First Visit

We recommend booking your child’s first dental visit with Dr. Tracy or Dr. Igor soon after their first tooth erupts or by age one. The aim is for your child to get into a regular dental care routine before any problems can develop with their teeth.

By examining your child’s teeth every six months, we can catch any small problems early and provide suitable treatment as well as other practical help and advice. Come visit our kids dental center to receive a personalized and comprehensive care using natural techniques and organic measures.

We can give you information about important pediatric dentistry topics, such as:

• Infant feeding practices
• Baby bottle tooth decay
• Toothbrushing
• Teething
• Pacifier use
• Finger and thumb-sucking habits

Preparing for Your Child’s First Visit

It can be helpful to schedule a morning appointment for your child’s very first visit, so they are more alert and refreshed after a good night’s sleep and are less likely to be cranky and in need of a nap. If your child is slightly older, talk to them briefly about what they can expect and try to build a sense of excitement. Explain why it’s important to see a dentist.

If you have dental anxieties, remember your feelings are quite different from your child’s and are based on your experiences.

Try not to relate these feelings to your child by only talking about the dentist in positive terms and staying calm during their visit. Children are excellent at picking up on parent’s anxieties, which can increase their anxiety level.

Information We Need from You

At this very first visit, we will need to record your child’s complete health history. We must know about any health issues and medications, including those prescribed and over-the-counter, as these could impact any treatment we suggest. We want to make sure that any procedure we recommend is safe and appropriate for your child.

Also, if your kid is unlikely to find a dental exam upsetting, talk to us about your concerns. Our pediatric dentists are specially trained to help children and are excellent at ensuring they feel comfortable during visits, but any additional information is always welcome.

What to Expect During the First Visit?

This first dental visit is to help your child feel comfortable seeing a dentist. It may simply involve a ride in the dental chair, and younger children can remain seated on your lap.

Depending on your child’s age, we may perform a full examination, checking to make sure their teeth and jaws are developing properly. If needed, we can gently clean their teeth.

Our dentist can demonstrate the right way to brush and floss teeth, teaching older children directly in a way that is fun and enjoyable. We can talk to you about appropriate fluoride use, based on your child’s current dental health.

As baby teeth fall out quite soon, we don’t always take dental x-rays unless we can see signs of tooth decay or other dental problems. For example, we might need to take a dental x-ray if we are concerned about the development of an adult tooth underneath. Generally, we prefer very young children not to have dental x-rays unless absolutely necessary.

During this first visit, we can gain a good overview of your child’s oral health and use the information to recommend a suitable preventive dental care plan moving forward. Your child’s plan will show how frequently we feel they should visit us, and details of any other treatments that may help them.

Children who may have a higher risk of developing dental problems could benefit from more frequent dental visits so we can monitor any changes to their dental health more closely, but most will need to see us every six months.

Why We Recommend Regular Dental Visits

When you bring your child to visit us regularly for dental examinations, we can make sure your oral care routine at home is working properly. We can quickly discover if there are any problems and can work with you to fix them. Most importantly, your child will get used to seeing us regularly and will learn that seeing a dentist helps prevent dental problems and is certainly nothing to fear.

Every time your child comes to see us, we can help build more confidence and trust. Our pediatric dentists have chosen a pediatric dentistry career path because they love seeing and helping children, and there is little more rewarding than seeing a child grow up with a healthy, confident smile.

Although we strongly suggest booking a child’s first dental visit by age one, please don’t worry if your child is a little older and has yet to see a pediatric dentist.

We welcome older children and will work hard to ensure they feel comfortable during their first visit and hopefully find it enjoyable and interesting.

Pediatric Dentistry Center
2148 Ocean Ave, Ste 401A
Brooklyn, NY 11229
☎ 718-339-1810