Family Dentistry Seattle, WA
When Should Your Child Start Seeing the Dentist?
| • |
The American Association for Pediatric Dentistry recommends your child be seen by a dentist once their first tooth comes in or by their first birthday, whichever occurs first.
|
| • |
At Crown Hill Smiles, our first visit with infants and toddlers is called a "Happy visit", which is mainly intended to introduce the child to the dental setting. They get to go for a ride with mom or dad in our dental chair. We take the child's lead and only do what makes them comfortable. If we get to take a look in their mouth, great! If not, that's ok...we'll set a goal for next time. If they are crying, we'll seize the opportunity to take a peek inside their mouth while its open!
|
| • |
The best thing parents can do to ensure their children have healthy teeth and mouths is to talk to them frequently about how to clean their teeth and keep them strong and healthy. This includes a visit to the family dentist every year, which should be described as a fun experience, not a scary one. Children that grow up without fear of the dentist ultimately have better oral health and less incidence of dental disease than those who do. |
Preventive Care
| • |
Dental cleanings: children need dental cleanings just like adults do. Because children have fewer and smaller teeth, their cleanings don't take as long.
|
| • |
Fluoride treatments: we recommend a fluoride varnish treatment on every child after every dental cleaning. Fluoride is one of our best ways to prevent childhood tooth decay.
|
| • |
Dental sealants: certain areas of our teeth are at especially high risk for tooth decay. The deep grooves in our back teeth often do not get thoroughly cleaned when we brush - especially for children, who are not the best brushers. To prevent the development of cavities a tooth-colored sealant can be placed to cover up the deep grooves.
|
| • |
Oral hygiene instruction/demonstrations.
|
| • |
Diet and nutrition counseling. |
Exams
| • |
Monitor growth & development of teeth and other oral structures.
|
| • |
Determine if and when your child needs to see an orthodontist.
|
| • |
Monitor the development of wisdom teeth.
|
| • |
Screen for early childhood caries (tooth decay disease).
|
| • |
Childhood caries is serious in that it can lead to pain and/or early loss of baby teeth. The baby teeth help to guide the adult teeth into place, and if they are lost early can result in significant alignment and crowding issues.
|
| • |
We recommend x-ray exams on patients starting around 3 years old, unless something concerning is noted on visual examination earlier. Since children have smaller and fewer teeth, typically only a few x-rays are needed. Frequency of x-ray exams will be determined depending on your child's risk factors for tooth decay. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends once per year for most children. |
Restorative Services
| • |
We provide some pediatric restorative services, but we do not do everything. If your child has a dental need that we cannot address, we have a strong network of highly reputable pediatric dentists that we refer to. |
|
