Visits
At what age should I take my child to the dentist for the first time?
Most parents expect the answer to be three or four, once a child can sit still and follow instructions. It is earlier than that. The first visit belongs around the first tooth, or the first birthday, whichever arrives first.
Why so early, when there is barely a tooth
Because a visit at that age is not really about the teeth. It is about the routine around them: how you clean two teeth, what to do about bottles and night feeds, what teething looks like when it is ordinary and when it is not, and what to expect over the coming year.
It is also the visit where nothing hurts, nothing needs doing, and nobody is worried. That matters more than it sounds.
The first visit sets the tone for every one after it
A child whose first experience of a dental chair was a friendly five minutes at eighteen months has a very different relationship with the place than a child whose first visit came at five, in pain, for something that had to be fixed that day.
We would much rather your child met us while there was nothing to fix.
What actually happens
For a baby or a toddler it is short and low-key.
- Your child sits on your lap, or with you right beside the chair.
- A gentle look at the teeth and gums, counting them out loud.
- A conversation with you about brushing, feeding and habits.
- Time to ask everything you have been meaning to ask.
If your child is already older than that
Then the right time is now, not some ideal age that has passed. There is no lecture waiting. Come in, let us have a look, and we will start from wherever you are.