Had someone today ask me when their child’s first dental appointment should be.
This is a common question and there is no right answer.
All I can say is that there are very few kids that we are able to work on, with any degree of success, before the age of about 3 1/2. Sometimes earlier and sometimes later, but that is a good average age.
What I would do is bring your child into the dentist office around the age of 3 to watch you get your teeth cleaned. This will let the child see that the dentist is not a scary place to be. (Now stop laughing and keep reading.)
After a couple of times of seeing that mommy or daddy can do it, then, the child will feel more confidence in going to get their own teeth cleaned.
Then around the age of 3 1/2, we can give it a try for the first time. The first cleaning may just be a simple polishing but that will open
the door to allow us to do a full cleaning later.
Before this point, just make sure you are keeping your child’s teeth as clean as possible at home. Brushing twice a day, warm wash cloth when they are too young to tolerate a toothbrush. No juice in the sippy cups. You know the drill (pun intended).
Good luck with the little ones.
