Something to Chew Over – Your Child’s First Dental Visit

A beautiful smile is a priceless thing to have and it’s something that is earned over a lifetime of care that is inculcated from childhood. Much like owning a car, your teeth and especially the teeth of a growing child require regular check-ups by experts to ensure they grow well and if they are any complications, addressed in a timely fashion before they get worse. The question many parents have though is when should they first take their child to visit a dentist?

The general consensus is that parents should schedule an initial visit to a dentist when their child first starts teething at about six months of age and about one visit a year from then onwards for regular check-ups until they reach their early teens at about 13-16 years of age before more frequent check-ups every six months are in order as they transition from milk teeth to their final set of adult teeth. Much like the aforementioned analogy of a car needing maintenance, regular dental check-ups help ensure that the growth of their teeth and their transition to adult teeth is on track.

So What Happens On a Child’s First Visit to a Dentist?

Much like how your first visit to a swimming pool as a child is to play around in the wading pool, a child’s first visit to a dentist is not so much a treatment session as it is to acclimatise and get a child used to the sights and sounds of a dental clinic so that they understand that it isn’t a scary place after all but a safe one where they can get their teeth looked at and fixed.

On their first visit, there is usually no treatment so to speak. Parents and their children get to first meet their dentist and get introduced to the equipment used in their profession such as the various tools, machines and the dentist chair where patients sit during a session.

A dentist then explains as well as let them feel, touch and understand how all this equipment is used and what happens in a dental clinic; this initial visit also helps younger children to become familiar with a dental clinic so that they have less fear of visiting one later in life.

Some dental clinics will also have child-friendly treatment rooms with cartoon themed decor and other interesting interactive things as well as cartoons playing on displays to make a child feel at ease.

This initial visit too is where dentists can help educate and help set both parents and children on the right path to proper, healthy teeth with tips and professional advice on how to care for their child’s teeth (and parents too!). After all a stitch in time saves nine and preventative care helps ensure that a child’s teeth is healthy and strong throughout their lives.

At We Smile Dental Clinic, children enjoy a free initial consultation where they get to meet our friendly team of professional dentists and even get a free toothbrush to help them get started on the road to great teeth! For more details or to arrange an appointment, do check out We Smile Dental Clinic’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wesmiledentalclinickl