The First Dental Visit

In the good old days, dentists and physicians did not suggest children visit the dentist until they were 5 or 6 years old. Gradually, these recommendations have become more evidence based and currently, all major dental and medical organizations recommend the age 1 dental visit.



One of the most important aspects of an early dental visit is to focus on prevention of Early Childhood Caries (ECC). Yet, there is much more involved and for good reason. Let's look at the two phases of the infant oral health exam.



When the parent/caregiver brings their infant to our office, we review the medical history and also the parent's dental and social history. We understand that there is a very high correlation between parent's oral health and past dental disease and transmission to their child. This information is part of our caries risk assessment because if parents or siblings are at high risk, the infant should also be considered as such. We then review the causes of caries and prevention that partially includes breast/bottle feeding, diet counseling with emphasis on frequency (especially juices), toothpaste/fluoride, and any other guidance on growth or development issues like teething and oral habits such as thumb/finger sucking or pacifier use. Then we make sure to touch on trauma prevention and what to do if a child has a dental emergency. Finally, we welcome the parent to their new "dental home" and encourage them to call us with their questions and make sure they understand that we are available for their child 24/7 for emergency care.



We are not done yet! We still need to examine the infant. We tell the parent their child is going to cry, much like going to the pediatrician. We then ask the parent to face us (knee to knee) with the child facing them and lay the child's head in the doctors lap. Now, we demonstrate how to brush their teeth, do our examination and decide if we want to place fluoride varnish on the teeth depending on the caries risk evaluation we have just performed. We sit the infant up and place in mom/dads loving hands for a hug and ask if there are any further questions.



The infant's first visit may sound like a big deal, but think about what we have accomplished. We have educated the parent about dental disease, prevention, oral habits, and trauma. We have examined the child to make sure there are no signs of disease. We have established the child's new dental home where his/her oral health is managed in a comprehensive, continuously accessible, coordinated and family-centered way by a licensed, board certified dentist.