My DD is almost a year old. She has all of 4 teeth. I was sent a notice by our insurance saying that it's time for a dental checkup for her... but she has FOUR teeth! lol. I do take really good care of them for her. They get brushed every morning after breakfast, then brushed and flossed (flossing is easy for her, she likes the taste of it. lol.) every night after her final nursing session. I also wipe them off with a rag after I feed her during the day. (I am a little obsessive about it... My parents never taught me good dental hygine, and as a result I have HORRIBLE teeth... so I go overboard trying to prevent the same for her...) I don't have an issue with taking her in... but with only 4 teeth am I going to get laughed out of the dentist's office? Is there any point in going in this early? I almost think it would be better to wait until she's 18 months, or even 2 years old, when she actually has teeth to look at!
Cool. I think I will wait then. :) I didn't want to be negligent in taking care of her teeth, but I honestly don't see the point in taking her in with only 4 teeth. I think I will wait until she at least has a mouthful of 'em!
Yes, take her.... I started at 6 months and every 6 months after.... I also never had good hygene lessons as a child, I had to learn as pre teen, and it's good to take them young as young as possible, so if she were to ever needed something done, or when she will get a full cleaning you don't want her to be to scared
It is a good idea to get them in the habit of going before they have a fear of the unknown. If she is comfortable with it before she is in an oppositional stage (toddler) she may be more compliant and have better dental experiences.
I say after the two year molars come in...
But my kids did not go for the first time til 3
I would say take her when she is two to three years old. I think you are doing well. You could find a pediatric dentist in the area and ask them what age they recommend to bring your daughter in.
I worked in the dental field for 18 + years and the four dentists I worked for said age 3 is the best time to start.
If I remember correctly the dentist rubbed the teeth with a fluoride treatment, you know the sort where you can't eat for 2 hours afterwards.
I say wait until your child is 2 yrs old. Just continue to care for them the way you are. You seem to be doing a pretty good job.
My DD is 3.5 yo and I am planning to take her to the dentist for the first time soon - it's been on my list of things to do. I have not really wanted to do it sooner because she's never been cooperative for the doctor and only recently has been able to go without totally freaking out. So I can't imagine that much would have gotten accomplished. We've gotten books about visiting the dentist and coincidentally a dentist is going to be visiting her preschool class this week as a "special surprise guest" so that might help warm her up a bit too. I have been very diligent about brushing her teeth twice a day and not letting her have stuff that is sticky or high in sugar. She was never one that went to bed either with anything except water in the bottle or sippy cup. Her teeth look fine. So I am not super worried and I am planning to take her to a pediatric dentist, where they should be experts at handling kids like her. You could always call some different dental practices and see what they recommend. If the insurance is paying for it, why not? But if her teeth look okay, and there aren't any issues, I wouldn't worry about it yet.
Everything I've heard says wait until they are 3. I have asked my dentist and they say wait until 3 if there are no problems and it sounds like there aren't...I mean flossing...you go!! All my friends waited until 3 to take their kids too, so honestly, I wouldn't worry, I'm shocked they sent you a notice.
Our ped dentist said not until they are 3 unless there are problems. They are very hard to treat. With that said. We just had our daughter in. She was only 21 months. She unfortunately inherited my husband's genetically weak teeth. The molars came in with defects from the get go and they had to repair 2 of them already. They used laughing gas and had to strap her into a special swaddle type blanket. She cried the entire time. They told us she was completely age appropriate. The initial exam to simply look at the teeth was nearly impossible. But because she was screaming so much her mouth was open so they saw enough. The only reason we went in this early was because she had issues. Before 3 it's nearly, if not completely impossible to do anything at all, not even get a tooth brush in their mouth or get them to lie down on the table. I don't see a reason if you don't see anything wrong with the teeth she's got.
The pediatric dentists where I live won't even see a child under 3 unless there is a problem. My son went in at 2 1/2 bc he knocked a tooth loose and it had to be pulled bc it died. While they sedated him to pull it, they went ahead and cleaned his teeth. The dentist said he would go ahead and clean them since he was in there but normally wouldn't do it until 3. Call around to some ped. dentists and see what they say.
By the way, it sounds like you are doing a great job! I understand your feelings about your child's dental health. My parents didn't ever take us to a dentist and now I have really bad teeth. So keep up the great work!!!
The dentist won't laugh you out. Why NOT bring her and get her started on good oral health?
My pediatrician said wait till she was 3. That's what we are doing.
My dentist told me to wait until my girls were 3 before taking them in. It sounds like you're taking great care of those tiny pearly whites, so I wouldn't worry about it at this point.
Our pediatric dentist starts seeing kids at 18 mos. I took my daughter for the first time at 3.5 YEARS OLD! I made sure until then that she had good dental hygiene and she doesn't eat garbage so there is less risk of cavities. Her teeth were perfect with the most minimal tartar behind the front bottom ones (where no tooth brush can really reach for any of us :P). I think unless there is a suspected problem, 12 mos is way too young!
