TTMA: The Dentist

[danvers]

Has anyone taken their O17 baby yet? I know some of our LOs have no teeth yet (and at least one them has 7 I think?!).

At DD2’s checkup today they encouraged me to schedule an appt no later then her first bday. Our local dentist doesn’t accept patients younger than 3 so I’ll have to head 45 minutes over to the next town. They did a fluoride smear today since we haven’t been to the dentist yet (rural area so most water here isn’t fluorinated) and encouraged us to keep brushing twice a day.


So tell me what you all are doing to care for those little pearly whites!

[duskymonkey]

We are still toothless here! DS however sprouted his first tooth around 7 months and had a mouth full of teeth by 1. We didn't bring him to a dentist until he was 2. Pedi said as long as we kept it brushed and cleaned we were fine until 2. Since then he's gone annually and we have no cavities or any other issues. The dentist also didn't do a flouride application until he was 3.

[cythe]

We are on city water and E drinks water with enthusiasm. We also have no teeth so that definitely makes me less motivated to schedule her a dentist appt. I suppose I need one so I may as well see what they say.

[CoachTsWife]

Hmm. My almost-3 year old hasn't been to the dentist yet. My dentist recommends it at age 3 so his first appt is on the books. I honestly don't think there is a need for our O17 babies to see a dentist for quite a while, but definitely check with your dentist.

And I'm the one with the baby with 7 teeth. Well 6 with the 7th becoming visible. You'd think with all the teeth he has he'd be eating, but he just is not interested in any food, at all.

ETA our ped isn't concerned about them seeing a dentist until around 2-3.  I went with 3 since that is what my dentist recommended.  I did take DS1 with me to my last dental cleaning appt so he could see what happens.

[doodlemommy]

My dad is my dentist I have always brought DD along to my appointments and my dad will check her teeth/let her ride in the chair etc to get familiar with it. I will do the same with DS. DD had her first cleaning and fluoride at 3 which is what was recommended. We are also on city water which is fluoridated so we’re covered there. DS just has 2 teeth and we brush twice daily with just water for now. I will probably introduce training toothpaste once the next couple teeth pop through. DD gets her teeth brushed twice daily (we won’t let her do it totally on her own for a couple years still but she does try once we are done), she recently started using fluoride toothpaste now that she can spit reliably

[thechickencoop]

Yeeeaaaaa I don't think I'd drive that far for a dentist visit for a 1 year old. That being said, DS1's dentist is about 40 minutes away but it's the closet ped dentist that takes our insurance.

I think we started DS1 around 2 or 3? We just brushed with the non fluoride toothpaste and he got fluoride drops from his pedi since we're on well water.

[danvers]

I don’t feel so crazy for not thinking about it now. We just took DD1 when she turned 3 in March for the first time. I think we got three different handouts in dental care at her appt today which is why I was so thrown off. They also pushed starting to transition from the bottle and I wanted to laugh because I’m pretty sure DD2 will not take one anymore as we haven’t practiced at all during summer break.

[rebeccabunch]

Dentist at 1 or under 1? I’m sure it can’t hurt but sounds like overkill to me! Both boys went for the first time around 2.5 I think.

I’m in the throes of all the appointments you need before kindergarten and I’m annoyed like a big brat but right now I don’t have time for a lot of extra anything.

[thatgirlrachel]

I'm LOLing thinking that my busy 9 month old could be bothered to sit still enough for a dentist to check him out. Our pedi recommends starting at age 2-3. DD is 2.5 and will have her first visit when she turns 3.

We did discuss flouride yesterday at his appointment since we're on well water. Pedi told me that since I'm still using the nursery water for formula that he's getting all the flouride he needs. He said the goal is 6 oz. of flourinated water per day.

He currently has the banana brush and another teether with bristles on it. Basically I let him chew on that and call it a day, for now. With DD, I started incorporating "serious" brushing around a year. Though G does have more teeth earlier, so I may pick up a real toothbrush soon.

[Taitai]

Whelp - we took LO (8 mos, will be 9 mos on Sat) to the dentist last week! It’s free with our insurance, the dental clinic is literally 5 min away from our house, and out here they recommend oral exams with the dentist every 6 months, starting around 9 months of age (if there are teeth). They just check in the mouth to make sure everything looks okay. They also discuss cleaning and healthy oral hygiene practices. No real cleaning until age 3.

During our visits last week, LO did really well! We clean twice a day with water and a silicone finger tooth brush thing. The dentist mentioned I should probably do a better job of cleaning behind his two top teeth, so I’m going to try to be better about that.

They do not fluorinate the water here, so we’ll get fluoride tablets to give to LO once he’s like 1.5 I think. Not doing that yet. Not cleaning with kid-friendly toothpaste yet either. The dentist recommended water just for now.

DS1 has his first actual cleaning today! He’s 3.5. We’ve been taking him to the dentist every 6 months, since he had teeth come in around 10 months.

I don’t think you have to really do the dentist until 2 or 3, but for us - it’s encouraged out here and visits are logistically easy/free, so “why not?” is kind of our attitude. 🤷‍♀️

[burritosateverymeal]

Our insurance doesn't cover the dentist until DS is 2, so we will wait until then. DS only has one tooth, though, so I definitely need to start brushing it with a toothbrush and water!