Dental Care For Kids & Teens

Your child’s first dental visit should be as soon as the first baby tooth starts to come through!

It is recommended that children come for a dental check-up at least once a year but your dentist may recommend more or less frequent visits depending on your child’s tooth decay risk status.

Yes, a dentist or a hygienist can clean children’s teeth, however preventative care is a major area of focus for hygienists/ oral health therapists.  

Regular professional cleaning appointments will ensure that we can identify if improvements are required in the child’s home routine early . They can then advise the necessary changes to ensure optimum long term oral health and a happy and healthy smile. Our Oral Health Therapists love working with children and perform their thorough check up and clean as their primary focus.

Our dentists will do everything possible to make your child’s dental visit as comfortable and pleasant as possible. If your child requires a dental procedure, the dentist can carefully numb the area to ensure the procedure is as comfortable as possible for your child.

A children’s filling is done very similarly to a filling on an adult. After the area is gently numbed, the decay is carefully removed from the tooth. Once only healthy and strong tooth structure remains, a tooth-coloured filling is placed in the tooth and then polished. Our dental team work very hard to ensure that the procedure is as comfortable as possible for your child and are committed to your child having only positive dental experiences.

Whilst we always want to do everything to save a tooth, sometimes tooth removal is the only choice. If that is the case for your child, first the area is numbed gently, and the tooth is carefully loosened. When the tooth is very loose, it is gently elevated from the area and carefully removed. Following this, lots of TLC at home is all your child will need to ensure the area heals nicely!

The best way to prepare your child for their first dental visit is to bring them to your appointment! At Dentists of East Melbourne, we love having your children come along to your appointment so we can meet them too! Your child can even have a ride on the dental chair, so that when it is their turn for care next time, they know what to expect!

Other things that will ensure your child can have a positive experience include:

• Start early
• Introduce the concept of the dentist early on and ensure you book your child in for regular check-ups and cleans as recommended by your clinician so it can become a part of the routine . Use positive language about dental visits.
• Staying calm as the parent- If you yourself are calm and not anxious about the dentist, then it is easier for the child to respond more positively to it. Dentistry has changed drastically over the years, and it is our team’s primary focus to ensure our clinic is an inviting place and your experience is as relaxing as can be.
• Explain what they can expect – For a few days before their appointment, start explaining to the child they will be having their first visit to the dentist who will have a look at their teeth and help them get nice healthy teeth.
• A first dental visit is a big milestone for your child that you should look forward to. We at Dentists of East Melbourne appreciate this and want to make the experience as memorable as possible for your family!
• Be positive – Focus on associating dental visits with positive experiences such as clean, healthy teeth and a bright smile!

Children may be wary of their visit to the dentist for reasons including:

• Fear of the unknown
• Feeling of loss of control
• Fear of anticipation of pain, usually as a result of expectations created for them by parents siblings or friends.

We appreciate these common reactions and feelings and it is our top most priority to make your child’s experience in our dental chair as comfortable and pleasant as possible. We know each child is an individual and we take the time to get to know them in order to ensure we can tailor the experience specifically to them.