- Take your child to the dentist when the first milk teeth appear. This is so they become familiar with the environment and get to know the dentist. The dentist can help prevent decay and identify any oral health problems at an early stage. Just opening up the child's mouth for the dentist to take a look is useful practise for when they could benefit from future preventative care.
Tom has got his top and bottom rows of front teeth and his molars are coming through so Mr B decided it was time to go to the dentist.
We had to arrive ten minutes before the appointment to complete some paper work, just documenting medical history, Drs details etc.
We then went up the the dentist room, the purpose of the appointment to familiarise Tom with being at the dentist and to avoid any future fears. Tom sat on my lap in the chair and got it to go up and down. The dentist and dental nurse we had was really child friendly which was great. Tom was then encouraged to show his teeth to the dentist but he was pretty reluctant and due his nap, but the dentist was great about it and said she wouldn't want to force or coerce him to do anything as it may scare him in the future (she really was great!).
The dentist chatted with us about what Tom eats and offered general advice about oral hygiene, such as any juices should be offered with meals rather then generally so the sugars won't just sit on his teeth, we don't give Tom anything other than water and milk but it's good to know for the future.
It was agreed that Tom will return in six months and we should bring a three day food diary for the appointment, I guess to check he isn't eating lots of sugary or acidic foods.
In reflection, I think that it is a good idea to get your child familiarised with going to the dentist when they are little to avoid any fear but also to get yourself in the habit of taking them to the dentist! And if you are going then book strategically so they aren't due a nap!
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