As parents,you should take your baby to the dentist for the first dental check-up within 6 months after his/her first tooth appears.Subsequently, he/she should go for regular check-ups every 6 to 12 months. The reasons are:
- Dentists can monitor your child's oral health by his/her yearly dental records.
- Dentist can give you oral care advices according to your child's condition in order to enable your child develop good oral care habits at an early age.
- A child might have already established a bad dietary and oral care habit, or even have been suffering from dental diseases if he/she does not have regular dental check-ups before all primary teeth have erupted.
- Early dental check-up makes it easier for the dentist to examine your child's teeth in the future as a good rapport has already been established between your child and the dentist.
If the first tooth does not come through within 16 to 18 months after birth, parents should take their child to a dentist for an oral examination.
Preparing for your child's first dental check-up:
- Tell your child that the dentist will take care of his/her teeth.
- Describe to your child the surroundings of a dental clinic and jobs of a dentist. Play dental check-up role-play games with him/her.
- Tell your child the date for dental check-up so that he can prepare for it in advance.
