When should I start taking my child to the dentist? It’s a common question that many parents will ask themselves. At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we recommend seeing children from the age of 12 months onwards, by which time in most cases their milk teeth will have started to appear.
Taking your child to visit the dentist from an early age can help them to establish good oral health habits for life. At our Harley Street clinic we have a specialist children’s dental team, headed up by Professor Raman Bedi. Professor Bedi is the chairman of the Global Child Dental Fund and co-chair of a global expert committee on caries management and prevention. He takes the time to build up a rapport and a relationship of trust with all of his young patients.
Even if all of your child’s teeth haven’t erupted by the age of 12 months, it is still a good idea to bring them into our Harley Street clinic for a check-up. They may benefit from observing parents or siblings sitting in the chair and opening their mouth to let the dentist look at their teeth, and copying what they see.
Dental visits from an early age will help your child to see their dentist as a friendly face whom they look forward to visiting every six months. Information about good oral health will also be provided in an age-appropriate manner, helping children to develop good habits that will stick with them for life.
Children in the UK still have unacceptably high levels of tooth decay. By bringing them into our Harley Street clinic to visit a dedicated children’s dentist, you can help your child to stay decay-free. If they do need further treatment such as fillings, we use a laser rather than a drill, which is far more comfortable and less distressing for young patients.