Child Friendly Dentist
A child’s first visit to the dentist should not be in pain, bring your children to the dentist with you, and help them see that it is not an unpleasant experience. A child’s relationship to their teeth begins with their baby teeth and will last a lifetime. Cavities in baby teeth are strong predictors for cavities in adult teeth.
We welcome children of all ages; we would recommend a child at least comes into a dentist with their parents at a young age. If you are concerned with any aspect of their teeth you can bring them for a checkup where we will count their teeth.
Ideally, a child should attend a dentist just before or at the eruption of his/her first adult teeth; this is roughly the age of 5-6. In this visit, we can explain how to clean the back teeth especially. The adult teeth that erupt into the child’s mouth at this age can be kept for life, if the proper maintenance is started early. An adult should brush their child’s baby teeth for them until they can take over, then the adult should supervise the brushing to ensure not too much toothpaste is swallowed.
We also offer fissure seals, which can protect the biting surface of adult teeth while they erupt. They are an excellent protection against cavities as they seal off deep fissures and places where food or plaque can be trapped. In cases where there is extensive capitation, a fluoride varnish may be recommended to halt the spread of any cavities.
Your dentist will also be checking the bite, and any crowding of the child, and will advise you as to the need for orthodontic work. Some issues caused by crowding can be intervened with early, and save the need for sometimes prolonged or expensive orthodontic work later in life.
We also offer sports guards for children and adults, we can customize these in any colour, even county or team colours or special designs. Sports guards are essential for protection of teeth during sports. A small investment in these can be very wise as trauma to front teeth can have a lasting impact later in life.