What Happens in a Toddler's First Dental Exam?

A good dental office will let the child look at all of the equipment and let the child ask questions. An exam consists mainly of asking the child to open his mouth, count the teeth, look at the condition of them and the gums. My girls were each asked at their first appointments to show the dentist how they brush their teeth, how many times a day, and other questions about themselves that are easy for a toddler to answer. That's about it. The first appointments are really about making the child comfortable and easing fears.

Hold him down??? OMG - never take him there! Jeez! :)

I just took DS for his first when he was 2.5. They counted his teeth with him and just looked around with the mirror thingy. He actually sat still for it. We scheduled it with our regular cleanings, so he watched us first. His part took *maybe* 5 minutes.

Sounds like each office might be slightly different but my daughter just went to the dentist for the first time recently (3.5) and they did it all; tooth counting, cleaning, etc. I do agree that if they even mentioned that you might have to hold him down...uh no...don't go there. I don't love my personal dentist all that much so I opted to find a pediatric dentist for my daughter and she LOVED it! I think you should maybe look into that too. I also prepped my daughter a bit beforehand, for like a week or two b/c she can get nervous. I just told her that they would want to look in her mouth, stick their fingers in there, etc. etc. That really helped her too to know what to expect. They said I could have gone back with her but I sent her on her own telling her she was a big girl and could handle it and she did super great! They came to get me at the end so I could talk with the dentist. It was a positive experience for everyone!

Hi S.S.

I asked my mom - she's a dental hygienist. She said if there are no problems it's more of an evaluation. They will come in and get to sit in the chair and go up and down. my mom will sometimes put gloves on the kid and let them count her teeth and then she'll count their teeth - but she can also feel with her fingers for placque, buildup, or sores etc.

depending on the kid's tolerance level, she might show him the mirror or the scaler and then use it a little bit in the mouth. She'll have him open and close and bite a piece of paper to see jaw alignment. She'll also brush his teeth, just with a toothbrush.
If the kid gets upset - it stops. Any dentist that advocates holding your child down while he does dental work should NOT be practicing.... especially with kids!!!!!!

When the dentist comes in he'll look in the mouth with the light and check his glands, jaw alignment and maybe touch a bit with the scaler.

That should be it.

he'll get a toothbrush and a sticker.

The goal is to get into the habit of the dental visit and to get him comfortable with what goes on. it's also to check and make sure everything is ok with the enamel, bite and alignment because they can catch alot of things at this age.

Good Luck.

I'd steer clear of any place that suggests you hold him down.

My daughter went with me for cleanings when she was a baby and up until about 2 yrs old at which point we began seeing the pediatric dentist. When she went with me to our regular dentist, she was able to touch the equipment, have her teeth counted, etc so she'd be ready for her real dental visit.

We went every 6 months and xrays were taken once a year.

She is 16 now and just switched to our regular dentist.

Thankfully, we never had issues with decay, alignment, etc due to good gemes and good dental care.

At ours, my son was about 3, and the "plan" was just to get the mouth open, count teeth, look around. But because he was so OK and cooperative, they did a full exam & cleaning.
I don't think it's ever too soon for a cleaning, but not if it's going to traumatize him.

Our pediatric dentist goofs around with the kids and gets them happy and smiling. He then proceeds to do as much as hey will let him. They usually don't do x-rays unless they see spots they want to examine better.

J was 20 months and sat the entire time he got cleaned. K was about 3 her first visit and she had fallen and broke a front tooth. It was necessary for the dentist to examine her regardless of her feelings about it. He still played with her to make her feel at ease and she let him do whatever he wanted. She had her work done at the hospital out patient surgery center under general anesthesia. She went in, sent to sleep, had the work done in a few minutes, came out, woke up, and wanted to go play at McDonalds.

I think they only do x-rays one time a year unless they see something off/odd.

The now 4 year old boy is having some work done at the same hospital later this month. I am confident he will be much happier this way and will still be a very happy boy when going to see the doc for future visits.

