Your First Visit
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommend that children have a first dental evaluation at age one. The first visit to the dentist is more introductory in nature and geared to provide the opportunity for the baby, parents, and dental team to meet and become acquainted. Fostering a level of comfort and trust at this crucial stage of development is essential for ensuring a positive relationship with dentistry and a lifetime of healthy smiles.
An initial dental evaluation is usually performed with the parent and doctor seated facing one another and the baby lying back upon the adult’s knees. Advice about home care, oral habits, and nutrition are common, and any questions or concerns that parents might have are addressed in a comfortable setting. In this way a “dental home” becomes established as a familiar, supportive base for regular pediatric dental care throughout childhood and adolescence. It is our goal at Cambridge Pediatric Dental Associates to maintain this important relationship all the way through the teen years and into young adulthood up until the age our patients finish college.
At any age, our goal for the first patient visit is to provide a comfortable environment to meet and become acquainted. Usually this initially happens in a private setting with one of our pediatric hygienists. Once the dentist is introduced, he or she will perform a thorough dental examination and take time to communicate with the patient and family. Dental tooth cleaning and other diagnostic procedures (such as dental x-ray imaging) may be suggested. Orthodontic assessment is also part of every first visit. Arrangements for any needed care, future regular periodic evaluation, and preventive dental health visits may also be scheduled as appropriate.