The first “Pediatric ” dental visit should be just after your child’s first birthday. The first dental visit is usually short and involves very little treatment.
We may ask you to sit in the dental chair and hold your child during the examination.
You may also be asked to wait in the reception area during part of the visit so that a relationship can be built between
your child and your dentist.
Dr. Yeh will gently examine your child’s teeth and gums. X-rays may be taken
(to reveal decay and check on the progress of your child’s permanent teeth under the gums).
We may clean your child’s teeth and apply topical fluoride to help protect the teeth against decay.
We will make sure your child is receiving adequate fluoride at home.
Most important of all, we will review with you how to clean and care for your child’s teeth.
At around 2 1/2 years old your child should have all 20 teeth. Between the ages of 5 and 6 the first permanent teeth will begin to erupt.
Some of the permanent teeth replace baby teeth and some don’t. Don’t worry if some teeth are a few months early or late as all children are different.
The first baby teeth that come into the mouth are the two bottom front teeth.
You will notice this when your baby is about 6-8 months old.
Next to follow will be the 4 upper front teeth and the remainder of your baby’s teeth will appear periodically.
They will usually appear in pairs along the sides of the jaw until the child is about 2 1/2 years old.
Baby teeth are important as they not only hold space for permanent teeth but they are important to chewing, biting, speech and appearance.
For this reason it is important to maintain a healthy diet and daily hygiene.
We love visiting Dr. Yeh and learning about dental health.
Thank you so much for the healthy and delicious snacks and our goody bags! We learned so much.