When should a child first see a dentist?

The usual recommendation is by the first birthday, or within six months of the first tooth appearing. Most children arrive considerably later, usually because something already hurts.

Why so early, when there is barely anything there

The first visit is not really about the teeth. It is about three things: checking development is on track, giving parents cleaning and feeding advice that actually prevents decay, and — most importantly — making sure the child's first memory of a dental clinic is a boring one.

A child whose first visit is a painful emergency learns that dentists mean pain. That lesson can last decades and is remarkably hard to undo. A child who has been coming since before they can remember simply does not find it frightening.

"They're only milk teeth"

This is the single most expensive misconception in children's dentistry. Milk teeth hold space for the permanent teeth coming behind them. Lose one early to decay and the neighbours drift into the gap, so the adult tooth arrives with nowhere to go — and orthodontic treatment that would not otherwise have been needed becomes necessary.

Decay in milk teeth also hurts, keeps children awake, causes infection and makes them miss school. None of that is minor.

What causes most childhood decay

• Frequency, not quantity. A sweet eaten in one sitting does far less damage than the same sweet grazed over three hours. Each exposure restarts the acid attack.
• Bottles and sipper cups at night with anything other than water. Milk pooling around the front teeth overnight is a classic cause.
• Brushing too gently, too briefly and unsupervised. Children do not have the manual control to clean their own teeth properly until around seven or eight.

Practical things that work

• Brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste — a rice-grain smear under three, a pea from three to six
• Spit, do not rinse. Rinsing washes away the fluoride you just applied
• Supervise, and do it yourself until they are about seven
• Keep sweet things to mealtimes rather than spread across the day
• Water between meals, not juice

Making the first visit go well

Bring them to your own appointment first, so the room is familiar before it is theirs. Avoid words like "hurt", "pain", "injection" and "drill" — even in reassurance, because "it won't hurt" plants the idea. Book a morning slot when they are rested. And let us do the explaining; we do it in language that works for their age.

Then how often

Six-monthly for most children, more often where there is a history of decay. Problems in small teeth move quickly, and six months is about the right window to catch them while they are still small.

General information only. It is not a substitute for an examination — book an appointment for advice about your own teeth.