First dental appt....what age?

I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the dentist
before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the girls' first dental
check-up and was told that they don't recommend that children come in until
they're around the age of 5. That seems *very* late to me, but I have heard
conflicting info. on this. I've read that children should go to the dr. when
they cut their fist tooth and I've read they should wait until they're 3 1/2.
I think I remember our ped. saying something about the age 3 for the first
dentist visit. I don't feel comfortable waiting until the children are 5 to
take them to the dentist....what if there's something wrong with their teeth
and it goes undetected. What do you all think? Should I make an appt. with a
different dentist? I wanted the girls to go to my dentist because I've always
been very happy with him. Has anyone heard of waiting until a child is 5 to
take them to the dentist for the first time?

TIA,
Andrea
twin girls-Jordan & Madison
3 1/2 yrs. old

I'm sure a few years ago, everyone waited til age 5 and we all still have
our teeth. Obviously, Shirley will know much better than me, but in your
shoes I would go find another dentist even if you swap back to your own
later. I called to take EHC in at 3.5 but the dentist I chose had a 9-month
waiting list for first appointments, so our first visit was at age 4.25.
Now we are "in", they just saw Holly at 2.5, more for her to get comfortable
early and make her feel big than anything else. She had a wonderful time
riding on the chair.

Personally, I think 3.5 - 4.5 is perfect and you are almost bound to have to
wait, so you are doing the right thing investigating it now. :-)

--Janet
Elliot, Hanna, Connor (10/21/96)
and Holly (4/4/01)

"Andrea" wrote in message
...
I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the
dentist
before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the girls' first
dental
check-up and was told that they don't recommend that children come in
until
they're around the age of 5. That seems *very* late to me, but I have
heard
conflicting info. on this. I've read that children should go to the dr.
when
they cut their fist tooth and I've read they should wait until they're 3
1/2.
I think I remember our ped. saying something about the age 3 for the first
dentist visit. I don't feel comfortable waiting until the children are 5
to
take them to the dentist....what if there's something wrong with their
teeth
and it goes undetected. What do you all think? Should I make an appt.
with a
different dentist? I wanted the girls to go to my dentist because I've
always
been very happy with him. Has anyone heard of waiting until a child is 5
to
take them to the dentist for the first time?

TIA,
Andrea
twin girls-Jordan & Madison
3 1/2 yrs. old

I'm sure a few years ago, everyone waited til age 5 and we all still have
our teeth. Obviously, Shirley will know much better than me, but in your
shoes I would go find another dentist even if you swap back to your own
later. I called to take EHC in at 3.5 but the dentist I chose had a 9-month
waiting list for first appointments, so our first visit was at age 4.25.
Now we are "in", they just saw Holly at 2.5, more for her to get comfortable
early and make her feel big than anything else. She had a wonderful time
riding on the chair.

Personally, I think 3.5 - 4.5 is perfect and you are almost bound to have to
wait, so you are doing the right thing investigating it now. :-)

--Janet
Elliot, Hanna, Connor (10/21/96)
and Holly (4/4/01)

"Andrea" wrote in message
...
I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the
dentist
before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the girls' first
dental
check-up and was told that they don't recommend that children come in
until
they're around the age of 5. That seems *very* late to me, but I have
heard
conflicting info. on this. I've read that children should go to the dr.
when
they cut their fist tooth and I've read they should wait until they're 3
1/2.
I think I remember our ped. saying something about the age 3 for the first
dentist visit. I don't feel comfortable waiting until the children are 5
to
take them to the dentist....what if there's something wrong with their
teeth
and it goes undetected. What do you all think? Should I make an appt.
with a
different dentist? I wanted the girls to go to my dentist because I've
always
been very happy with him. Has anyone heard of waiting until a child is 5
to
take them to the dentist for the first time?

TIA,
Andrea
twin girls-Jordan & Madison
3 1/2 yrs. old

Andrea writes:
I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the
dentist before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the
girls' first dental check-up and was told that they don't recommend
that children come in until they're around the age of 5. That seems
*very* late to me, but I have heard conflicting info. on this.

This seems very late to me, too. They probably just don't like dealing
with small children. I'd find a different dentist who wants to see your
kids. You can always switch later.

David desJardins

Andrea writes:
I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the
dentist before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the
girls' first dental check-up and was told that they don't recommend
that children come in until they're around the age of 5. That seems
*very* late to me, but I have heard conflicting info. on this.

This seems very late to me, too. They probably just don't like dealing
with small children. I'd find a different dentist who wants to see your
kids. You can always switch later.

David desJardins

On 24 Oct 2003 02:04:19 GMT, (Andrea) wrote:

I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the dentist
before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the girls' first dental
check-up and was told that they don't recommend that children come in until
they're around the age of 5. That seems *very* late to me, but I have heard
conflicting info. on this. I've read that children should go to the dr. when
they cut their fist tooth and I've read they should wait until they're 3 1/2.
I think I remember our ped. saying something about the age 3 for the first
dentist visit. I don't feel comfortable waiting until the children are 5 to
take them to the dentist....what if there's something wrong with their teeth
and it goes undetected. What do you all think? Should I make an appt. with a
different dentist? I wanted the girls to go to my dentist because I've always
been very happy with him. Has anyone heard of waiting until a child is 5 to
take them to the dentist for the first time?

