FAQ’s

Most children benefit from seeing the dentist every 6 months for check-up (recall) exam and cleaning

After your first dental visit, your pediatric dentist will recommend an appropriate frequency for your child’s appointment.

X-rays allow dentists to assess developing teeth and to determine if there are any cavities within teeth, especially ones that hide between the teeth and that are not visible to the naked eye.

Brush with your child twice a day for 2 minutes and floss every night when their teeth start to contact

Until a child has acquired proper manual dexterity (can tie shoelaces and cut food with a fork and knife), we recommend that children have parental assistance for brushing

It is normal for young children to not always want to cooperate for brushing teeth. If this is a common occurrence, please speak with our dental professionals for suggestions on how to help.

Fluoride is recommended by the Canadian Dental Association and the Canadian Academy of Pediatric Dentists.

When used appropriately, fluoride helps to strengthen enamel, making it more resistant to the softening effects of a cavity

The Canadian Dental Association and the Canadian Academy of Pediatric Dentists recommend starting to use a smear of fluoride toothpaste when a child is about 2.5 years old. At this time, the last of the baby molars come into (erupt in) the mouth and these teeth typically have deeper grooves and are typically harder to reach.

Most children will learn to spit out reliably between ages 3 and 4. At this time, you can use up to a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste.

Schedule your appointment at a time when your child is at his/her best

Play dentist-patient at home with your child, practice opening wide and counting teeth

Stay positive about the experience

Read an age-appropriate book about going to the dentist

Baby teeth usually start to fall out around age 6 (range is 4yrs to 8 yrs) and finish around age 12.

 

Baby teeth are important for chewing and also for guiding the position of the adult teeth.

When baby teeth are lost prematurely, their permanent successors often come in (erupt) either in a wrong direction or lack the space to come in (erupt) altogether.

There is sometimes an expectation that dental visits should be pain free, however this isn’t always the case despite our best efforts. We aim to always be gentle yet some things that are required can be uncomfortable, and everyone’s interpretation of pain and tolerances of pain can also be different. We’d be happy to discuss any concerns you might have about this.

We usually recommend that an exam be done with our pediatric dentist prior to beginning any treatment despite the fact that you may have already had an exam done at another office. We do this because it allows us to make our own diagnosis of what needs to be done. We sometimes need to take (or re-take) x-rays. It also gives us an opportunity to discuss treatment options, sedation options (if needed) and consider cost of treatment.

If a child is in pain then we will do our best to treat their pain as soon as possible, and sometimes on their first visit.