At What Age Did You First Bring Your Child to the Dentist

I think I took my kids when they were 2. I took them to my family dentist (who has children by the way and would recommend specialists if we needed it). It's not always true that pediatric dentists are better, as one mom says here. Family dentists are just fine if you trust and know them. I grew up going to a pediatrict dentist, and he was horrible. Scarred me for life I believe. I have a couple friends who take their kids to a ped dentist only, and really don't like him but go because they feel they should. Silly. Go somewhere you trust. It really doesn't matter.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a child's first visit to the dentist is at 1 year old. This is to establish a dental home, to provide an exam and give oral hygiene instruction and nutritional counseling. This is the most up to date information on this subject. Hope it helps!

4. I didn't see any signs of discoloration or anything that looked abnormal in his mouth. I wanted him to know what was going on when I brought him. I'm glad I waited until 4... BUT if I was to see discoloring in his teeth, he would have went sooner :0)

My daughter was 3.5 and I think it was a perfect time -- as long as you are doing a great job at dental hygiene at home (we were :) yeah!). However, our pediatric dentist will see kids down to 18 mos and while we were there, she tried to get me to make an appt for my 2.5 yo son as well (he was with us) but I said I wanted to wait. My daughter was at the perfect age to sit there nicely and keep her mouth open without any drama (of course they play movies on a TV above their heads so that helps too!) and her PreK had a dentist come in and visit earlier this year so she knew all about what would happen. I say wait unless you see issues that need addressed.

We started all of our kids by age 2. They look so cute in the chair. I also schedule our appointments together so they can watch what happens first before their appointment.

I started taking my kids when they turned 2. I would maybe look into other dentists too because I have never heard of a dentist not wanting to see a child before 3 years old.

2.5 and 5. LOL! So much for recommendations :)

My pediatrician recommended taking our son to the dentist after he turned 3.

every recommendation you just mentioned were all told to me as well. i took my son at three. and he;s fine with it, (found an excellent dentist after a bad experience with the first.)but i will say his if you get suspicious about anything they tell you or won't show you evidence of their claims(work that needs to be done, number of cavities,etc) then get a second opinion. my son's first dentist told me he had 6 cavities and he was giving them a hard time when they tried to fill them. they wouldn't let me back to help calm him down(he had surgery earlier that year and wasn't to keen on doctors/dentists and their tools) so i took him out and they didn't want to show me the xrays. got to the new dentist, she tok more xrays and showed me the comparison and we both saw that he had NO CAVITIES! he did have a itty bitty one, but she had some 12 dollar toothpaste that reversed it by the time he came back. so please pay attention when it;s time for procedures.

I took both of mine when they turned 3, and they both have a mouth full of beautiful, healthy teeth. I think it is silly to go at 6 months, but to each his own (unless your baby has bottle mouth or some other issues going on). I don't think it will make a huge difference either way, so long as you practice good oral hygiene care at home and teach the proper techniques.

Some pediatricians and dentists also recommend flouride, even today. So, you will find conflicting information anyplace you go, whether it be doctor to doctor or the internet.

Think about this....this dentist wants your money, right? If he is saying it is OK to come in around 3 years old, it probably is. Otherwise, he'd be advocating you come in as soon as you leave the hospital with your newborn so he can get paid.

Do what you feel is right. If you are that unsure, just stop stressing about it and take him earlier, and to a pediatric dentist if you wish. No harm can come, except maybe to your pocket book.

ETA: to answer your question, you probably won't know there is a problem unless you take them earlier, if they aren't showing signs of a problem outwardly.

Even though all the "recommendations" are at age 1, I have a hard time finding ANY dentist willing to see a child that young, unless there are problems. Our dentist says 3. Also, when I brought my oldest at age 3, she was afraid and wouldn't let them do anything...so her first ACTUAL visit was at age 4. Fortunately, she has healthy teeth! :)

My oldest went when she turned 3 and my youngest will go for his first appt after he turns 3 this summer. 3 is the age that our dentist recommends, this is the age I went for my first visit as well. Our family doc checks the kids teeth during their physicals, obviously not the same way the dentist does, but he has mentioned that there are signs of cavities and probs that he can/does look for then and he has recommended kids see a dentist earlier if he suspects a prob. I would say if you don't give your child a bottle of milk or juice to sleep with and you're brushing twice a day and you don't see anything obvious then waiting until 3 is more than fine.

I didn't take my son until 4...he knocked his front teeth loose. The local highly recommended pediatric tricked out dentist office that I had planned on using and was a whopping over $300 for initial visit (which I kept putting of due to expense). They were closed on Fridays and I had a kid with two very loose front teeth.

I ended up at a "family dentist" close to my house and they got him in right away and only charged me $8 for the xray. So I booked a cleaning for him, under $100...I knew he had a spot on one tooth and yep it was a cavity and three more to boot.

He got those all fixed and we were still under the cost of the Initial Visit fee of the pediatric dentist.

I just took my daughter who just turned four for her first visit.

Now we go every six months for cleanings...I even see the same dentist.

My pediatric dentist says around 1 1/2y (18m). My daughter went at 3y and had 4 cavaties (the four back teeth). 2 needed to be filled. My niece just went at 3 1/2 and had to have 4 cavaties (the four back teeth) filled, 2 caps and a root canal!!

My pediatrician said whenever I wanted to take him was fine, as long as I did it by the time he was about 3.5. My pediatric dentist, however, likes to see them before age 1. But I didn't take my son until he was 3...and I think that's fine. My daughter is almost 2 and I will probably take her in about 6 months depending on whether I think she's ready for it. If they're still in the phase where strangers totally freak them out and they are going to be a screaming hysterical mess during the appointment - and the appointment is just a check-up, there's no teeth problem - I personally think it's better to wait until they are a little older.