Did the dentist give you this advice, or the receptionist?

Our girls started going when they were around 4, or a little before,
IIRC (it's been awhile). Our boy went at 2, but that was because he
knocked out a tooth. 5yo seems a little late to me. For the girls, the
first visit to the dentist were mostly for familiarization and getting
comfortable with the whole "dentist" thing. We thougth it would be
better if they didn't start out with problems on their first visit.

Nick

--
Nick Theodorakis

nicholas_theodorakis [at] urmc [dot] rochester [dot] edu

On 24 Oct 2003 02:04:19 GMT, (Andrea) wrote:

I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the dentist
before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the girls' first dental
check-up and was told that they don't recommend that children come in until
they're around the age of 5. That seems *very* late to me, but I have heard
conflicting info. on this. I've read that children should go to the dr. when
they cut their fist tooth and I've read they should wait until they're 3 1/2.
I think I remember our ped. saying something about the age 3 for the first
dentist visit. I don't feel comfortable waiting until the children are 5 to
take them to the dentist....what if there's something wrong with their teeth
and it goes undetected. What do you all think? Should I make an appt. with a
different dentist? I wanted the girls to go to my dentist because I've always
been very happy with him. Has anyone heard of waiting until a child is 5 to
take them to the dentist for the first time?

Did the dentist give you this advice, or the receptionist?

Our girls started going when they were around 4, or a little before,
IIRC (it's been awhile). Our boy went at 2, but that was because he
knocked out a tooth. 5yo seems a little late to me. For the girls, the
first visit to the dentist were mostly for familiarization and getting
comfortable with the whole "dentist" thing. We thougth it would be
better if they didn't start out with problems on their first visit.

Nick

--
Nick Theodorakis

nicholas_theodorakis [at] urmc [dot] rochester [dot] edu

I used to work for a pediatric dentist and we saw children as young as 2 years
old.

For children that age it was mostly a short visit to familiarize them with the
office, the Dr and staff. Depending on how the child was behaving, we would
give them a ride on the magic chair, count their teeth and go over brushing and
healthy eating habits with them.

Many kids did not come in until 3 and that is OK. I personally would not wait
longer then 3 based soley on my experiences working with kids and dentistry.
Five years old seems a bit late to me.

Hope your girls have a great experience!
Michelle
Michelle
Mommy to Riley Claire & James Michael

I used to work for a pediatric dentist and we saw children as young as 2 years
old.

For children that age it was mostly a short visit to familiarize them with the
office, the Dr and staff. Depending on how the child was behaving, we would
give them a ride on the magic chair, count their teeth and go over brushing and
healthy eating habits with them.

Many kids did not come in until 3 and that is OK. I personally would not wait
longer then 3 based soley on my experiences working with kids and dentistry.
Five years old seems a bit late to me.

Hope your girls have a great experience!
Michelle
Michelle
Mommy to Riley Claire & James Michael

That first sentence should have had a :-)) at the end.

:-)
--Janet
Elliot, Hanna, Connor (10/21/96)
and Holly (4/4/01)

"multimom4" wrote in message
news:h40mb.5895$9E1.29419@attbi_s52...
I'm sure a few years ago, everyone waited til age 5 and we all still have
our teeth. Obviously, Shirley will know much better than me, but in your
shoes I would go find another dentist even if you swap back to your own
later. I called to take EHC in at 3.5 but the dentist I chose had a
9-month
waiting list for first appointments, so our first visit was at age 4.25.
Now we are "in", they just saw Holly at 2.5, more for her to get
comfortable
early and make her feel big than anything else. She had a wonderful time
riding on the chair.

Personally, I think 3.5 - 4.5 is perfect and you are almost bound to have
to
wait, so you are doing the right thing investigating it now. :-)

--Janet
Elliot, Hanna, Connor (10/21/96)
and Holly (4/4/01)

"Andrea" wrote in message
...
I have been feeling like a slack Mama for not taking my girls to the
dentist
before now, so I called my dentist to make an appt. for the girls' first
dental
check-up and was told that they don't recommend that children come in
until
they're around the age of 5. That seems *very* late to me, but I have
heard
conflicting info. on this. I've read that children should go to the dr.
when
they cut their fist tooth and I've read they should wait until they're 3
1/2.
I think I remember our ped. saying something about the age 3 for the
first
dentist visit. I don't feel comfortable waiting until the children are
5
to
take them to the dentist....what if there's something wrong with their
teeth
and it goes undetected. What do you all think? Should I make an appt.
with a
different dentist? I wanted the girls to go to my dentist because I've
always
been very happy with him. Has anyone heard of waiting until a child is
5
to
take them to the dentist for the first time?

TIA,
Andrea
twin girls-Jordan & Madison
3 1/2 yrs. old