When Should My Baby Start Going to the Dentist?
When your baby is first born, you frequently take them to the doctor for check-ups and exams to make sure they’re continuing to stay healthy. But one doctor you may forget to visit is the dentist, or our Hudsonville children’s dentist, to be specific. After all, babies aren’t born with any teeth, so why schedule an appointment? The truth is that preventive dental care starts early, even before your baby’s first tooth.
Here’s a recommended timeline for your child’s dental health journey.
How Do I Care for My Baby’s Gums?
Before your baby’s first trip to the dentist, there are ways you can clean their mouth at home. Teeth don’t typically start to appear in your child’s mouth until they are between 6 and 12 months of age, although every child is different. In the meantime, our local children’s dentist recommends with a soft, wet washcloth or silicone finger-slip toothbrush after they are fed or at least twice a day.
Even though there are no teeth, bacteria can still grow and cling to gums if ignored. The plaque that’s left behind from the bacteria even has the potential to result in damaged primary teeth as they’re breaking through. Therefore it’s so crucial to not let your child fall asleep with a bottle of milk or juice as the sugars can sit in their mouth all night.
It might not seem like much, but wiping down your baby’s gums after meals and before bedtime can positively impact their oral health. These early dental cleaning instances are also great opportunities to bond with your child.
What Are Infant Oral Health Exams?
can occur either within 6 months of their first tooth erupting or by their first birthday, whichever comes sooner.
An infant oral health exam isn’t like a regular visit to the dentist. Instead of having your child sit in a dental chair, our dentist will conduct what’s called a “knee-to-knee” exam. You’ll sit facing our dentist with your knees touching, and your baby will be facing you on your lap with their legs wrapped around your waist. This way, your baby can lay their head on our dentist’s lap and get their exam while still being held and cared for by you.
Our entire team inside our Hudsonville, MI, dental office will do everything we can to make your baby’s first oral health exam as comfortable as possible. As your child’s parent or guardian, you’ll play a critical role in ensuring your child has a safe and positive first experience at the dentist. Your child can then see our dentist for a professional teeth cleaning every six months, which is also recommended for everyone else.
When Should You Start Brushing Baby Teeth?
You’ll want to start as soon as they come in. Using a wet toothbrush with a soft brush head, gently brush all sides of your baby’s teeth. You can use fluoride toothpaste if you wish, but only in the amount equivalent to a grain of rice.
Your baby will likely not have mastered spitting on command by the time their first tooth comes in. Because of this, you can help your baby bypositioning their body in a way that allows any spit from brushing to dribble out of their mouth. As soon as they can spit on their own, encourage them to do so in the sink.
Around age 3, you can start using a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. Let your child start brushing their own teeth (still under your supervision) as soon as they are old enough to hold the brush. Most children can brush their teeth completely on their own around the time they start kindergarten or first grade.
Don’t be afraid to ask our dentist about toddler toothbrushing tips; we have plenty!
When Should I Floss Baby Teeth?
It can be such an uphill battle to get your child to brush their teeth twice a day that many parents forget about flossing altogether. However, you can start flossing your baby’s teeth as soon as two of them have erupted next to each other.
By flossing your baby’s teeth, you’ll be prepared to teach them how to floss on their own as soon as they are able, following a similar timeline to brushing: first, under your supervision as soon as they can use the floss, and then on their own.
Follow the steps below when flossing your child’s teeth:
- Use about 18 inches of floss to start.
- Wrap most of the floss around each clean middle finger leaving about two inches in between the two fingers.
- Tightly hold the unwound floss between your index fingers and thumbs.
- Move the floss between the teeth using a gentle rubbing motion.
- Curve the floss into a “C” shape once it reaches the gum line. It should hug one of your child’s teeth.
- Gently move the floss up and down against the tooth.
- Repeat steps 4-6 until you’re finished flossing all teeth that are touching each other.
Preparing Your Child to Lose Baby Teeth
Just as your child starts brushing on their own, they’ll likely encounter a new dental experience: losing their first baby tooth. Children usually start around six or seven, and the process continues until they’re about 12 years old.
Losing baby teeth is a natural process, although it can be frightening for some children when it first happens. Make sure to prepare your child for what will occur when they start to lose their baby teeth. Consider celebrating the loss of your child’s baby teeth with visits from the tooth fairy to make the process more fun.
What’s not fun is losing a tooth due to an injury. If that’s the case, our emergency children’s dentist is available after hours to treat your little one.
Schedule an Appointment Today
Whether you’re ready to come in for a baby oral health exam or your child is due for their six-month cleaning, our , is here to help. Call Hudsonville Dental Kids today at (616) 209-4039 to schedule an appointment.
This blog post has been updated.
