Has your child never been to the dentist before? Here are some practical tips on how to prepare it and at what age to take it!
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23 January 2020All you want to know about dental child consultation!
How to prepare your children for the first consultation?
It is really important to play down the first dentist consultation for the children. In fact, children can feel parent’s stress, so stay cool!!
The most important key, is to prepare the child for the consultation. First of all, you have to do a brief description of what the consultation will be. You can use the terms as « the dentist will count your teeth. » « The dentist will check that your teeth are clean » « the dentist will check your smile » … but never use the sentences « you won’t feel any pain » « it won’t hurt » or « don’t be scare of the injection/needle ». That will just make your child more anxious about the consultation.
First consultation
Ideally, the child need to see the dentist around 4 years old. But the sooner the child see the dentist, the better it is for him. It allows him to be more familiar with the dental chair, the dentist, the instruments and the noise.
This first consultation can be a preventive consultation. The child will be more familiar with the practice, the dental chair… The dentist will check if the child/mother brush properly, how the brushing can be improved and if there is cavities in the temporary teeth that can lead to further problems.
It’s better for the child to have already see the dentist rather than coming for the first time with him for an emergency when the child is already anxious and in pain!
GOOD TO KNOW: It can be necessary to see the dentist if the permanent teeth is slow to appear (more than 2 years)
Emergency consultation
If your child feels some pain, give him some pain killer and try to book a consultation with your dentist ASAP.
His gum is bleeding? There is maybe lots of bacterias underneath the gum. Brush thoroughly the teeth and book an appointment with your dentist.
If you see a black stain in the surface of the teeth of your child, it can be a decay. It’s important to come for a consultation even for temporary teeth.
It can be a trauma after an accident. One third of the children under 6 years old had experienced an accident that had an incidence on their teeth.
- If one of his tooth is broken, be sure that the fracture is not too deep into the nerve and try to consult your dentist ASAP. If you can, keep the piece of tooth and bring it back to your dentist in a glass of physiological serum or milk.
- The tooth has been knocked out. Try to pick up the tooth without touching the root and put it in a glass of milk or physiological serum. Consult the dentist in the next couple of hours.
- A tooth is moving and after 3-4 days, is beeing discolored: take an appointment with your dentist.
Dental sealent
There is some tiny grooves at the surface of the teeth that can cause decays. The dental sellent act as a varnish applied on the permanent molar to avoid decays.We need to place them as soon as the permanent molar are erupted so around 6 years old and 12 years old.
Orthodontist consultation
Your dentist will identifiy the best moment for your child to consult an orthodontist. The best moment to see an orthodontist, is to wait at least for the first molar to erupt around 6-7 years old to be sure there is no pathology. In general an orthdontic treatment begin between 11 and 13 years old.
For other informations, don’t hesitate to contact your french dentist in London, Dr Laura Sadone doctor.sadone@gmail.com or 020 7373 6899.
The first child consultation is at 45£.
