The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a child’s first dental visit to be scheduled as soon as he or she gets that first tooth (as early as 6 months of age) and no later than the first birthday (age 1 year).
When you come for your first visit, your little one will be 0 to 3 years old. Our goal is to make you and your family as comfortable as possible. We want to welcome you to our dental home!
Dr. Norman and Dr. Cat explain below what you can expect on your first visit with us:
1) Introduction
– We are so excited to meet you and your child! We will find out your concerns and your reason for coming to see us.
– We will go over your child’s medical history, dental history, current diet, and social history in depth.
– We will discuss your youngster’s current oral development, any oral habits and history of injury.
– We will discuss prevention of cavities and prevention of injury.
2) Dental Examination
- At this age, we usually do your child’s examination in the “knee to knee” position with you. This is where your child is placed on a lap board with his or her legs around your waist, you hold your little one’s hands, and your son or daughter’s head is toward us. This position enables us to do a cleaning and exam as safely as possible. Your youngster will be able to keep you in his or her field of vision and therefore feel more safe and comfortable!
*Note the lack of personal protective equipment (no gloves) is only because Drs. Norman and Cat are using their own child to demonstrate!
– We will do an oral exam to check all the soft tissues. We will also demonstrate to you the proper amount of toothpaste to use for your child and the proper brushing technique. If applicable, we will also go over flossing your child’s teeth as well!
– Next, we will examine every tooth present in the mouth, and check for any signs of cavities or deformities.
– Lastly, with your permission, we will apply fluoride varnish to your child’s teeth.
– Your son or daughter can then sit up and the exam is concluded!
Something we always want parents to know is that most children at this age DO cry during the exam, so we hope to go through this step as efficiently as possible. The examination itself usually takes no more than five minutes.
3) Re-cap session!
– This is your opportunity to ask any remaining questions you have for us! We want you to be able feel comfortable with all the information you receive before leaving.
– We will discuss our findings with you during the exam (if we weren’t able to show you while it was happening).
– We will discuss our recommendations for brushing, teething, oral hygiene and nutrition.
– We will discuss our recommendation for how often your child should come back for regular visits.
– Best of all, your little one leaves with a goody bag and a prize! We also take a family photo and give you a polaroid of that photo to go home with as a momento of your child's first visit with us! We look forward to seeing you for your child’s first dental visit!
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions.
