Lifelong oral health starts in infancy. As soon as your baby’s first tooth emerges, it needs to be brushed twice a day. Once they have two teeth, it’s time to start flossing. However, when should you schedule their first dental appointment? Casa Dental explains it all in this blog.
When you’re ready to book your baby’s first visit with our dentist in Mississauga, contact us at 888-270-8793 to make an appointment.
Their First Dental Appointment
So, when should you take your child to their first dental appointment at Casa Dental? The answer: By the time they have their first birthday or within six months of their first tooth appearing—whichever comes first!
Most babies begin teething between four and seven months, which means your child’s first dental appointment can happen as early as four months and as late as one year. Your baby should come in for their first visit around their first birthday, even if they don’t have any baby teeth yet.
For some parents, it may seem very early to take their child to the dentist for the first time. They are still babies, after all. However, infancy is precisely when your little one should start visiting the dentist regularly.
There are several reasons for this—which we’ll explain in detail shortly—but one important thing to bear in mind is that oral health issues can begin before any teeth are visible. Furthermore, it only takes one tooth for cavities to become a very real possibility.
What to Expect at Their First Appointment
Typically, your baby’s first appointment with a dentist in Mississauga should last between 30 and 45 minutes. This depends on how many teeth your little one has, and how many questions you have for our dentist!
1. Exam
The dentist examines your child’s mouth to see how their teeth, jaws, bites, gums, and oral tissues are developing. We want to make sure that everything is progressing properly and on schedule.
As your child continues to grow, we continue monitoring their growth and development during their regular checkups. This is the best way to identify potential issues early on, so we can implement preventative treatment.
We also check for signs of early tooth decay. Remember, cavities can occur as soon as the first tooth emerges. If your baby has been sleeping with a bottle in their mouth, they have an increased risk of developing cavities. This is why you should never let your child fall asleep with a bottle or sippy cup.
2. Gentle cleaning
If your child has a tooth (or teeth), we perform their first gentle cleaning. This process is more or less the same for young children as it is for adults. It involves removing any plaque and tartar buildup from their tooth, as well as polishing away any stains.
3. Education
The other main focus of your child’s first appointment with a dentist in Mississauga is education. Most parents have a few questions about caring for their baby’s teeth properly, especially if this is their first child!
Consequently, offering insights and recommendations is one of our primary concerns. We want you to leave our clinic feeling confident that you can care for your child’s oral health and teach them proper hygiene habits as they get older.
During your visit, we demonstrate the proper techniques for brushing and flossing your baby’s teeth. Oral hygiene is crucial for preventing cavities and other health issues, so this knowledge is key. Just like you, your baby’s teeth need to be brushed twice a day and flossed once a day.
We also shed light on what food and drinks affect your child’s oral health. For example, do not allow your child to drink juice from a bottle or sippy cup, since this bathes their baby teeth in sugar.
This appointment is the perfect opportunity to get answers to all of your oral health-related questions. There are no “bad” questions! We’re here to help and provide as much information as possible. If you need tips for relieving teething pains, weaning your child from pacifiers, or any specific struggles, ask away.
Why It’s Important
1. Monitor the development of their mouth
Your child’s mouth will undergo a lot of changes between infancy and adulthood. Not to alarm you, but maybe things can go wrong along the way! That’s why your child’s oral development must be monitored by an experienced dentist.
We need to detect issues early to intervene before it worsens. Even if your baby only has one cavity on their tooth, it must be addressed immediately.
It’s also much easier to address oral health complications when children are young. Their bones and teeth are still forming, so it’s easier to affect them. Once their jawbones harden and their adult teeth have emerged, treatment becomes harder and more time-consuming.
2. Establish good dental hygiene habits
Caring for your teeth and gums is a lifelong endeavour, and it begins when you’re a baby. Of course, babies can’t brush or floss their own teeth (that’s up to you), but nonetheless, good dental hygiene habits start in infancy.
Your child should grow up knowing the importance of oral care. The best way to do that is to show them. Brushing their teeth twice a day, flossing once daily, and taking them to the dentist every six months teaches them that these actions are important.
It’s crucial to instill these habits from the very beginning. That way, they continue to practise those habits throughout their lives.
3. Create familiarity with dental clinics and treatments
Fear of the dentist is a serious barrier to lifelong oral health. As a parent, it’s very important to teach your child not to be afraid of their dentist or dental clinics. As a dental clinic, it’s our job to help create positive dental experiences, so your child feels comfortable whenever they visit us.
Bringing your child to the dentist early is very helpful for establishing familiarity and trust with dentists. It normalizes the experience of visiting the dentist, having their mouth examined, and having their teeth cleaned. This reduces feelings of fear and anxiety that could become debilitating later in life.
Contact Casa Dental in Mississauga
Casa Dental is ready to welcome you and your little one at our Mississauga dental clinic. Our team of friendly, knowledgeable, and kind dentists are committed to creating a positive, first dental experience for your whole family.
We love caring for our littlest patients and provide an extensive range of children’s dentistry services for this purpose. Call us today to make an appointment, or stop by to see our fun and child-friendly clinic for yourself!
To book an appointment in Toronto, call Casa Dental at 888-920-5324 or contact us here. For a dentist in Mississauga, you can call us at 888-270-8793.
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