It is a common fallacy that only older people have dental issues. Children need to visit the dentist far more often, as their teeth are growing and are susceptible to decay just as adults’ teeth. Moreover, if you take your children regularly to the dentist, they will lose any fear they have and make a habit of regular dental visits.
Prevention is half of health
If left untreated, a decaying tooth will need to be operated on eventually, which is a painful and costly (for the parents) experience. However, if you prevent tooth decay at the very onset, your child will never have to go through the painful experience of undergoing dental surgery.
Brushing the children’s teeth at least twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, ensures there are no food leftovers to rot overnight. Apart from learning how to brush their teeth correctly, a dentist will clean the child’s teeth through a non-evasive and painless oral examination.
A family history
Another reason why routine checkups are important is the family’s history of gum diseases. Children whose parents have bad gums are at greater risk of contracting a nasty gum disease than their peers. Genetic proneness to dental issues means that your kids need to work extra hard to maintain their oral health that comes with a radiant smile.
Preventing cavities from forming
Dental caries or cavities occur when the acids made by bacteria cause a tooth to break down. Since they eat a lot of sugary sweets, cavities are a common dental issue with kids. All that extra sugar found in candy, chocolate, and fizzy drinks aggravates the problem.
Moreover, children are less likely to brush their teeth properly, i.e. hard enough. That’s why parental supervision and professional instructions a dentist gives them are essential for cavity prevention. Regular visits to the dentist allow the cavities to be discovered early when the hole is small in diameter, so it is easy and painless to fix it.
If this step is skipped and a dental caries is left to increase in size, then children will experience toothaches caused by infections. This can lead to swelling and eventually tooth loss. As soon as your child complains that their tooth hurts when they bite hard or drink something hot/cold, it’s to book an appointment at the local dentist.
Are the teeth growing in the correct way?
An essential segment of dentistry for children is inspecting whether the teeth are growing in the right way. This helps the dentist, together with the parents determine if the child would need to wear braces when they are old enough to get them.
The earlier the age a child gets braces, the sooner will their teeth start growing correctly again. Let’s face it, wearing braces as a teenager can cause social discomfort for your kid. The usual age to get braces is between 9 to 14 years old. However, the earliest age a child can wear braces is estimated at around 7 years of age.
A thorough cleaning
We’ve mentioned earlier that it’s essential children learn to properly brush their teeth and do this regularly. On the other side, even the hardest scrubbing cannot remove matter like a dental deep cleaning can.
The latter is performed by dentists who have professional tools and products to remove tartar and plaque from a patient’s mouth. During the period your child is still learning how to brush efficiently, regular visits to the dentist to thoroughly clean their teeth are pretty much necessary.
Healthy habits
As suggested in the introduction, the end-goal of your child’s regular dental visits is to nurture a culture of oral hygiene. If they remember the dentist as a person who cleaned their teeth and gave them pain-free checkups from time to time, they are less likely to fear them when they grow up.
In addition, dental health will become a priority for your child, so you won’t have to remind them or force them to brush their teeth before bedtime. For small children, seeing the dentist is nothing more than a routine and it should remain so as they grow up.
What does the first appointment look like?
Many parents ask the question when is the right time to see the dentist for the first time. The question is totally legit, as this should happen before the age of 2, after baby teeth come through the gums. The first checkup is brief, usually lasting around 15 minutes.
During this time, the dentist quickly examines if the child’s teeth are straight and whether the gums are of healthy, pinkish color. In order to save time (and money), parents often schedule their dental checkups at the same time as the baby’s.
These were just some of the top reasons why you need to take your child to the dentist as soon as their teeth come through. The sooner they get used to the sensation of someone poking around their oral cavity, the sooner they’ll realize dentists are their oral health’s best amigos.
