Is it time for your kid to start visiting the dentist? If so, you may not know what to expect throughout the whole experience. Here is what will happen when taking a child to your family dentist.
Discussion
A trip to the dentist for the first time is not all about the cleaning and inspection . A lot of it will be looking for potential problems and discussing them with you. The dentist will want to know more about what kind brushing you do at home with your child, if they have habits with thumb sucking that can cause problems with their teeth, and even your child's nutrition. This will help give the dentist a good idea about the health of your child's teeth.
Entertainment
If your dentist is set up for pediatric dentistry, chances are that there are some special rooms geared toward working with children. They may have a more friendly waiting room, an office with plenty of things to look at on the ceiling, or even the ability to watch cartoons during the exam, to distract them. All these things will make the visit go smoothly.
Exams
An exam for a child is a little bit different than an exam for an adult, since a dentist is looking for things that can be corrected while the child is young. This includes your child's bite, how their teeth are growing in, and the health of their gums. It is common for dentists to just perform exams at a young age, to make sure that everything is in good shape. As your child gets a little bit older, your dentist will start recommending a cleaning, in addition to the exam.
X-rays
X-rays may be taken when a child is young if there is a reason to be concerned. This is typically done in cases of extreme tooth decay or cleft palate. Once they reach the age where they are going to grade school, the dentist will likely start taking x-rays. The goal will be to look at how the teeth will grow under the gums, which can potentially give you a heads up on those baby teeth falling out.
Have questions about what to expect for your visit to the dentist with your child? Reach out to a family dentist for more information. They'll be able to let you and your child know exactly how the family dentistry process works.
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