You should take your child to the children’s dentist within six months of the eruption of your child’s first tooth. One must also understand why it is necessary to visit a children’s dentist rather than a general dental practitioner. A children’s dentist is a specialized dentist, otherwise known as a pediatric dentist, specialized to deal with children’s oral health concerns. Generally the first dental visit to a children’s dentist is more important to the parent than to the child itself. During the visit the parents are educated about the various ways to take care of their child’s teeth. They will learn things to watch out for, such as oral malhabits like tongue thrusting or thumb sucking which might affect not only dental but also overall facial growth of the child. Parents are also instructed about the correct use of bottle feeders and oral pacifiers. Your child’s teeth should be cleaned with a wet clean cloth after every meal to minimize the risk of caries development. Parents are also educated about the effects of fluoride levels in their drinking water. A child growing up in a fluoride endemic area is likely to develop dental fluorosis as the child grows.

The first visit for your kids to the children’s dentist is about getting your child accustomed to the dentist office and the environment. Usually no treatment is performed during the child’s first visit to the children’s dentist. Morning appointments are generally preferred as at that time children are usually alert and fresh. The dental appointment is usually not more than 30 minutes. Early childhood caries or nursing bottle caries affect the teeth of children between 6 months to 2 years of age. This is characterized by the presence of early white spots to brownish discolored cavity areas in more than one tooth of the child. It is generally caused due to improper use of feeding bottles. Do not allow your child to go to bed with bottles filled with milk or juice. Clean the teeth of your child after every meal. Breastfeeding infants who fall asleep while breastfeeding are also at risk. The second dental visit of the child at a children's dentist usually begins after 6 months to 1 year after the initial dental visit. During the second visit the children’s dentist might take an x-ray of your child’s teeth to see the overall growth pattern of the erupting teeth. At this time the children’s dentist might also make a quick note on the timely eruption of the teeth, frenum attachment, developing malocclusions, and overall craniofacial growth of the child. The third and subsequent dental visits of your child at a children’s dentist is more detailed and minor to major dental procedures might be carried out as and when required. This treatment generally occurs after the child has attained 6 years of age. During this visit euphemisms like ‘tooth sleep’ for anesthesia and ‘rain coat’ for rubber dam can be used to develop a confidence and trust with the child. Fluoride therapy can be advocated for the child who is susceptible to dental caries. Pits and fissure sealants can also be used in teeth with deep pits. Further teeth with dental caries must be restored as soon as noticed to stop tooth loss. Incase of early loss of primary teeth, proper arch length should be maintained with the use of space maintainers. Habit breaking devices such as a tongue crib or reminder therapy should be used to prevent development of facial abnormalities. During this age, preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment should also be considered. Prevention of development of malocclusion plays a vital role in a child’s oral health care needs. Potentiality of development on any malocclusion should be identified and nipped at an early age. This helps to guide the newly erupted teeth in a proper position in the child’s mouth. Preventive orthodontics essentially deals with the steps undertaken to stop the development of dental malocclusion whereas interceptive orthodontics deals with the early treatment of the malocclusions so that it doesn’t get worse and more cumbersome treatment can be later avoided.

Taking care of your child’s teeth should be considered as one the most important aspects of a child’s health care. A child should be taken to a children’s dentist as soon as the first tooth erupts in the oral cavity and not later than 6 months after the eruption of the first tooth. As child health needs are mostly dependent on their parents, educating the parents plays a pivotal role on a child's dental health. Visit your children’s dentist today and ask them about your concerns.