Your child’s first dental visit: a parent’s guide

When to go

The general guidance in Australia is a first visit by the child’s first birthday, or within six months of the first tooth appearing. That feels early to a lot of parents, and it is deliberately so. The point is not treatment, it is familiarity.

A child whose first experience of a dental chair is a fun three minute visit at age one has a completely different relationship with it than a child whose first visit happens at six because something hurts.

What actually happens

Very little, and that is the idea. Your child sits in the chair, often on your lap for the first visit. We show them the little mirror, count the teeth out loud, and have a look at how everything is developing. If they are comfortable we do a gentle polish with a flavour they choose. If they are not, we leave it.

Then we talk to you, which is honestly the bigger half of the appointment. Brushing technique, bottles and sippy cups, snacks, dummies and thumb sucking, and what to expect over the next year.

The thing parents accidentally say

Reassurance that names the fear plants the fear. Telling a child "it will not hurt" tells them that hurting was on the table. So does "be brave" and "you were so good, I know it is scary".

Better to keep it flat and ordinary. We are going to see the dentist, they are going to count your teeth. Treat it like a haircut and most children take the cue from you.

Do baby teeth matter?

Yes, more than most people expect. They hold the space for the adult teeth coming through behind them. They are needed for eating properly and for speech. And decay in a baby tooth is genuinely painful and can affect the adult tooth forming underneath.

It may cost you nothing

Many children are eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, which covers up to $1,132 of dental care over two years. We bulk bill it, so eligible families pay nothing at all. Ring us with your Medicare card and we can check.