Our dentist (family dentist, not specialist "pediatric dentist") wanted to see our little girl around age 2. All they do at that age really is see if they can get them to open their mouths and let the dentist count their teeth, and maybe look inside a bit if the child is OK with it. I think starting early is best so the child gets the idea that this is a good place to be and not scary. I can see some dentists wanting children even earlier just to see if the first teeth are coming in as they should. Be sure to find some kids' books about visits to the dentist and read them to your son before you take him! Years ago there were "Blue's Clues" books about visiting the dentist, the doctor, the optometrist etc. but if Blue is no longer around, I'm sure Sesame Street and others will have appropriate books for three-year-olds about this.

Good Lord 6 MONTHS?! Why would you go through that with a baby?!

My kids were all 2. If I felt they couldn't handle it or it would be too traumatic, I'd've waited even longer. Just give them their flouride, brush those little pearlies daily, and they'll be fine.

:)

Your kids should not see a family dentist. They should see a pediatric dentist. They are professionals who specialize in baby teeth and how to treat all the different things that can effect adult teeth that are currently forming. They usually put the kids to sleep to have dental work done to lessen the trauma and get the work done in a few minutes vs. several visits and numerous shots that they have to be held down while getting.

Family dentists only did a short stint in pediatric dentistry then moved on the adults and much older children, basically adult teeth, they can see the need for braces and other work that may need to be done.

Listen to your pediatrician in this case.

I went when my son was 4 and my daughter was 1. The appointment was for my son, but because it is "recommended" to see a child by their first birthday I went ahead and let them check my daughter as well. Most of what I read is that the recommendation is to let your child get used to and feel comfortable at the dentist, all it did for my daughter was freak her out to have a stranger poking around in her mouth! This was a super reputable and fabulous dentist, by the way, and they didn't hurt her, but having a strangers fingers in her mouth was too much - she is almost three and she still cries if her brother says "you have to brush your teeth or you'll get cavities and have to go to the DENTIST!" I should have waited until she was older and more mature :(

I took my daughter as soon as her top two teeth came in because she had two little half moon thin discolored spots on them and I was worried. Turns out that that is fairly common with premature babies so he painted them with a sealant and said to come back when she was three.

When I called our only local pediatric dentist asking the same thing, he told me that he preferred not to see kids until they are 3...unless there was a problem. 2 months shy of turning 3, my son ran into a table and knocked his two top teeth loose. So we were at the dentist before three.

18 months. They don't do a full cleaning the first few times. They put fluoride on their teeth, make sure their teeth are coming in properly, and make sure they are practicing good habits (no bottle, water between meals, etc.) Our insurance pays for 2 check-ups a year once the child is 1, so why not?

4yo is perfect, the whole cleaning, fluoride treatment & exam went really well for my son.
B/4 that I tried taking him to a Pedi Dentist & he screamed from the time we entered!!! so, I walked out & waited till he was 4 like his Pedi & my Dentist office recomended!
If you want him to be familiar with the office, take him with you for YOUR cleanings, he'll feel proud to be going when is his time!
good luck!
N.

My family dentist also said he started seeing patients at 3. He said he didn't really feel it was necessary to see them before then, but if I wanted to I could find a pediatric dentist in the mean time. I waited till my son was three and they couldn't get in his mouth anyway. They just asked me questions and showed him the tools and then brushed his teeth with a regular brush. I think if your child is not having any problems and you have no concerns about his teeth, you can wait. HTH

My kids went at 21/2. Before each child went, we took them to the dentist to watch one of us get our teeth cleaned (e.g. I held my daughter and we watched my husband get his teeth cleaned). It really helped to allay her fears and she did great when it was her turn a few weeks later.

We started our daughter at the age of 3. That is when the dentist we see now wants to start our youngest.

I agree with your dentist. My child's first visit was when he was three. It turned out that he was having some pain in one of his molars and low and behold had a small absess. At three years old, my son was able to understand what was going on, much better than if her were younger. He first had an exam with the hygenist and she explained all the different tools that they used and both he an I sat in the dentist chair together and I held him the whole time so that he would feel secure. He did very well and to this date has no fear issues with the dentist. When he was little, I used to bring him with me so he could see me get my teeth cleaned and cavities filled (they had a little chair in the room where children could sit). If I were you, I would wait until 3 years old.

DD just went a few weeks ago for the first time and she will be 4 in August. She went to a pediatric dentist and they don't recommend coming in until about age 3, unless there seems to be a problem (baby bottle caries, etc.). Before then it can be pretty tough to get them to cooperate. DD didn't have any issues either - she never had anything but water with her at bedtime, we avoid sticky sugary foods, soda, etc., and brush twice a day, so I was not particularly worried. The dentist and all the staff was fantastic and DD came out of there thinking it was really a lot of fun!

I think the truth behind the answer is that they don't like seeing kids before age 3 because they are difficult to deal with. I take my daughter to a pediatric dentist and wouldn't do it any differently. I am sure this dentist is an excellent dentist, but my concern with taking a small child to a regular dentist is that they are specifically trained in dealing with children. Our pedi dentist is awesome...he knows how to talk to kids and the techs are just as good. The rooms are decorated in kids themes, there is a tv with cartoons in the waiting area and they come up with silly names for the instruments, like "Mr. Thirsty" for the sunction tube. My daughter, who is afraid of just about everything LOVES going to the dentist. The dentist has such a bad rap and a lot of people develop fears. I think its best to build up the experience as fun so that they never develop the fear.

I really think it depends on the dentist. My family dentist says 3 but when I took my 3 yr old last month to a pediatric dentist, he told me to bring my other little one when she was 2. My pediatrician also said 3. So it really varies by dr and dentist. I think their teeth would hurt if there was a problem such as a cavity.