First Dental Appointments

Did you know the AAPD & the AAP recommends that children have their first dental visit by their first birthday?  I was told by our pediatrician when Kathryn and Isaac turned one that we should schedule our first dental appointment.  The kids just turned three this month...and just had their first dental appointment this week.

Here's why we haven't taken them sooner:

• The closest pediatric dentist is 45 minutes away.
• The dentist Jonathan and I see every six months doesn't accept children as patients until age 3.
• Um, hello!  They have BABY teeth for crying out loud.  I know healthy habits start young, but we take care of their teeth and don't feed lots of sweets.

We have great dental insurance and have had coverage on the kids from the start, but honestly, visiting the dentist just hasn't been a priority for us.  We started "brushing" I&K's teeth with a wash cloth in the bath tub at sight of first tooth, transitioning over to an empty toothbrush at 1, adding fluoride-free toothpaste at 1 1/2, switching to kid-friendly fluoride toothpaste at 2 1/2.  I think we are doing pretty well in the tooth care department. 

The first appointment went off without a hitch.  Isaac went first (HUGE surprise) while Kathryn watched.  No tears, a lot of questions and a lot of giggles.  Tina, our hygienist, was AWESOME!  Both kids had some plaque build-up on the back of their lower front teeth (JWH & I will do better brushing that area).  The dentist will watch their bites (both have an overbite/over jet situation which may require future orthodontics) and Kathryn has an extra tooth that will be monitored as well (which we already knew)...but other than that, their teeth look great! 

And even better, I took them to the appointment ALL BY MYSELF! 

Yea for us!!