Your baby’s growth is marked by many milestones. The first smile, first roll over, first crawl, first tooth… Do you know that transforming your baby’s gummy grin into a mouth of pearly whites is a process that takes about 3 years? It is crucial that your child takes good care of his or her baby teeth. Once you see your child’s first tooth, or at the very latest by one year old, you should schedule your child to visit the dentist. You can start to introduce your child to the idea of a dentist by bringing him or her along with you (and other family members) for your own dental check-ups. Let the child watch the procedure and ask questions, if he or she is curious. After a few trips accompanying you to the dentist, when it is your child’s turn, he or she will be more comfortable and view the dental visit as routine and something that everyone in the family does. The first dental check-up is important as it identifies any potential issues with respect to your child’s dental growth and development. The dentist will also advise you on nutrition intake and home dental care (for example, proper tooth brushing techniques). Like adults, subsequent visits to the dentist for your child should happen every 6 months. Failure to care for the baby teeth may result in cavities, pain and infection. Early loss of these teeth may have consequences on permanent teeth. Baby teeth are important for chewing, speech and appearance. They are also important for holding the space in the jaw for the eruption of the permanent teeth. If baby teeth are decayed or lost too early, the neighbouring teeth will drift into the extra or empty space. When the permanent teeth develop later, they will grow crooked, affecting appearance and function. Ideally, the first dental visit should be done when there is no major treatment required. Should the first visit be made when your child is in pain and more extensive treatment is required, dental visits may become associated with pain or discomfort. In addition, if a problem does arise in the future, you will have the contact details of a dentist your child is familiar with on hand. Specialist Dental Group has a team of internationally qualified dental specialists/ dental surgeons that cover 5 specialty areas of dentistry and has a collective experience of more than 200 years. We have a team of dental specialists/dental surgeons from different specialty areas working together. Hence, not only are we able to serve to your family’s varied dental needs together, you and your family will be able to seek consultation from more than one type of dental specialist at the same appointment, if necessary.
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