Schedule first trip to the dentist by first birthday
Note to parents — and some dentists: Children should see a dentist by their first birthday or when their first teeth arrive, whichever comes sooner.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry have been spreading this message for years. But many general dentists and pediatricians — and thus many parents — haven’t gotten the message. Some healthcare professionals are still telling parents to wait until children are 3 or 4 to take them to the dentist.
“Unfortunately, with a lot of the general dentists who are already out there, sometimes it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but we’re constantly trying to educate them as to what will be best for kids,” says Dr. Warren Brill, a pediatric dentist in Baltimore, Md., and clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland Dental School. “Organized dentistry is trying very hard to get the word out to all practicing dentists.”
Adds Dr. Ray Stewart, executive director of the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry: “I’ll bet if you called — other than pediatric dental practices or practices that cater to kids — and said, ‘I’m a new mom and I have a kid that’s 18 months old, when should I bring them in for the first time?’ 90% of the time you’ll hear them say about 3 [years old] or so.”
But by 3 to 4 years of age, many children have already developed cavities.
“My career was filled with days of treating kids either under heavy sedation or in the hospital, who had decay in all 20 of their baby teeth, some to the extent that they had to be removed and had abscesses,” says Stewart. “Had those children been seen at 1 year of age, hopefully there would have been some intervention both to educate the parents as to what caused it and what they had to do … to take care of the kid.”
In addition to allowing the dentist to spot any problems, the first-birthday visit can educate parents about proper diet and nutrition and how to develop healthy oral habits in children.
