Start Em Young: When to Schedule Your Kid’s First Dentist Appointment

Dental health is incredibly important, not just for your teeth, but for your entire body. In fact, dental disease has been linked to other health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, and low-birth-weight in infants.

So it’s important to have regular dental checkups every year, but when should you first take your child to have their first dentist appointment? The answer may surprise you, read on to find out!

At What Age Should Your Child Have Their First Dentist Appointment?

Typically, your child’s baby teeth will begin to come in around 6 months of age. Every child is different, however, and some children don’t begin teething until closer to 12 months, or even older. The lower front incisors are typically the first teeth to come in.

As soon as that first tooth is visible, it’s time to make your appointment. You want to have your child see a dentist right at the beginning because the dentist will be able to check and make sure that your child’s teeth are developing normally.

If you have an established family dentist, they may be able to see your child, or you can make an appointment with a pediatric dentist who specializes in children’s teeth. Your pediatrician should be able to recommend someone if you are having trouble finding one.

Benefits of Starting Dental Appointments Right Away

It may seem like overkill to some to see a dentist for a single tooth, but there are several benefits of starting your child’s dental relationship young. The first benefit is the opportunity for early intervention. The sooner a dentist can check on your child’s tooth development, the sooner they can intervene if there is a problem.

Another benefit of seeing the dentist right away is the comfort of your child. Many children can be frightened of the dentist, but exposing your child to dental checkups, and making them familiar with their dentist at such an early age helps them to get used to it and consider it normal rather than scary. 

Lastly, establishing good dental care is important for children because the prevention of cavities is much better than treatment. The only thing worse than a baby with a toothache is what you have to do to fix it. Small children cannot use the same numbing and sedation medications that adults do when they get cavities filled and have to undergo a much more dangerous procedure where they are put under general anesthesia and go to the operating room just to have a cavity filled!

Start Them Early, It’s the Tooth!

So you see, as soon as you see that first tooth, a first dentist appointment is not far behind. Making sure that your child establishes dental care early will ensure that they stay healthy and keep that beautiful smile you love so much!

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