Dentist

kaleb87

My dd had her weight check/wellness visit this week and she is back up to 20 pounds, woot woot. Sorry we are just super excited.

Anyways her doctor mentioned it was time to start thinking about getting her into the dentist. I was a little surprised, but agreed. Has anyone else taken their LO to the dentist yet? If so, how'd it go? Did the dentist just check your LO's mouth out? My doctor mentioned getting her teeth painted with flouride?

Wipz

We haven't been yet

eyenigh

Our dentist said he didn't see kids until they were 3, which seems to be the norm.

nah82

We took my oldest for the first time at 18 months and little brother has his first appointment at the end of the month.  I would highly recommend going to a pediatric dentist at this age if you have one nearby that your insurance will cover.  (None of the "regular" or "family" dentists in our town or surrounding towns would even touch a kid under 3 for fear of traumatizing them.)

Pediatric dentists usually have degrees in child psychology along with their dental school, and  offices are totally geared towards making the appointment a positive experience for the little ones and the least traumatic as possible.  Our office has tons of toys to play with while they are waiting, cartoon characters and animals all over the place, even hanging from the ceiling.  They get to pick out silly sunglasses to wear while they have their teeth cleaned, have tons of kiddie flavors of tooth polish to choose from for their cleanings, and get a token to get a prize out of a gumball machine at the end.

My poor guy had fallen and broken his front teeth at 18 months, so he needed work done.  They had a big shelf of kids movies for him to choose from to watch while they did their thing.  He layed in the chair the whole time they were rebuilding his teeth and watched Thomas! 

Don't be surprised if the first appointment is really just an exercise in making little one feel comfortable with the experience.  We went in, met the dentist, and she asked him to open up so she could count his teeth.  They would not even do a cleaning in that first appointment, they just wanted to aquaint him with everything.  We had to come back for another appointment to actually have anything done.  But, they are great with the kids and we still drive 2 hours (they are the closest ped. dentist to our home) every six months to see them.

krispy83

I asked my dentist and he said 3 is the norm for a first appointment, but @namcgee makes some very good points about a pediatric dentist.  DS' 18 month appt is this week (pushed back because he was sick when it was originally scheduled) so I will ask our pedi then.

kaleb87

Thank you ladies for all your responses! I was just caught off guard by her pedi mentioning this. I think I'm going to try and hold off until a little later. I was just worried we were behind on the dentist.
@namcgee thank you for the suggestion of a pediatric dentist, I hadn't even heard or thought of this. I have already started looking for one for when it is time.

JENandJEH

Our pediatric dentist likes to start seeing kids at age 2. He doesn't do any exam, just introduces the kids to the dice, equipment and him. They start exams at age 3.

CavColby1

We've been to a pediatric dentist.  Went at 12 months.  Sorry I don't post here often.  Anyway, it went really well and his teeth looked sparkling white when we left.  No tears or cries...  I went because the pedi said we could, and because my friend has a 3 year old with 2 cavities at her first dentist visit. 

Wipz

Pediatric dentistry has been a huge scam in some areas.. unecessary work performed to get money... that's my biggest worry.  Luckily my MIL works at a dental office so I am sure I could get a good recommendation.  I also have a great dentist myself who I would totally trust not to send me to a crappy office. 

If I have any doubts about recommended treatment I won't think twice about a second opinion.  My lil guy doesn't drink juice period so.. that helps.

[Deleted User]

That's great that your DD is gaining weight!
Our pedi referred us to a pedi dentist at his 18 mo appt, in fact she mentioned seeing one at his 15 mo too but I didn't get it together to make an appt. I was planning on making one soon.

CavColby1

Wipz said:

Pediatric dentistry has been a huge scam in some areas.. unecessary work performed to get money... that's my biggest worry.  Luckily my MIL works at a dental office so I am sure I could get a good recommendation.  I also have a great dentist myself who I would totally trust not to send me to a crappy office. 

If I have any doubts about recommended treatment I won't think twice about a second opinion.  My lil guy doesn't drink juice period so.. that helps.

I agree.  I'd never let a pediatric dentist actually do work.  Ours just brushed his teeth really well and showed us helpful tips/ways to do it that makes it easy on toddlers.  Our "adult" dentist will see LO when he turns 3.