First Dental visit....how Old?

Pediatric dentists recommend about age 2 I think. You can head of a lot of problems that way. We've found kids happy to go to the dentist when they're kid friendly and fun.

I think 19 mths it's still way too young. Most dentist won't even take them until they are 5. My dentist takes children no younger than 5 and has told me that if my son eats right and takes care of his teeth then he really doesn't need to come in until he starts loosing his baby teeth. My son is now 7 and he has his first dentist visit coming up. I wouldn't worry about it for the next several years.

Think about the cost of how much it will be to add your daughter to your insurance and how much it will be just for the appointment this year.

my son is almost 2 and I waited to add him to my dental benefits. I'm assuming that he only needs the one visit and the out of pocket expense will be less than adding him to my benefits for a year.

I hope all is great with her visit.

I have been taking my kids since they were both a year old, I figured that the earlier I take them the more important they know it is for good tooth health, and also they have not "freaked" out at the dentist because it is "normal" to them. They have only each had one cavity each...and they now do much better jobs at cleaning their teeth. Call a "pediatric dentist" and ask them when they feel your child should be seen. At first it is not all the mumbo jumbo of films and cleaning, although they do clean them it is not like for adults. and also look at the shapes of the teeth and how they come in....It is more preventive medicine than anything else.
Good Luck.

My first was 2 when I took him. I think they recommend age 1! 2 was a great age for him, though. They familiarized him with the procedures, counted his teeth, etc. My son is not at all scared to go to the dentist now at 3.5 years old, and i think early exposure helped this.

**ETA: I just read other responses - you're right, they really vary! But I don't believe that dentists saying below a certain age they are just trying to get your money! Last time I brought my son, there were 2 children there, both about 2.5 - 3, getting fillings for cavities! I like getting that clean bill of health, and the fact that my son got a "100" for brushing his teeth. But you never know!

We took our 1st at the age of 2. With our 2nd the ped. dentist said we could hold off until 3 as we already knew what to do. We still started her at 2 just to be safe.

hi! I work in a dental office and we begin seeing children at 12 months for visual exams. It's great just to let them get familiar with us and let them know there is nothing to fear as well as educating you on their growth and changes. We have them come in every six months and depending on the child we can begin their cleaning around age 3. Hope this helps!
Oh yeah. There is no ploy to make money by seeing them that young. Working in the office, you wouldn't believe some of the different cases we've seen. Their mouths are just like ours and without proper and routine care. They can have decay at a young age. Since the visit will be an exam and education for the first year or two you might consider paying out of pocket

They usually recommend age 3 when they have all their teeth. My oldest was at least 3 when I took him and my youngest was just 2. You could probably wait one more you to save the money.

I took my children for the first time when they were 12 months. There is a dental office in Austin, 2 locations behind Target at 620 & 183 and Steiner Ranch, that is wonderful with children. Rising Stars Pediatric, Drs. Freeze, Singeltary, and Nimick (I think). They used to examine children for free, under the age of 3. That might now be 2 and a half. Their number is ###-###-####. I cannot say enough good things about them.

I took my son when he lost his first baby tooth!

I took 3 of my 4 children all to the dentist for the first time just before school started. I have a 6 1/2 year old, 4 year old and a 2 year old. It was a waste of time in my opinion for my 2 year old. She was screaming so much that they couldn't even really look at her teeth. I guess you can take them early to get them used to it but I think it traumaized my daughter more than helped. My kids never drank bottles to sleep, never had juice bottles, stopped drinking sippy cups. The only thing they do that will cause long term dental problems is eat lots of their halloween candy. I think parents can use good judgement. If there are no problems then you will probably be fine for another year.

You should bring your child in at age 2. The first visit is a lot of fun. Bring your camera. The dental staff's goal on the first visit is to make it fun and a great experience. If she will let them they will clean her teeth and apply flouride, count her teeth and let her pick out a tooth brush. Please take her to a pedodontist! Going to a adult & child dentist isn't as kid friendly as a pedodontist(children's dentist only) their equipment and tools are alot smaller too.

Yes do it, important, baby's can get cavities also along with other problems better to be safe, dental check up's are easy enough and better to let them know that they are normal and not to worry about them when they time come's up. Good luck.

Yes you can. At 12 months old my daughter satred to see the dentist and every 6 months after that. she got her teeth clean at around 24 months and the next time she gose in 6 months. She will have x rays of her teeth. I would reconmend a dentist that works a lot with kids. it make the visit a lot smoother.

