A child should initially see a dentist when they are around 2- 2 1/2 years old. It should be sooner if there is any trauma to the facial area or if the parent notices any color changes in the teeth or any holes or black spots.
The maintenance of the health of the primary (baby) teeth is vital to the healthy development of the permanent ones. Decay in baby teeth can result in a loss of space needed for the adult ones to erupt into. Infections arising from deep decay can turn into fever causing abscesses. The position of healthy baby teeth in the jaw bone also contributes to the normal development of the bone structures.
Baby teeth NEED TO BE BRUSHED or swabbed to remove food and plaque which causes decay. Sometimes it’s hard to use a toothbrush, so I usually recommend letting the child chew on the brush… with supervision! NEVER let a small child run around with a toothbrush in their mouth. That’s an accident waiting to happen!!!!
Overall, I am not concerned with delayed eruption of teeth until the baby is closer to age 2. Then, the dental expert must observe proper development of the jaw structures, and if it appears that there may not be “baby” teeth in the jawbone, an x-ray may be necessary to confirm this. However, this condition is extremely rare.
-Dr. Auster
A child should initially see a dentist when they are around 2- 2 1/2 years old. It should be sooner if there is any trauma to the…
