Children's Dentistry

Most of children's dentistry is not treatment at all. It is getting a child comfortable in a dental chair early, keeping an eye on teeth that are still arriving, and catching the small things before they turn into the kind of problem a child remembers.

We see children for routine care alongside the rest of the family, and our team includes dentists whose training is in treating children — their backgrounds are on the meet the team page.

Your Child's First Visit

The first appointment is mostly about the room, not the teeth. We let your child look around, sit in the chair, and see the instruments before anything happens with them. If all we manage the first time is a ride in the chair and a count of the teeth, that is a good first visit.

You are welcome to stay with your child throughout. Bringing a younger sibling along to watch an older one's appointment is often the easiest introduction there is.

Checkups and Cleanings

Children's checkups follow the same shape as an adult's, at a pace that suits them. We check the teeth that are through and the ones still coming, look at how the bite is developing, clean where cleaning is useful, and talk to you both about what we found.

Baby teeth matter more than people expect. They hold space for the adult teeth behind them, and losing one early can make the permanent tooth come through crowded or out of position.

Keeping Problems Away

Prevention is most of the value of seeing a dentist regularly as a child. Small habits do the heavy lifting here:

• Brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste, supervised until your child can do a thorough job alone
• Starting to clean between the teeth once two of them touch
• Keeping sugary drinks to mealtimes rather than sipped through the day
• Regular checkups, so anything starting is found while it is still small
• A mouthguard for contact sports

We will show you what a good brushing looks like on your own child's teeth rather than in the abstract, which tends to be more useful than any leaflet.

If Your Child Is Nervous

Plenty of children are, and it is not a problem to be solved in one appointment. We go at their pace, explain what we are doing in words that make sense to them, and stop when they need us to. Short positive visits build more confidence than one long difficult one.

Where a child cannot manage treatment awake — because of the amount of work needed, a very high level of anxiety, or additional needs — sedation is an option, and it is something we do a great deal of. Our children's dental sedation page explains how that works and what to expect.