Make Your Child’s First Dental Visit In Highlands Ranch A Happy One!
Perhaps no dental appointment is more important than your child’s first dental visit. In Highlands Ranch, our caring team loves working with kids. Our goal is to:
Dr. Haynes on a Child's First Dental Visit in Colorado
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Well, for children's dentistry, we recommend kids being seen at one year of age. Technically, we recommend at six months being seen, but you can be seen by ... and that's the eruption of the first tooth. You can either be seen by your pediatrician or a dental care provider, just to make sure that parents are understanding what to do and what not to do. As long as you've had that first six-month visit with someone, we recommend starting at the dental office at one year of age. We call it a happy visit. Most one-year-olds, that means what we're able to do is just have them smile, make sure that the teeth are erupting properly, that development looks good, we're not seeing any issues with home care where maybe there's areas that you're missing, do some guidance and counseling on brushing techniques and diet techniques and just things like that to make sure that your child avoids dental problems. That's typically the majority of that first visit. Sometimes we're able to polish your child's teeth, and that's great, but we won't push it because we want to create that positive dental experience, so when they come in next time, they're excited. They get their prize and everything. Then we can ease in some of those other things as they get older.
- Build relationships that can last a lifetime
- Reduce any dental anxiety
- Prevent oral health problems by encouraging healthy habits
By making their first dental visit enjoyable, your next appointment will be easier. To schedule your child’s first appointment at Highlands Ranch Smiles, call 720-644-8186.
Develop Good Oral Health Habits Early
The American Dental Association suggests bringing a baby to the dentist as soon as they get their first tooth, and we agree! For most kids, this will be before their first birthday.
Doctor Jessica Parry on Your Child's First Dental Visit
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It's recommended that your child has their first visit by the age of 1 or right around the time their first tooth erupts, and we call these first visits our happy visits. And generally these visits entail a quick exam as well as some dietary counseling and some hygiene instructions. And we're just checking to see that there's no cavities and that their development is normal. Our goal is for your child to have healthy teeth and to enjoy coming to the dentist. And so after that first visit, we work our way towards a full child's cleaning as well as demonstrating the proper way to brush and floss. All of our doctors and hygienists are very focused on education at Highlands Ranch Smiles, and we want to get your child excited about their oral health as well as coming to the dentist. If you're looking for an office that focuses on educating the entire family from infants, toddlers, teenagers, to adults, and focuses on keeping a healthy smile for life, come see us at Highlands Ranch Smiles.
We want these to be “happy visits” because our focus is on keeping your baby happy. We want your child to see our family dentist office as a place where people care about them. Those first few visits also are as much about you as they are about your child! We’ll take all the time you need to answer your questions about teething, cleaning your baby’s teeth, or any other oral health issues.
As more teeth come in, we’ll make sure your child’s teeth and mouth are healthy and their bite looks good. We’ll begin cleaning and polishing their teeth as part of our general dentistry. It’s important to care for primary teeth to help prevent dental complications that can result from early cavities and other issues.
Follow These Tips When Bringing Your Baby To The Dentist
Our team has seen many youngsters in our care rooms. Based on our experience, we have some suggestions to make visits for your youngest family members go well. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Schedule your visit at a time when your child is normally well-rested. Our extended hours make this easy to do.
- Leave other children at home, if you can.
- Bring a spouse, other family members, or a friend to help out so you can more fully focus on your discussions with our doctors.
- Write down in advance any questions you’d like to ask so you won’t forget.
We would be honored to help you mark the milestone of your child’s first dental visit in Highlands Ranch! Call 720-644-8186 to plan your appointment at Highlands Ranch Smiles.