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Dental Dangers
Why Taking Care of Baby's Teeth Starts Now
The next step is to make that first visit to the dentist. The American Dental Association recommends taking your baby to the dentist within six months after the first tooth comes in or by his first birthday.
"The first visit is really just a general screening," Dr. Hayes says. "You want to check that all the structures are developing appropriately, that the teeth are erupting in a normal sequence, that the gums are healthy. It's also the time you want to educate parents about nutrition and cleaning, and what they can be doing at home."
At the latest, the baby should be seen when he has six to eight teeth, according to Dr. Hayes. "At that point, I can tell them an earful about the child's future risks."
That early visit is particularly important for premature babies, of whom about 70 percent are expected to be more prone to dental problems, according to the Academy of General Dentistry, and to babies whose relatives have a history of decay.
Many parents worry about how their child will react to a dental exam, but if they've been accustomed to having their mouth cleaned since infancy, they'll probably be fine.
"The bottom line is that parents need to understand the importance of their baby's dental health and take it seriously," Dr. Hayes says. "At this point, most of us have our teeth, which is a big difference from our parents or grandparents. That's because when we were growing up, the importance of childhood dental health was recognized. Then, about 15 years ago, somebody realized that the problems didn't start in childhood, they started much, much earlier. We have that information, now we have to use it."
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