WHEN AND WHY SHOULD YOU BRING YOUR KIDS FOR REGULAR DENTAL CHECKUP

Each child is unique and different at various stages of their growth. Therefore, the services given to the child must be focused on what is best for the child at that moment and for the benefit of their future growth.

When to bring your child for dental checkup

All children should undergo a basic oral health checkup by the time they turn two.

Subsequent duration of re-appointment is based upon risk assessment by the dentist. This provides time-critical opportunities to provide preventive health care and thus reduce the risk of preventable dental or oral diseases. However it is important for a child to have a dental checkup at least every six months.

Why regular dental checkup in kids is important:

1. Importance of baby teeth

• Essential for normal speech development

• Creates enough space for permanent teeth

• Helps to teach your child proper way of chewing at an early age

• Maintains good nutrition and improves overall health

1. The early signs of tooth decay and other oral health problems can be easily missed by the family members. Identification and treatment of decay in their initial stage can prevent infection and pain in the later stage.

2. Dental checkup in early childhood helps them to get comfortable with future checkups at the dentist’s office.

3. Regular observation of the development of teeth and jaws helps to intervene in developing discrepancy with the jaws at the right time by your dentist.

4. Correction of persistent oral habits such as non-nutritive sucking, jaw clenching, abnormal tongue thrust, nail biting and so on-which if not corrected can lead to mal-alignment of teeth.

5. Helps to guide the child to practice good oral habits, brushing techniques and food habits at an early age.

6. Providing anticipatory guidance regarding injury prevention in the mouth area.
   

From our experience, we have seen that kids who come in regularly for their dental check-ups are keen on maintaining their oral hygiene at an optimum level all by themselves and are prone to fewer dental issues in the future.