I have been mostly blessed with pretty good teeth, so I had only a couple of fillings when I got married. My sweetie is the exact opposite! More than half of his teeth have been crowned and he still has some trouble with them. It seems to be genetic, about half our kids have teeth like mine and half have teeth like his.Our first experience with a pediatric dentist was when Teach was about 3. She had been complaining about her teeth and even though we had pretty good insurance, I thought she was really too young to visit the dentist. Boy was I wrong! Our regular dentist wouldn't see kids under 5, so we started looking for someone else. It took us several weeks to get her in to their busy schedule. On the first visit, they told us that she definitely needed work done and to reschedule. Because of her age, they wanted to do a sedation. We were young and inexperienced in these matters, so we just took their advice and went with it.
At that second appointment, the anesthesiologist came out into the waiting room and gave her a shot. She immediately went limp in my sweetie's arms. It was the most terrifying thing! It was like she was dead. He carried her back to the chair and when he returned we huddled in our seats silently wondering if our tiny daughter would survive this visit.
She had four or five cavities filled and a silver crown put on the tooth they couldn't save. She kept that crown in her mouth for over five years and we were very grateful when it finally fell out.
Now I have the kids see the dentist when they are three, that is until they recommended that Baby Doll be seen as soon as her 1-year molars came in. What about you? When do you first take your kids to see the dentist?
I think 5 was when I started taking the boys. I too have a fear of the dentist due to terrifying dentist when I was little.
ReplyDeleteI made sure we had the best child friendly dentist for our family so the boys wouldn't go through what I went through.
It paid off and they are actually the ones coming to me asking when it's time for their check up.
That would be scary to experience! Dylan and Lexie both saw the pediatric dentist when they were 4 and go twice a year. Luckily, they seem to be blessed with good teeth...with the exception of orthodontic work in the future (at least for Dylan)!
ReplyDeleteI think 3 is a good age to take kids. That is when we took Mark and we just took Dax (he is only 2 and 1/2). They both enjoyed it. We love the pediatric dentist and his movies in the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same genetic thing - my teeth good, my hunny's not so much. He has a very expensive mouth! And so do half of my kids. At least it's just half. Right?
ReplyDeleteAwww that would be quite the experience! I took my son as soon as he was 4...right before he started Junior Kindergarten. His teeth were great (knock on wood) and he even loved the dentist! (what's up with that?? lol). My daughter is only 2 and has different teeth, so it'll be interesting to see how her first dentist appt. goes when it's her time...hopefully just as well (fingers crossed).
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Man, I don't know how people can afford dentists anymore! I used to get my teeth cleaned along with the kids every six months. It's been 3 years since my last cleaning and it seems we only go when someone has a toothache. I started taking them when they were 5 though, I think. My husband has soft teeth too. He just had to have two molars pulled last month. OUCH!
ReplyDeleteI've been going to the dentist since I was born, here babies go to the dentist way before 5...to make sure their teeth are growing properly, that sort of thing...although some dentists don't take younger children.
ReplyDeleteThey advise you take babies even before teeth as then when the baby sees you having them done when it comes to proper check up's they won't be like ?!?!!? As they'll see you've been going and be an old hat at it by then.
i have wanted to take jake in now at 19 mo but people keep telling me no.. to wait.. i have no idea what to do but my husband has awful teeth too, but i am leaning on his not being genetic but rather due to poor parenting in his early years with rather unhealthy eating habits and drinking soda from a very early age. so i'm torn about it....
ReplyDeleteBecause we are foster parents, we are always taking kids to the dentist; the first time when they are 6 months old! At first I was very very skeptical, but now I get it; They paint flouride on their tooth and these little ones who have had ALL these dentist visits, have no cavities and get very good "report cards." I know it sounds crazy but the other thing is, it's their normal, so they are never afraid; they don't actually clean their teeth until they are 3 and then they make a big deal of how it is a privilege of age, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy older two had an unplanned dentist visit; my 18 month old fell on Mother's day and knocked out her two front teeth. That's how we met our wonderful dentist and since then she and her older sister have gone to the dentist. Not a way I would recommend finding a pediatric dentist but in our case, it worked!
We have a good pediatric dentist (with a great playroom and carousel for the siblings). We take our kids in at 3. So far they haven't had any problems that young. The first time we had a child sedated for dentistry, it was a horrible feeling. I think they just gave here something to drink, but she went from a bright, energetic kid to seeing double and acting drunk. My 7yo has had 8 baby teeth pulled to make way for adult teeth, and he's done fine with shots and a good TV show. BTW this 7yo had teeth coming in behind his baby teeth. The dentist said it was no big deal, but the orthodontist recommended removal so as not to make the adult teeth crooked. I highly recommend having your kids see an orthodontist as soon as they'll let you.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's better for parents to get an early start with the dentist. It's not about getting the kids to the dentist ASAP though. Investing in some prep time can be valuable: teaching them about what goes on can help prevent unwanted hassle during that important first trip.
ReplyDeleteWell, it seems kids nowadays are brave enough to visit dentist, aren't they? But when I was just a kid, some of the toothaches I had were so painful that I couldn't sleep at night. The pain I felt was actually much more intolerable compared to when I crashed my bicycle.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to take them in at a younger age. If you wait too long they will have more work to be done and a worse experience during their visit. You don't want them to also have a fear of the dentist.
ReplyDeleteShelly Slader | http://www.shabandental.com/en/