dentist question

My oldest two I never brought to the dentist until they were 3. Somehow I was convinced - I am not sure how now that the date is quickly approaching - what did the dentist do to your child's teeth at such a young age. My twins will be two and this will be their first dentist appointment. All four of my kiddos are going. My 7 and 5 year old will go first and then my babies. The older girls do great. What will they do for a 2 year old???? I know at the age of three they counted their teeth, flossed, brushed and gave a flouride treatment. Will they do all of this with my two year olds?????? I need some reassurance that I am making the right decision or should I cancel - I have until tomorrow morning to make a decision!?!?!?! their appt is Tuesday.......

We do go to a pediatric dentist who is wonderful with kids as well as her staff and we have great insurance so it typically costs me maybe ten dollars per kid....

 

I believe both the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommend that a child be seen by their 1st birthday. However, many dentists and pediatricians believe that a child is more cooperative at 3 years old. Here is a link which addresses the 1st visit and dental care: Amerian Academy of Pediatric Dentistry article. I think it's a great idea that you have their appointment scheduled. Good luck!

 

Even our pediatric dentist doesn't see kids until 3, unless there is a problem. My guess is that they will count their teeth, and familiarize them with the equipment.

 

I dont know if they do things slightly different in scotland but Mine had their first appoinment when they were 2.5 and all the dentist did was show them all the instruments, chair and basically just had a quick look in their mouth 2 make sure none of their teeth had cavities and to count how many there was. My dentist wouldnt take them before that as she said that children like to bite before that age and are not usually very co-operative! x

 

The dentist may have you hold the child in the "knee to knee position" You and the dentist are each in a chair, facing each other, you hold your child straddling your lap and the dentist leans him back onto his lap - you may want to practice this before you go, I think it is the hardest part - the child feels vulnerable at first.

After that he counted the teeth and started showing the equipment. I thinik the will proceed with what the child tolerates.

If your older children are in the same area, the 2 year olds may do great since they will want all the cool big kid stuff too.

My kiddos have done great with it - good luck!

 

My kids went at 2. The hygenist showed them the mirror and how it works (and let them play with it), talked about the exam chair (but didn't force them to sit there), and then the dentist did a quick exam. They had the kids sit on my lap and then the dentist sat knee-to-knee with me and had them recline onto his knees. He was able to count and look at the teeth using the mirror. We were scheduled for another visit at 2.5. At that visit, they told me they would do whatever the kids were ready for. This ended up being a cleaning with the polisher, introduction to the rinse water and suction, flouride, and a more thorough exam. At 3, they got a full cleaning with a bit of tartar scaling. Now, if our first visit had been at 3, I highly doubt they would have been anywhere near that comfortable so I'm sold on taking them younger.

Personally, I think it has more to do with the individual child's fear level than their age. Parents' attitude, a good hygenist, and a kid-friendly dentist can make a huge difference but some of it is out of your hands so you may as well accept that you don't really know how they'll do until they've had a chance to show you.

 

I would keep the appt. and take them. Mine have gone since they were 10 months old. I believe the AAP recommends by a year or when they get their first tooth now anyway.

 

I won't say it for everyone but they did recommend to go at 1 year old (12 months). My twins had almost all of their teeth totalled of 16 by their 1st birthday. Their first apointment was a knee-to-knee just to check on their teeth and feel the gum whether a tooth is coming up. We also had their x-ray which was done quickly. Of course they quirk around a bit in the seat and some cries. They did it because the older they are they may not cooperate but it doesn't happen to every toddler. When we saw the x-ray it show that my son's bottom tooth has been infused together. So, it was a wait and see if those 2 tooth will come up separately or not. At 2.5 yrs old, they did a cleaning with the polisher, introduction to the rinse water and suction, flouride, and a more thorough exam. The dentist says my son will need braces while my daughter may not in the future. This help to give insight what to expect from each of them. They'll be going back to the dentist after their 3rd birthday because my daughter just recently had all 4 of her 2nd molars came in while we are awaiting for my son's molars. We'll see what happens with the next step.

I suggest to go at 1 year old because what if your child need further help. Right now, my son did not need surgery after finding the possibly of 2 tooth may infused together and if they did they would have had fix it right then so he won't have any further problems in the future.

They will fight a bit and cries at time. Once they are done -- show them the mirror and give them their goodies bag to take home.
RJ

 

No time to read the other replies, so I'm sorry if this is a repeat. We brought the girls when they were 2. I held each on my lap, they laid back on me. The dentist and hygenist showed them the little mirror and then the dentist counted their teeth and looked for cavities. Then they got stickers! They are still talking about going back to the dentist. We'll go every 6 months from now on. Next time he said he'll try to do a little cleaning, but only as long as they aren't freaked out. Oh and we go to a pediatric dentist too. GL!

 

I took the boys at one and at two. He said they like to get them in earlier so they can just "look" at their teeth and make sure there's nothing going on, go over care w/ the parents, and it helps the kiddos to get used to the place before they actually try to clean their teeth when they're older. The first time, I held them while the dentist looked, the second time, he let them sit in their stroller. We're moving this summer, and the ped dentist we see here recommended they be seen at 2.5 rather than wait till 3, but that may just depend on what the policies are of the new offices.

 

I took them around 2.5 years. It was good timing for us because DH and I had just had a cleaning and were talking about it. So they were excited to go. We chose a dentist that specializes in children. They sat in the chair and the dentist looked in their mouth, flossed them and cleaned them. They even took x rays. my kids were a little unsure but they both loved it. The had a tv on the ceiling that played a kids movie, so they were more interested in watching that then what was going on.

 

They now recommend kids go at age one or around there. We have been bringing the twins since one. My son went a few times around then, but didn't go reg. until three. They basically count the teeth, look for any decay and then brush them and apply a flouride paste with a tiny paint looking brush. You would be surprised how some kids as young as two can have bottle mouth or decay. Luckily none of my kids had that issue, but it's become an issue these days with more parents letting their kids use bottles longer or in bed or even with sippy cups.