I agree with those who asked if it was a pediatric dentist. I have a pediatric dentist that I LOVE! My son had feeding issues and is very defensive about his mouth. When he was little we did a lap exam when he laid on my lap and the dentist looked and counted. He did do as much of a cleaning as we could allow b/c it was necessary for the circumstances of his teeth. Our dentist is very good about being not scary and if there is blood he calls it red stuff, etc. Our dentist was okay with doing as much as possible, but not overdoing it. Over time my son became more and more comfortable and now will tolerate a full cleaning. Be sure you are comfortable and I believe in a pediatric dentist for sure!!!

Our pediatric denstist just looked the first two times (count teeth, look for major problems). Cleanings and x-rays started at age 3. They give special names to the equipment and make it all fun. My daughter said she wanted to be a denstist when she grew up (until she decided she wanted to be a teacher like mommy ). She loved going. I think it's because they made it fun and not scary. I highly recommend a pediatric dentist.

I don't remember how old my kids were when I first took them in. But it was to our dentist, not a pediatric dentist, and here's what happened:
The hygenist told them she was going to clean their teeth with a special brush that would tickle away the dirty places. She turned it on and showed it to them and let them put their finger on it as it spun so they could see it wouldn't hurt, then when they were okay with that she would let them pick the flavor of toothpaste and clean them (my daughter was still really freaked out, so they skipped the cleaning and gave her an electric toothbrush to take home and use so she could get used to it, the next time she was still nervous but after the first tooth was ok).
Then the dentist came in to "count their teeth". He made sure all the appropriate teeth had come in and that they were looking okay. It was really quick. He talked to them about brushing to keep away the "sugar bugs" so they wouldn't create homes in the teeth. Then they got their own, kid-sized toothbrush and a little tube of toothpaste and got to pick a toy out of the basket (he keeps a basket of really inexpensive toys, like a pack of them were $1 or something and he separates them).

Like I said, this wasn't a pediatric dentist, he was a "family" dentist who was really good with kids. It almost sounds like ped dentists have more of a "we have to do this attitude"....

My son was 5 when we first took him to the dentist. I'm glad we didn't take him when he was younger; my niece just went for the first time (she's 2 and 1/2) and apparently did NOT have a good experience. But I'm sure it depends on the office. During my son's appointment, they showed him how the chair went up and down; they used flavored toothpaste to brush his teeth; they showed him "Mr. Thirsty" and how it sucks the extra water out of his mouth; they used the mirror to count his teeth; they used the scraper to scrape some tartar off the front teeth; they gave him a flouride treatment with the plastic tray. So no, they didn't do a true "cleaning." That will be in six months. When he was done, they let him pick out a little plastic egg timer so he could make sure to brush for two minutes; there were other toys in the "treasure chest" so I guess he could have selected something else. And they gave him a new toothbrush and toothpaste. My husband had his cleaning right before my son's and so I think it helped that he saw his daddy in the chair first. And we also made a point of not freaking out or making big deal out of the visit; we tried to avoid making it seem like the dentist is something to be scared of or apprehensive about. I'd like to think that's why he was such a champ for his first visit!

You should never have to "hold him down" for them to do a cleaning! I can't believe any dentist would do that!! Is this a pediatric dentist?, if not you really should try to find one! Our dentist is a pediatric dentist and they do everything in a child friendly way and they would NEVER ask a parent to hold down their child for any exam!! On our first visit, the dentist counts the child's teeth and brushes with a regular toothbrush. I believe they also gave my kids a fluoride treatment. It was not scary for any of our children!!

My dd had her first visit at 18 months they had her sitting in my lap facing me and she leaned back into the lap of the dentist we were knee to knee. he counted her teeth did a quick brush and did a little floride brush nothing major and by the time she was getting fiesty he was done. She is going for check up #2 next month. I think its the same routine till they are old enough to sit on their own.