Dental care is a vital part of your child’s overall wellness. Getting your children started early with regular dental visits can help set them up for a lifetime of good oral health. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, you should take your child to the dentist when their first tooth appears or at the first birthday, whichever comes first. Let’s look at some reasons why your child’s early dental appointments are important.

Provide Early Intervention

One important reason why you should take your child to the dentist at a young age is for early intervention. If your child has any type of dental issues, the dentist will be able to detect this early on. This is crucial to your child’s future dental health because they can address problems before they get worse.

Start Good Habits

It’s also important to take young children to the dentist so that good dental habits can be started early on. Your children’s habits will be greatly impacted by the example that you set. When you are consistent and insistent, they will be too. According to the CDC, about 26% of adults have untreated tooth decay. You can help your children avoid this by encouraging them to develop good habits from a young age.

Reduce Dental Anxiety

Dental anxiety is a real issue that affects both children and adults. Dental anxiety can stop people from visiting the dentist. This can then lead to increasingly unhealthy dental habits, tooth decay, and other problems. When you start taking your child to the dentist at a very young age, they will consider this to be a very normal part of their lives. If you make sure that dental visits are always pleasant, then your child is less likely to fear the dentist.

Get Early Orthodontic Screenings

When your child is a little older, they will have an early orthodontic screening when they visit the dentist. This is important as it gives you the opportunity to address orthodontic issues more quickly. Getting orthodontic treatment early is preferable to waiting until later in life.

If you have young children, it’s imperative that they get started with pediatric dental visits early. If you would like to learn more about our practice or if you’d like to schedule a visit, please contact Nurture Dental Health today.