Children’s Dentistry

We know that children’s teeth are important and that the first dental visits can make a strong positive impact on lifetime dental habits. At Drummoyne Dental we aim to make the early appointments as stress free as possible to encourage good lifelong habits and make sure your child has a positive dental experience.

Baby teeth

The first baby teeth erupt at around six month, with the last at around two years, there are 20 baby teeth and all of these will fall out, the first at about 6 years and the last around 12. There is a significant variation in both tooth eruption and when the teeth fall out, in most cases the variations are normal and not a cause for concern however if you are concerned please feel free to contact us.
The first dental visit is an important step to make sure that your child has, we recommend that the first visit should be around 2 year old.

Many people think that because the baby teeth fall out they do not require the same attention as permanent teeth. Unfortunately baby teeth can decay and in some cases can cause significant pain and distress to children. Decay in children in Australia is still low, but there has been an increase in recent years of decay in young children. Early loss of teeth can cause orthodontic problems and may impact on other aspects of your child’s development.

Hints for looking after your child’s teeth

• Start cleaning as soon as teeth appear, this may be by using a face washer to clean the newly erupted teeth but try and move to a tooth brush as soon as possible.
• Use a fluoridated tooth paste, by the time children start school they should be using full strength (adult) toothpaste. Children’s toothpastes can be lower in fluoride and may be useful when children cannot spit it out to prevent dental fluorosis but once they can spit the paste out you should switch to normal adult toothpaste.
• Don’t give children a bottle with juice, milk or any sugar containing drink, especially when they are going to bed. Use normal tap water which has fluoride added in a bottle if they need something to drink at bedtime
• Minimize the intake of sugary treats. It’s better to have sugary food consumed quickly rather than spreading the time taken to eat it.
• Try and make the dental visit a positive experience, avoid negative words such as pain or needles and encourage your children to be good helpers by getting them to let you look at their teeth before you come to the dentist. It is often worth them watching you or an older child in the chair before they come in.