Good Time for Dentist

I say if he is ready take him. My daughter was not ready at 3. There is no way she was going to open her mouth and let a stranger look inside. I waited until she was more comfortable with people and "friendly" strangers. If he will go, take him in.

I was told when they get their first tooth, so that is what we did with all 3 kids. They learn quickly to not fear the dentist!

Kids need to see a dentist starting at age 2... So for sure add him and get him in. Good habits start early. Good luck.

Our ped. dentist starts at 3. I would cover him. I don't think braces are usually covered, but should you ever need major care (accident or cavity) it's definitely worth having. That being said, we don't have coverage because we can hardly pay for medical right now, but when it was an option we had the kids on it, too. I think a cleaning runs around $50, if I recall right, so we're just covering that for ourselves and hoping we never have an emergency. Last emergency we had was for the baby and since they didn't really have to do much they didn't charge us anything. Hope that helps.

Please add him. I made that mistake last year, didn't add him thinking an exam an cleaning wouldn't cost much. Well they don't, but by 3 he already had several very small cavities, despite the fact that he eats very little sweets and we brushed (or at least tried) to brush his teeth every day. Go to a pediatric dentist, they are very good with the little kids. Don't bother with a regular dentist and don't listen to pediatrician, teeth aren't their specialty. We've added him and my 2 year daughter to our insurance for next year. Some kids/people are just prone to get cavities more and I guess my son is one.

Call your dentist and ask them what they do for little kids, and when they like to start seeing them. My dentist is great with kids. They have a prize box and toothbrushes to give them that are all geared to kids. They even have little kid movies that they can play on their computers for them to watch.

They had my youngest come in when he was three, but mostly they asked me about his personality. They had a "happy visit" which meant that when he came in with his big brother, they just rode on the chair and got to check everything out. Then, based on his reaction, they brought the dentist in and had him count his teeth. He got a little toothbrush and a toy.

They pretty much started all over then next time we went, going very slowly with him and gauging his reaction. When he decided to cooperate, they pulled out the "tooth tickler" to clean his teeth. He did okay, so they went ahead and did the whole cleaning.

Best of all, they didn't charge us for the happy visits. They were willing to do several of those to get him comfortable with visiting the dentist. Now he loves going to the dentist!

If you aren't comfortable with how your dentist handles kids, or if they say that they usually don't see kids (we had that happen--a previous dentist wasn't comfortable with tiny mouths), call a pediatric dentist and ask them when a kid should get his first visit and what they do.

But we've been very happy with our regular dentist, and it's nice to all go together as a family.

Take him in. My Pediatric Dentist advises that they see them the first time 6 months after their first tooth comes in. You don't want to deal with cavities in little kids because they have to sedate them. Definitely start him early because then he won't fear the dentist. My soon to be three yr old LOVES the dentist. And, as an extra measure- if they see them every six months they can know what they're dealing with in their mouth incase they ever have a bad fall and something is knocked around the dentist knows this child before having a traumatic experience.

Any dentist will give you a free consultation for a toddler. The point is to get them used to visiting and sitting in the chair and feeling friendly there. Don't worry about adding him to your insurance -- it's way, way too early. But definitely do the free visit!

I would determine the cost for 1-2 visits in 2010 (usually around $50 each) and then look at the cost for adding him to the insurance. If the cost for the visits is more than adding him to the insurance go ahead and add him - if not just pay out of pocket until it makes sense.

A.,
I remember actually asking my dentist and she said to bring him in as soon as possible. She told me that children under the age of two do not have the ability to create plaque buildup because their saliva breaks that down, but around the age of three that is not the case any longer.

I brought my son in when he was about a year and a half with me for my cleanings. They sat him in the chair and told him he was going for an airplane ride (I am sure every person has their own technique). Also they had him in the room when I was getting my teeth cleaned so he was almost excited to get into the chair and open his mouth. They did not charge the insurance company for his visits until they would be willing to pay for it. But since this was a small office the dentist wanted to have kids excited to come as apposed to scared.

I would call your dentist directly and have them find out for you what the provisions are with your old and new company, and discuss with them what they do in these types of situations. Chau!!

Going to the dentist also depends on the age your dentist recommends. Peds dentist usually will tell you they can start as soon as they have teeth and family dentist vary. Mine has said when they are three. My youngest has her first appointment in April a couple of weeks before she turns too.

I would recommend taking your son with you when you get a cleaning first to see that there is nothing to be scared of then schedule him an appointment. I would also recommend that other then taking pictures to let him go back by himself. Sometimes parents can be the root of anxieties children have at the dentist.

I'm a hygienist. Age three is when we start giving kids their own appointment. Before age three our office doesn't charge for a "happy visit". Of course if the parent has any concerns it's never too early for us to take a look. Most kids won't let us do anything before age three but most 3 year olds do great with the exam and cleaning. We make a judgment call on whether or not to try x-rays depending on the child and oral hygiene, whether we see anything suspicious or not. Usually I end up waiting until they're four for x-rays. Their mouths are a little bigger by then and they've already had a couple visits so they trust us more.

They need to start going at one year old.

My pediatrician suggested we start dental checks at three which we did. We found though that it was cheaper to pay for dental out of pocket than to add them to our dental insurance. But our kids have never had a cavity and brush their teeth very regularly. Though I think I may put them on soon just in case braces or that kind of stuff is needed.

Small Smiles dental off of Fairview (SP?)is a great place to take little ones. They have a kid friendly waiting room, and are easy to set up appointments with.

I do not know if it is worth putting them on your insurance unless you think their may be multiple cavities.

S.
Mother to Kai
www.HomeWithKai.info

Hi A.,
I have the same situation happening here, my little one will be 3 in March also and we chose to ADD her to our insurance this upcoming year. Not that I expect braces this soon, but a good check up is due now that she is eating more of a variety of foods (and sugary stuff has been introduced by dad!) Hope this helps, congrats on the one on the way, we are due in February =)

My pediatrician says take them to the dentist around their third birthday.

I have been seeing my dentist for 30 years (I'm only 33!) and he suggested bringing my kiddos in at the age of 4. In the meantime, make sure you're helping your little one brush and floss every day.

Our dentist told us to start around age 3 (we took her when she was 3 1/2) unless you notice problems before then. When we went to the dentist my daughter was pretty unsure about the whole cleaning thing, so they didn't actually clean her teeth because they said everything looked pretty good. They said she would probably let them clean her teeth in a year.

We decided that it was cheaper to pay out of pocket for cleanings (we ended up with a $27 bill for the check-up) than to pay for insurance. With baby teeth, it's going to be rare that they will have a dental emergency that would cost more than insurance. Our daughter actually did fall and smash in her front teeth and there was nothing the dentist could do, so we didn't even pay for that. So anyway, I recommend not paying for insurance.

I hope that helps.

I asked my dentist when my kids were tiny. At this age, they'll do just a regular toothbrush cleaning, show him what they're doing & why, explain what goes on at the dentist. It's mostly to get them used to going. They do check to make sure everything's growing like it should & that there are no problems. If an exam is covered, why not take advantage of it!