Most dentists will tell you 3 years old should be the first official visit for cleaning and examining. If they tell you otherwise, they are just trying to make $$.

C.

We put our kids on our dential plan the day they were born. Most people won't do that but we have union insurance so it doesn't cost us anymore if we did or didn't have them on there. The first time we took our daughter to the dentist was at 3 years old. The dentist recommends at 3 years to to start taking them every 6 months so that is what we do with her. She loved it. The dentist we go to is really go with kids. She liked it a lot and she liked the free stuff tehy give you like tooth brush, flaws, and things like that plus you get to get a toy out of the box when you are done.

I would suggest age 2 for first checkup/cleaning. Only for the simple fact at that age kids tend to drink more sugary juices, eat more gummy type foods that stick to their teeth. I didn't take my kids in early enough and found a cavity at age 3 although I helped brush their teeth regularly. The dentist helped me identify food to avoid that tend to cause cavities.

I took my oldest at the age of two and that was just a check-up, no cleaning.

However, I would add them not only for that but for protection in case they were to fall or something and damage a tooth. That seems to be a grey area with medical insurances sometimes as to if it is covered under them or dental insurance. If it is like most the cost difference to you is not that huge to add dependents or if you already have dependents there is likely no change in cost. Just my two cents, but I also am one of the world's biggest worriers (not sure how to spell that word) so I think worst case on everything!!

My pedi said that there is no reason prior to 4 years old

I added my little girl to my dental plan when she was 4. Since we are paying for it, she is going to have her teeth cleaned twice a year but my dentist said that kid's teeth are much stronger than adult teeth and if you make sure they brush their teeth twice a day and floss, they don't really need a dental checkup until 5. To be on the safe side, I would recommend that you add your child to a dental plan when he/she turns 4 just in case of cavities or whatever problem that could come up.

medicaid says children should have a check up at 1 year then at 2 for a checkup and cleaning. Then at 2 and a half I think.

I sure you are going to get a ton of responses so what's one more right?!?! I orginally was going to start my daughter at 12 months. Then I asked a family friend that is a PEDs dentist. She says for comfort levels you can start sooner rather than later. However she says that there is really nothing that they can see or do until they are about 4 years old anyway and to start rgular check up around 4 or 5 years old. This also depends on eating and drinking habits. You know your child best and how they deal with new experiences. I am choosing to wait a while. I thought it might be a little esier when you can reason and explain things to your child. Goodluck

I took my son for the first time when he was about 17 mos. He is now 22 mos. According to the physician they should go at 1. It was just a check up, they really didn't do much of anything.

Our pediatric dentist recommended age 2. We didn't think there was a problem but it turned out we weren't brushing good enough at the gum line and he had some issues. I'm glad we went sooner or there would have been issues to deal with. We go twice a year for cleanings and they love to sit in the chair with their sunglasses, headphones and TV on the ceiling. :o)

Gig 'Em!
A.

Absolutely! You are really suppose to take them at 6months but I never did. I waited till my son was three, come to find out he had cavities everywhere and had to get three caps! ugh! Now I wish I wouldn't have waited so long! Good luck!

I took my daughter at 13 months. The pedi-dentist advised that we should come back in when she was 2 because she was on track to get all her teeth sooner than later... And we did devote a big effort to brushing her teeth every night. So we were already diligent about trying to get her teeth and gums clean once a day. Of course, I postponed going at 2; just got too busy until... well... see below...

Honestly, the first couple of dental visits don't seem relevant. HOWEVER, my daughter took a spill on the stairs a few months ago and knocked her front teeth--as in, really knocked her teeth. The fall actually killed a tooth (its turning gray but luckily firming up in the gums... cross my fingers). Anyway, point I wanted to make is that I was so glad I had a dentist already for her. The first thing the receptionist asked when I called was "Are you an existing patient?"... The morning after she fell, I took her in to be checked by her pediatrician, and he mentioned her tooth might be lost. I was so glad I knew who to call in order to have her teeth looked at and to tell me what to look for in case it got worse. Piece of mind is worth a lot to me... Not sure about your dental coverage prices, but in regard to ours, the child coverage is pretty darn cheap. Its covering other adults that makes it expensive... Most plans tend to build in free child wellness dental visits.

I asked my dentist about my youngest son and he told me not till he is 4. So I didn't add him to my dental insurance till then.