Do I need to take my 1 year old to the dentist?

[flamingeaux]

My little guy has 12 teeth. He'll be 14 months tomorrow(holy crap, how did this happen!). When do I need to start taking him in? sequins (if I'm not mistaken)

[Deleted]

My pedi started asking after my kids turned 1 but my dentist said they don't recommend bringing kids in until around age 3.

[Jalapeñomel]

Google told me 6 months after their first tooth, but that could be really early for some kids.

D has his first dental appointment in March, and he's 2.5, but he didn't get his first tooth until 16 months.

[sunshineandpinot]

I didn't take my kids until they were 3. Really it was more like 3.5. We have good teeth and I didn't have any concerns.

[JayhawkGirl]

My dentist did no charge lap to lap exams on DS at 1 & 2. Our new dentist does similar count your teeth checks to get them used to him and the chair. I think DS had his first real cleaning at 4.

[WOT?*]

My dentist is a very pro-active "get them in by their first birthday" kind of guy. The office name even reflects that.

[underwaterrhymes]

Jan 24, 2016 8:33:58 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

My dentist is a very pro-active "get them in by their first birthday" kind of guy. The office name even reflects that.

LOL. K didn't even have teeth yet!

We are taking him soon for his first appointment. He will be three in March.

[thebreakfastclub]

We started the pediatric dentist at 18m. It is a quick look at teeth and just getting comfortable with the dentist at that age.

At 2.5, he got a cleaning and flossing there with a full exam. He doesn't love it, but he didn't cry and sat in my lap pretty well.

[shell403b]

I started with E at 3. He goes with me, and aside from "green goo", he's a fan (weirdo).

[dojo]

Our children's dentist said 2 years old

[tulips]

DS is going for the first time in a couple of weeks. He's 2.5.

[karinothing]

My dentist and pedi said at one.

[auntie]

Pedi referred us at about 6 months for some discoloration. DS went every 6 months after. He had a cavity from an enamel issue that led to a cavity when he was about 2 1/2. If we'd waited until 3, it would have become an emergency and DS first appointment would have been pretty traumatic.

[gennyu]

My dentist said two and pedi said three so I split the difference and took him in at 2.5.

[ginger]

I think my dentist is one of the few who told me 4 unless we had concerns. I took her then and everything was perfect. She still loves the dentist and had her first bite-wing xrays last time.

[lissaholly]

Most dentists don't see kids until 3. Pediatric dentists will see them at 6 months( ?) I know my pedi was recommending by age one.

Going younger helps kids get comfortable so the exams can be more comprehensive early on. Both girls had the whole cleaning, in their seat without me, at 3. Both girls also fell and hit their mouths enough to get bloody gums before three. I got good peace of mind because I was able to take them to the dentist right away, because we were existing clients.

If insurance hadn't paid I might not have gone in early than 3 though.

[speckledfrog]

I took W at 2 and I'll take C at 2 as well.

[iheartbanjos]

We didn't take DD1 until she was 3, though in hindsight, I would have taken her earlier just for the Fluoride treatments. Most dentist offices do not charge for that, in my experience (we have moved 3 times and this has been the case each time.)

We took DD1 for the first time after a year. We just take both girls together. DD2 watches DD1. At almost 2.5, this was DD2's 3rd time at the dentist, and it was her first time laying in the chair. She still did not get a full cleaning. 3 years will probably be her first full cleaning.

[lilafowler]

We took E at 2.

[sookie]

When I called to ask our dental insurance about signing up DD they said they encourage first visits at 6 months. She either didn't have teeth or had one just barely breaking through and they said to take her anyhow. We went ahead and did it because it felt like a milestone type thing and DH was about to deploy and wouldn't be there for a 1 year checkup. It was silly, but the dentist said its not unusual (probably because of the military population). However, we didn't have to pay anything for it. If we had I probably wouldn't have taken her.

[MrsAxilla]

Stella went at 2, but only because the older kiddo had an emergency and when I was there I asked about her and they were like "how about right now?" All they did was look at her teeth and brush them for her. She loved it and her free toothbrush and thinks brushing is fun now (so that's good), but it would have been fine waiting until closer to three.

[isabel]

I think pedi said around 2 years when I asked at DS's 9-month exam. We'll see what we end up doing. He has 6 teeth now. We've just been rubbing them with a washcloth or using a little toothbrush, per the advice of the pedi.

[browneyedgirl9]

We took DS at 1.5. Predi has said to make sure he went between 1-2 just to start getting him use to it and have teeth checked. DS didnt get first tooth until 13 months.

[Deleted]

We took C just after his first birthday.

[cleo29]

Ours says 18 months. I think if you are going to wait longer, train them to spit so your can start using toothpaste with fluoride and two floss between their molars.

[styme46]

I took ds for the first time at 3. He just had his 2nd one in January. The dentist (pediatric dentist) said 6 months, but that's mostly to get them used to it. The last two times were pretty pointless since ds isn't really familiar and didn't want to cooperate. In hind sight, I wish I would've taken him sooner.

[sequins]

Depends on your pediatric dentist. I personally like to see kids as soon as their teeth are out. It's best to get them used to the dentist, so a quick exam to see if everything is good would be great.