When Should My Child Have Their First Dental Visit?
When you have a child, you want to give them the very best start in life, including a healthy, attractive smile. Regular dental visits are critical for healthy teeth and gums. Ideally, your little one should visit West Bowmanville Family Dental soon after their first tooth erupts so between age six months and age 1. It might seem early, but it’s the perfect opportunity for a dentist to check your child’s dental development.
By the time your child is age 3, they will need to see a good pediatric dentist in Newcastle regularly. These regular dental visits allow us to check for any changes to their dental health. If they do have any problems, we can detect them much more quickly, providing appropriate treatment at a stage when it is less invasive, quicker and more comfortable for your child. There’s another huge advantage in early dental visits, as they help to promote a more positive attitude towards professional dental care.
Building Positive Dental Experiences
Our regular patients will already know that West Bowmanville Family Dental is a very friendly place to visit. Our dental team is extremely welcoming, and especially towards young children. When a child has a positive dental experience early on, it helps enormously in building a positive attitude towards professional dental care, so they grow up knowing seeing a dentist is nothing to fear. Our comfortable dental office is equipped with large screen TVs to give your child occupied and relaxed during dental visits. We try hard to ensure dental checkups are enjoyable and fun with a ride in the dental chair.
Learning How to Care for Teeth
Dental education forms an important part of our practice, and especially when it comes to treating kids. Initially, you will need to brush and floss your child’s teeth for them. When your child is old enough to start brushing on their own, our Clarington dentist can work with them, teaching them the proper way to brush effectively. Our dental team works hard to ensure that dental education is fun and enjoyable, helping kids to learn good dental habits that will hopefully stay with them for life.
Preventive Dentistry
As your child grows up, we can continue to monitor their dental health, providing the best quality preventive dentistry to help their teeth remain strong, healthy and cavity-free. Preventive dental care treatments include digital dental x-rays, dental sealants and fluoride if needed.
Our dentist will want to take digital dental x-rays periodically, as these images show areas hidden from view such as teeth yet to erupt, tooth roots and the contact areas between teeth. We may also need to take a digital x-ray if your child has a problem with a tooth so that we can diagnose the problem quickly and accurately. Digital dental x-rays are very safe, emitting only a very low level of radiation, and we only take these images when necessary.
Dental sealants can protect a child’s permanent back teeth, sealing the large chewing surfaces with a thin layer of flowable, durable plastic. These chewing surfaces are designed for grinding food efficiently and have lots of grooves to aid this process. Unfortunately, these grooves are also extremely efficient at trapping harmful bacteria and food particles, so they often get cavities. Dental sealants are hardwearing, protecting these vulnerable tooth surfaces.
Fluoride is very useful in hardening teeth, reducing the risk of cavities. Our pediatric dentist in Courtice can assess your child’s fluoride requirements and can advise on using suitable fluoridated products, including toothpaste.
Additionally, we can monitor the growth of your child’s teeth and jaws. If they are coming through crooked, we may suggest an orthodontic evaluation to determine the best way, and time to straighten them.
