Pediatric Dentistry: When Should You Take Your Little One to See the Dentist?

Pediatric Dentistry: When Should You Take Your Little One to See the Dentist?

December 1, 2021

Being a parent is one of the exhilarating and terrifying experiences in life. As a parent, your deepest desire is to ensure that your little one is healthy and growing as they should. One of the ways to do this is to cater to their oral health care needs. For this reason, seeking pediatric dentistry in Houston, TX, is an essential component of their health care.

It is always best to lay an excellent oral care foundation that will ensure that your child’s teeth remain healthy throughout life. Waiting for dental issues to occur before you seek pediatric dentistry near you will be costly and eventually can put their oral health in jeopardy.

When Is It Appropriate to Take Your Child to the Dentist?

If you are a first-time parent, there’s always the chance that you might be wondering when you should introduce your child to our dentist.

Oral health care begins even before your child’s first tooth erupts. You will have to wipe their gums with a soft wet cloth after feeding them. This helps remove the food debris that remains on the gums and tongue.

Then, it is advisable to seek pediatric dentistry near you when you see the first tooth. In other words, you should be ready to bring your child to see our dentist anywhere between six months and a year. There’s no need for you to wait until their first birthday for you to bring them for their first dental checkup.

Plus, if you check your child’s mouth and notice anything that looks abnormal, such as lesions, white spots, and bleeding, contact our dentist right away.

The first dental visit is crucial since our dentist will get the chance to create a relationship with your child. Also, this will be the perfect time to conduct examinations and see if there are issues that would affect your kid’s speech and eating patterns in the future.

It’s quite normal for your little one to be a bit scared of our dentist’s chair. However, you may need to calm their nerves down during the appointment. This can go on for a year or two as your baby starts to trust our dentist. Once your baby turns three years old, they will be comfortable enough with our dentist and the office environment to undergo complete dental treatments.

After the first visit, you should bring your child every six months for checkups. But if there are issues in between the checkups, make an appointment right away.

Always come prepared with some questions that you wish to ask our dentist, especially concerning how you can care for your kid’s teeth at home. Always peel your eyes for issues such as lisps, teeth grinding, and strange breathing patterns.

Why Should Your Child Visit Our Dentist Early On?

The first dental visit is not about doing much dental work. However, the whole idea is to evaluate your child’s oral health and help your child familiarize herself with our dentist. It is vital for your little one to be comfortable with our dentist and excited to sit on the dentist’s chair.

Also, frequent visits will help your child get used to the tools, the staff, and the environment. In no time, they will be receiving top-quality care.

Statistics show that one in five children under the age of 5 is affected by tooth decay. If your child visits our dentist early on, dental issues such as tooth decay can be caught early and treated effectively.

Our pediatric dentist will ensure that your baby’s teeth are healthy and they are set for life. Also, our dentist will let you know if there are any issues that you should look out for.

What Services Can You Expect?

Your child can benefit from the various services that we offer within pediatric dentistry in Houston, TX, such as:

  • Preventive dental care – This involves various services geared towards preventing oral health issues such as oral examinations, cleaning, fluoride treatment, dental sealants, and space maintenance
  • Restorative dental care –The services in this category are designed to restore your child’s teeth. Therefore, we have different services such as crowns and fillings that are geared towards restoring your child’s smile
  • Orthodontics – If our dentist notices something about your child’s bite, then orthodontic services can be offered to correct the issue
  • Emergency dentistry – This is offered to restore tooth function and appearance whenever there is a pressing dental issue
    Pediatric dentistry is an essential part of your child’s life. Contact us at Greenway Pediatric Dentistry if you desire to bring your child to have their smile checked out.
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