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Your First Visit
For your convinence, you may download our New Patient Form, prior to your first visit.
Your initial exam will last approximately one hour. Oral hygiene instructions will be provided along with suggestions to help you care for your teeth. In most cases, we will also clean your teeth on this visit and provide an evaluation that will outline your existing dental problems and proposed treatment.
Understanding Pediatric Dentistry
When parents have questions or concerns regarding their child's health, they most often call upon a pediatrician to answer their questions or to treat the child's illness. In that same regard, a pediatric dentist should be a parents first choice as primary caregiver for their child's dental health.
Just as a pediatrician has additional years of training geared specifically toward children, pediatric dentists have also committed those extra years of education in the treatment of infants, children, adolescents and children with developmental disabilities. Children have special needs, which may be more readily met by someone with this additional training. This training is designed to provide oral health care in a comfortable atmosphere for children and to promote greater understanding of the oral growth and development of children.
When should my child be seen for the first time?
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a child be seen for a routine examination as soon as they have their first tooth or around 1 year of age, whichever occurs first. This examination may reveal developmental problems or dental disease, which should be treated early. Also, there is a great deal of information of which parents should be aware of in order to maintain the best possible oral health for their child. Information such as proper diet, oral hygiene and the use of fluoridated toothpaste will be discussed (you should never use more than a pea-sized piece in young children). A primary concern at this age is making sure you end night time bottle use after age 12 months which can severely decay the primary teeth, especially the upper front ones. This can also happen with prolonged and frequent sippy-cup usage with sweet drinks, even milk. Through early exposure to the dental environment, your child will become accustomed to such visits.
If you choose or desire your child to be seen before age 3, we would be happy to see them. Children who are seen between the ages of 0-3 will most often be examined in the parents lap. As a child grows and becomes more comfortable with the practice, tooth cleaning, fluoride treatments and X-rays will be initiated. We would usually see children for their first routine dental visit at age 3. At this age most children are fairly cooperative and able to listen to our "tell, show, do" explanations.
Will my child be cooperative?
It is normal for children to be afraid of anything new or strange. Most fear is fear of the unknown. We try to remove the unknown by proceeding at a reasonable pace for the child's age and explaining everything we do in terms the child can understand. Do not be upset if your child is anxious on the first appointment or perhaps even the second. This is a normal reaction for most children. The key is early exposure to the dental environment. This allows for preventive dentistry, which will in turn prevent extensive dental work and cost to you.
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