What to Anticipate During Your Kid's First Dental Visit?
When your child develops their first tooth, you may wonder whether they are finally ready to sit still in the dentist’s chair. You might schedule your child’s first dental appointment with Jackson pediatric dentistry, not knowing what to expect when you visit them with your child.
Scheduling dental visits for your child soon after their first tooth appears is recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA). However, it is never too late to take your child for a dental visit to ensure they retain optimal oral health. After you complete the challenging task of finding a kid-friendly dentist, you might contemplate how to prepare your child for their first dental visit. Check out and learn what you can expect when your child is in the dentist’s chair.
Schedule Your Child’s Dental Appointment
Please keep track of when your child is least fussy about scheduling their dental appointment and ensure they are well-rested and fed before reaching the dental office. While making the appointment, inquire about completing health history forms and whether the office needs any additional information to help limit waiting time in the office. A call to your dental insurance provider also helps determine whether additional co-pays will become necessary.
What Happens at the First Dental Appointment of Your Child?
Depending on your child’s comfort level or anxiousness, they may sit directly in the dentist’s chair or on your lap. The dentist checks their jaw, teeth, and gums for proper development, cavities, and other problems. Either the dentist or a hygienist will clean the child’s teeth and provide information on how to properly take care of their teeth and gums. At the end of the appointment, the dentist answers any questions regarding pacifier use and the best nutrition for healthy teeth.
Setting a positive precedent for dental appointments early in life helps children create lifelong oral hygiene habits. When you take the time to prepare for your child’s first dental visit, you allow them to enjoy the meeting and look forward to future appointments.
Why Visit Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics of Jackson?
Pediatric dentistry professionals are specialists in treating children with two or three years of additional training after completing dental school. They are the experts who make dental appointments fun for children. When you take your child to pediatric dentistry & orthodontics of Jackson, you entrust them to highly qualified professionals making every effort to ensure comfort in a kid-friendly dental office when examining their mouths and teeth for dental issues. Children also receive advice on brushing and flossing techniques, foods, and beverages they must have or avoid, and a reward to make their visit enjoyable at the end of the appointment.
Children are prone to cavities from an early age. Some even need intensive treatments like root canals performed by a pediatric oral surgeon near you to eliminate dental pulp infections. As your child grows, their jaws develop you notice changes in their teeth. Some children develop problems with misalignments needing help from orthodontists to straighten their teeth. When you visit this facility with your child for dental visits, you have access to dental professionals specializing in all fields. Whether your child needs oral surgery or orthodontic treatments, you notice the facility offers all treatments under one roof, making it comfortable for you and your child not to drive around to different specialists for various treatments.
Expectations During the First Dental Visit of Your Child
During the first dental visit of your child, the pediatric dentist will introduce themselves and perform a quick but thorough exam. The professional tells children what they are doing and proceeds in kid-friendly terms. Children also get to see the instruments dentists use to ensure they are on board before the dentist begins examining them. When your child is ready, the dentist counts and examines their tiny teeth, looks at their gums and jaws, and assesses their growth and development.
Don’t expect the dentist to perform a cleaning on your child’s first dental visit because the professional allows your child to guide the visit. Dental cleanings start from ages two, three, and four and are performed gently. Dentists use behavioral techniques and non-threatening language when describing tools to ensure your child is relaxed and comfortable. After cleaning your child’s teeth, the dentist flosses getting to remove any hardened plaque and polish their pearly whites.
Children benefit by visiting pediatric dentists from age one or when their first tooth erupts. If you are trying to find a pediatric dentist for your child, kindly schedule an appointment with Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics of Jackson, providing all treatments needed by children under one roof.