The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that children start seeing the dentist at the age of one year, or no later than six months after their first tooth has come in. This may seem surprisingly young to parents, but as soon as a baby gets their first tooth, they are susceptible to tooth decay. Starting dental care early keeps your child’s mouth and teeth healthy, and it also enables you and your child to avoid the stress and fear that comes from putting off the first dental visit until there is a problem.

At the first dental office visit for your child, a lot of the time will be devoted to the pediatric dentist or general dentist developing a friendly relationship with your child. It will also be a learning experience, for you as well as your child. The dentist can explain how you, at this stage, can help your child to brush his or her teeth. You can prepare your child for the visit by first contacting the office to find out what will happen at the appointment. Then you can communicate to your child what to expect in a way that they can understand at their age. You may want to find children’s books or videos about visiting the dentist to help them understand what is going to happen, and even help them to look forward to the upcoming visit. Ask your dentist or staff if it’s okay to let your child bring along a favorite stuffed animal or toy when they come to the appointment. Sometimes something familiar from home helps a child to feel more comfortable in an unfamiliar environment.

The actual age at which you schedule your child’s first dental visit is up to you, but the best way to avoid fear and stress is to have the first appointment before there is any obvious problem with your child’s teeth. When a first visit is routine as far as the exam is concerned, it allows more time for the dentist to get to know the child and gain their trust, and the exam itself will be simple. If you wait until there is a problem, your child may have an uncomfortable first visit, which can lead to problems with every dental visit and even avoidance of the dentist when they are grown.

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Here are some fun ideas on how you and your child can learn about oral health and play together.

1. All about the electronics! Give your child an electric toothbrush.

Kids love gadgets and many electric toothbrushes, like many other electronics that permeate our lives today, can play music, have timing mechanisms to time how long you brush and other features that will make brushing fun. Why maybe not on par with the functionality of an I-Pad, some electric toothbrushes even come with apps, so innovation promises to continue for these products. Let technology help you and your child.

2. Show Fun Brushing Videos – Who doesn’t love Sesame Street?

Here’s one I enjoy using…

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMrtK-kYnE[/embedyt]

3. Take the opportunity to connect brushing with singing!

You don’t need to be able to carry a tune to sing with your child, as singing with brushing can be very helpful as it increases the fun level and reinforces the daily routine. You can come up with some creative lyrics in short order. “This is how we clean our teeth….”  or “My toothbrush goes round and round…” One additional important element around singing is that it reinforces the fact to the child that there is a limited time to brush, so they can count on it ending when the song ends.  

Play with different songs and encourage your child to add words and maybe even a dance move or two to accompany the song.

4. Brushing the teeth as an activity throughout the day

Make tooth-brushing a play activity during different times throughout the day. Especially for children just starting out on brushing, this can help to get them used to the idea and comfortable with the activities. For example, encourage your child to brush the teeth of stuffed animals, dolls or other toys.

5. Let children brush your teeth

Kids love doing grown up things, and letting them brush your teeth and seeing your positive reaction could make this routine fun right out of the gate! Try it!

So as I discuss with parents at our Northern Virginia pediatric dental practice, most children need a helping hand to get them accustomed to regular brushing, and creativity can go a long way. Make an effort to be fun, and it will go a long way to helping your children to develop good brushing habits and strong oral health.

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Let start by discussing bristle strength. It really isn’t good to use hard bristles even on an adult mouth. Children especially should always use a brush with soft bristles. It’s safer for their delicate gums (and yours too).

Be sure to get a brush that is small enough to fit comfortably in your child’s mouth. This may mean having to get one with a rounded head instead of a rectangular one. If brushing is uncomfortable, kids aren’t going to want to do it. Plus, they won’t be able to reach back teeth with a brush that doesn’t fit in there.

Replace your child’s toothbrush every few months. Even a great toothbrush is useless if it gets used too long. You can usually start to tell when the bristles are being worn down. There are plenty of fun designs available for kids so even when it is time to retire their favorite brush, there should be something equally exciting to replace it with.

When it comes to toothpaste, most companies focus on making ones for adults with specific needs such as whitening or anti gingivitis. Your children, on the other hand, really just need a toothpaste with a flavor that doesn’t keep them from wanting to brush.

[media-credit id=19 align=”alignleft” width=”190″][/media-credit]One other thing to look out for is fluoride. While fluoride is harmful to people if swallowed, it is great for our teeth. Of course, it’s tough to get kids to always follow the rules about not swallowing toothpaste, so for little children you will want one with as little fluoride as possible. Some are as little as one tenth of one percent fluoride which is enough to benefit teeth without being a huge deal if your kid forgets to spit the toothpaste out on occasion. Other toothpastes can have as much as .6 percent fluoride which is perfect for older children and adults.

Just remember when you are helping your child to put toothpaste on their brush that they only need about the size of a pea. Having a tiny toothbrush will help to reinforce that not a lot of toothpaste is needed to get their little teeth clean.

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If possible, go back to the exam area with the child. Ask if you can hold the child’s hand. This will also give you an opportunity to ask questions about the teeth and see what the dentist will do so that you are comfortable with the staff as well. Showing that you, as a parent, are comfortable in the environment and show that there is nothing to fear, is a good first step. Discuss what will happen when the child is in the exam area. Tell the child that he might sit in a chair for a period of time while the dentist examines their teeth. If the child will need to receive any fillings or other dental work, then you need to let the child know that he won’t be able to get up until the work is completed but that the staff will make him feel as comfortable as possible.

Talk to your child about the many things that happen at the dentist. Find a website so that you can better show the child X-rays, ways to clean the teeth and how the dentist will count the teeth in the mouth. A pediatric dentist will often let your child know exactly what is being done at the first visit before any tools are introduced in the mouth. Tell your child how important it is to see the dentist on a regular basis as the dentist can see cavities and make their mouth ‘super’ clean with fluoride that is something not easily done at home.

And with many children, rewards are always appreciated and can serve as good motivators, so after their first dental appointment, provide positive reinforcement and perhaps some reward that you would see fit.

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In dealing with the knocked out tooth, if you are able, and your child is old enough, place the tooth back into the socket and let your child hold it with his fingers and go to your dentist immediately so that he/she can place a splint, if not place the tooth it in a cold glass of milk as soon as possible. Take the child and the tooth to the dentist so that the tooth can be re-implanted and the dentist can place the splint, the dentist will also examine the gums, the bones, the tissues and the other teeth in the mouth.

Placing the tooth in milk will help keep it at a pH level appropriate enough so that the dentist or pediatric dentist can try to put it back in the mouth. If the tooth is a baby tooth, you should have a dentist examine your child to see if there is a need for a space maintainer, a “baby tooth does not go back into the socket, especially if the tooth was loose to begin with, putting the baby tooth back may damage the permanent tooth under it. If a child loses a tooth early, it can create issues with spacing in the mouth and how the adult teeth grow.

The timing of placing the tooth back in the socket is of utmost importance. There is only about a15 minute window for the dentist to place the tooth back in the socket, even if more time has elapsed you should still have the tooth repositioned. Damage to the enamel of the surrounding teeth needs to be examined as this can lead to possible early decay, sensitivity, discoloration and can be not esthetically appealing.

There are some preventive steps that can help prevent teeth from getting injured and in some cases minimize the damage caused:

–       Wearing a custom made mouth guard when playing sports

–       Keeping plastic covers on the corners and edges of tables at home when children are learning to walk.

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