Frequently Asked Questions About Children’s Dentistry

Is your child ready to brush on their own? How soon should you bring them into our practice? These are just a couple of the many questions we hear often related to children’s dentistry. For your convenience, we thought we’d share the answers with you in this helpful blog!

1. At what age can children brush their own teeth?

You should be brushing your children’s teeth if they are under 2 years of age. Between ages 2-8, we recommend monitoring them as they brush and lending a helping hand to ensure proper technique. Ask us about our special light up toothbrushes that ‘count-down’ brushing time.

2. How early on should a child visit us?

We recommend bringing your children with you to your own visits as early as 8 months old. This way, they’ll grow up seeing you receive dental cleanings and won’t be hesitant on their own in the future. When the child is between 8 months – 2 years, we’ll have a look in their mouths if they’ll let us. We make the experience fun with rides in the chair and helping to fill-up the water cup.

3. Is a mouth guard during sports necessary?

Yes, a mouth guard when playing sports is always a good idea to help protect the teeth from becoming chipped, knocked loose or knocked out completely. Our practice can custom make one for your child in a variety of colours!

4. Help! My child knocked a tooth out. What do I do?

If your child knocks a tooth out, first of all, remain calm. If it’s a baby tooth, you should bring them in to be seen to make sure additional damage wasn’t done, but generally, our recommendation will be to simply wait for the new adult tooth to come in. If it’s an adult tooth that has been knocked out, rinse the tooth and pop it in a glass of milk to help preserve it. Then, ring our practice for an appointment as soon as possible. If you’re wondering what else you can do to impact your child’s oral health, contact our practice to schedule their next appointment.