same question:


It's a personal pet peeve of mine that the AAPD (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) recommendation states:

"your child should see a pediatric dentist when the first tooth appears, or no later than his/her first birthday"

but that the AMA tells you age 3, and that many pediatric dentists even tell you not until 3!

DS went at 15 months for the following reasons (in order of priority):

1) I suspected a problem with his teeth
2) DS's syndrome pre-disposes him to dental problems, so I wanted to make sure he was monitored from an early age.
3) AAPD's recommendation for early screening (took me a while to find a dentist who would actually see DS that young)

DS did in fact have a problem....enamel on his front teeth had not formed properly (dentist said it happened in the womb and had nothing to do with poor hygeine, etc.) and if it hadn't been repaired would have led to cavities.

DS has been seen every 6 months for a cleaning and check-up ever since the initial visit.

My update since that response:


Last December DS went after also being seen 3 months earlier (for an extra flouride treatment) and several cavities were found - they came on that quickly! Of course I think the main problem we have is DS's predisposition to dental issues, but I mention how fast they cropped up just to emphasize that I think this is why the AAPD's position is to start early. For most kids the first appointment and maybe even the first couple are more just to acclimate the child to the process (a couple of people mentioned that the dentist just counted teeth and took a quick look).

BTW, here's the old thread in case you want to see some more responses -
http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=240003&highlight=dentist

[kransden]

Go to a pediatric dentist. It is totally worth it. They usually have great waiting rooms with lots of stuff to play with and other kids too. The kids often get prizes after the checkup too. DD loves Dora so we read the Dora book.

My first dentist didn't have a place for you to watch, and your child went back alone into the big room. My new dentist, I moved, has the same big room setup, but there is an area for me to watch her, and she can't see me. I like that better.