When Should My Child See a Dentist for the First Time?
By Dr Hisham Abdul-Ghaffar, dentist, Clyde Dental Care
Your child’s teeth get looked at early. In Victoria, your maternal and child health nurse checks your child’s teeth and mouth at their regular Key Ages and Stages visits, and you can check at home too (more on that below). For the first visit to the dentist, around 3 is a great age: most children can sit in the chair, follow what’s happening and enjoy a look around.
Come in sooner if you notice anything: white or brown marks on the teeth, a fall that has hurt a tooth, or anything else that worries you.
That first visit isn’t about treatment. It’s about your child getting to know us, and us getting to know their teeth, while everything is still easy.
Why the first visit matters
- Baby teeth matter. They help your child chew and speak, and they hold the space for the adult teeth underneath.
- Decay in baby teeth is common, and mostly preventable. An early visit can pick up the first signs, chalky white marks near the gum, when they are easiest to manage.
- Getting used to us when nothing hurts. It’s much easier for a child to meet the dentist on a calm day than for their first visit to be about a toothache.
- Your questions answered. Brushing, toothpaste, bottles, teething, dummies and thumb sucking: this is the visit to ask.
What happens at the first visit
- It’s a short visit, about 10 minutes for a 3 or 4-year-old and up to half an hour for a 5-year-old, with no fee for children under 6. You stay with your child the whole time.
- If your child would rather, they can sit on your lap while we look.
- We count the teeth, look at the gums and the bite, check for any early signs of decay, and ask about habits like a dummy or thumb sucking.
- X-rays are only taken if they are needed.
- We show you the easiest way to brush your child’s teeth, and talk through food, drinks and toothpaste.
- You leave knowing when to come back, usually every six to twelve months, depending on your child.
How to prepare your child
- Keep it low-key and positive. Read a picture book about going to the dentist, or play “dentist” at home by counting their teeth with a toothbrush.
- Avoid words like “hurt” or “needle”.
- Book a time when your child is usually at their best, often the morning, and not over a nap.
- Bring a favourite toy, and your child’s Medicare card.
Looking after baby teeth at home
- Start cleaning as soon as the first tooth appears, with a soft infant toothbrush and water.
- Under 18 months: water only, no toothpaste, unless we advise otherwise.
- From 18 months to 5 years: just a smear of low-fluoride children’s toothpaste on the brush, twice a day. Encourage your child to spit it out rather than rinse.
- From 6 years: a pea-sized amount of regular fluoride toothpaste.
- Keep brushing for them until they’re about 8. Most children don’t have the coordination to do it well on their own before then.
- Once a month, lift your child’s top lip and look along the gum line for chalky white lines, or white, brown or dark spots that don’t brush off. If you see any, book a check. Your maternal and child health nurse also checks at the 8-month, 18-month, 2-year and 3½-year visits.
Food and drink: preventing early childhood tooth decay
Tooth decay in babies and toddlers (dentists call it early childhood caries, or ECC) is mostly about what children drink and snack on, and how often. None of this has to be perfect. These are the things that make the biggest difference.
- Water is the best drink.
- How often matters as much as how much. Every sweet food or drink feeds the bacteria that cause decay. Keep sweet things to meal and snack times, rather than sipping and grazing through the day.
- A bottle is fine; the cot is where it goes wrong. A bottle of milk can still be part of bedtime. Give it in your arms, let them finish, brush their teeth, then bed: milk, then teeth, then bed. The bottle doesn’t go into the cot, and only milk or water goes in a bottle.
- Juice, cordial, flavoured milk and soft drink are treats. Keep them small, watered down and at mealtimes. Toddler milks aren’t needed.
- Watch the snacks that sound healthy. Dried fruit, fruit and muesli bars and squeeze pouches are concentrated sugar, so they’re best with a meal. Crackers and chips linger on the teeth. Cheese, plain yoghurt, fresh fruit and veggie sticks are kinder. If you use pouches, don’t let your child sip on one through a whole car trip.
- Breastfeeding is good for your child, and there’s no need to stop for the sake of their teeth. Brush before the last feed of the night and again in the morning.
- Never dip a dummy in honey, jam or anything sweet.
- Medicines: ask your pharmacist for sugar-free children’s versions, and give sweet syrups with food when the label allows.
Who your child will see
Children’s appointments are often with Christine Ciar, our oral health therapist. Oral health therapists are registered dental practitioners trained in dental therapy and dental hygiene; Christine checks, cleans and treats children’s teeth. I look after anything that needs a dentist. Find out more on our children’s dentistry page.
What it costs
- No fee for children’s checks under 6. A check takes about 10 minutes for a 3 or 4-year-old and up to half an hour for a 5-year-old: we look at the teeth, gums and bite and give you advice for home. X-rays, cleans and any treatment are separate, and we give you the cost before anything is done.
- Medicare’s Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS). Children aged 0 to 17 can be eligible, for example if the family receives Family Tax Benefit Part A. At Clyde Dental Care, eligible children are bulk-billed for the services the scheme covers, such as check-ups, x-rays and cleans, so there is no out-of-pocket cost for those. The scheme covers up to $1,158 per child over two calendar years. Bring your child’s Medicare card and we’ll check eligibility when you book.
- nib First Choice. We are an nib First Choice provider. Members of nib and its partner brands with eligible extras cover pay no gap for check-ups, x-rays, cleans and fluoride. Waiting periods and annual limits apply.
- Other health funds. We claim on the spot, so you pay only the gap.
Book your child’s first visit
We’re upstairs on Level 1 of Ramlegh Springs Town Centre, Shop L1-02B, 50 Ramlegh Boulevard, Clyde North. There’s a lift between Cellarbrations and Snap Fitness, so prams are easy, free parking, and a kids’ corner in the waiting room. Book online or call (03) 8908 3030.