When Do We Go to the Dentist? - Kaneohe,HI

I've heard that 6 months is good for a first visit. If she won't let them in, you can opt to have her put to sleep.. I don't think I could do that, but my nephew needs extensive work done and he will need to be put 2 sleep. It is safe, but I would be worried about any side effects or allergic reactions to the anesthesia

Hi,
I was at the dentist Monday for myself and asked the same thing. The dentist said between one and two depending on how many teeth. My son has four teeth and two popping right now. He is thirteen months so the dentist told me to wait for some more teeth, he probably would say come in to you at one. We do "tooth brush time" several times throughout the day. Mommy does her teeth and announces it. "Yeah! Mommy's brushing her teeth!" all happy. He then wants my brush. I have a tooth brush on the counter ready for him, turn around and pick up the kid brush, pretend to brush with it and hand it to him. Yeah!!! All happy, he then sucks on it while I finish up. I then bend down and brush his teeth, with his help. Cheer a little and clap then we are done. I do this morning and night. I also let him play with the brush in the tub and I "help". That gives me three shots to encounter some or all of his teeth. Just make it part of the fun pattern and you'll have a little helper in no time. Good Luck!!!

The pediatric dentist will tell you by the time they turn 1 to bring them in for a visit. My pediatrician said that the Amer Accad of Peds says by the time they turn three. It's really up to you. My kids were late teethers and only had like 4 teeth by age 1. I took my son that is 3 at about 2 1/2. Both of my children are very active and don't like to sit. My son did well at 2 1/2 and actually let them do xrays, a cleaning and flouride. I don't know how much a 7 month old will sit through. I think at that age it's more to get them used to going to the dentist more than anything. I just brush my kids teeth as best as I can. I also have a 16 month old and probably will take her around 2 when she is able to sit still a little better.

My daughter is one and she has 13 teeth. We actually had to take her to a dentist due to an accident that she had where she was biting in a toy on her bouncy chair and she jumped so hard and she pushed her tooth a little forward. Anyway. I asked at the dentist I bet you don't see children ever this age and he stated that children should be going to a dentist within three months after having their first tooth.

Hello,

I'd wait a couple more years. I would say about 4 or 5. I took my son to the dentist for his first visit and he's 5. He did pretty well given the fact that he's a very active boy. I was able to explain to him about what they were going to do and he had an idea. So it went very well in my opinion. If you take her any sooner, she may not be able to cooperate and understand as an older child would. BTW, I'm the proud mommy of cavity-free boy!
Just be sure to continue taking care of her teeth. No sodas, limit juice or dilute it, and keep drinking the milk! You know to limit the candies and other junk out there too. Brush her teeth daily and for now use flouride free toothpaste, b/c she needs to learn not to swallow it.

Hope this helps =)

i think that you can bring your daughter into the dentist anytime if you have any concerns. i would go to a place that either specializes or has had a lot of experience with young children. they have ways of getting them to open their mouth at least long enough to take a peek. also they can give you some advice on how to care for your daughter's teeth. its great that you are not giving her juice and limiting her drinks to formula and water. but even if she eats or drinks something sweet, it's always a good habit to wash it down with some water. and even taking a damp wash cloth and rubbing it along her teeth and gums after each meal or after drinking mild helps in keeping any kind of build up from occuring. i think that fact that you are being proactive in your daughter's dental hygiene is great and will give her that much more of an advantage. when she is older and you are bringing her for her first official appt and cleaning, i would have her watch you and her husband get a cleaning. that really helped ease my daughter's nerves and she saw that it was no big deal and everything was gonna be ok. in fact she was excited for it to be her turn on the chair. good luck

My son is 3 1/2 and SUPER causious of new people. My ped said unless he notices a problem before hand, not to worry about the dentist until 5.

That waid, I had a dentist appointment about 2 weeks ago and he and Dad came with me. He watched what the dentist was doing to me and allowed her (after about 30 minute, and with the promis of a toy) to "count his teeth" in order to provide a visual exam of his teeth. She said that he seemed okay and sugested that DH and I schedule our appointments every 3 months (so DH is supposed to go in Sept, me in Dec...) and bring him in and ask every time if he's ready to let the dentist brush his teeth like they do to ours. If by March, he hasn't volunteered readiness, to schedule a June cleaning for him next year (at 4 1/2). She felt that his ability to cooperate was developed enough to be able to handle it.

I took my early teether to the ped dentist at age one. It was appropriate for her has she had so many teeth. I was glad we did because we got a lot of great tips, such as feeding kids cheese in the p.m. because there is a protective enzyme that helps coat the teeth. Also learned how to floss her teeth.

I was also concerned because though I have great teeth, my husband's teeth just aren't as strong, as dilligent as he is.

Think it just depends on your concerns and the child.

Jen

My first baby had 8 teeth by the time he had his first dentist visit at 9 months old. Everything I had read at that point said to start taking them for regular visits by the time they are a year old, so that's what I did. However, with baby #2, he just had his first dentist visit at nearly 2 years old (and "baby" #1 only now just had his second visit at 3 years old). Life has just been hectic and I wasn't able to make it happen until recently. Both of them have absolutely clean, perfect teeth. If you want to wait, I don't think it is a problem. Just be sure you brush her teeth at least once a day and always before bedtime (at her age you can just use a damp cloth and wipe them if it is too hard to get her to cooperate with a toothbrush - I think we started using toothbrushes around a year old, and it took daily practice for a LONG time to get them used to it). We also keep our kids away from sugar completely. Our main purpose is just for overall health, but it also turns out we have much less to worry about when it comes to rotting teeth! If you do want to take her to a dentist, a pediatric dentist usually has a way with the little ones. I have a tough time getting my boys to let me look at their teeth, but our dentist has no trouble! He knows how to get the little ones to cooperate.