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Children's Dentistry

Many parents aren’t sure when they should first bring in their children to see the dentist. We agree with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s recommendation that children first come to a dental office when their first tooth erupts or sometime around their first birthday.

Bringing children in to see the dentist for those early appointments is a great way to build trust and get children comfortable in the dentist's office. We like to make the visit fun for children and parents alike, making both feel at home in our enjoyable atmosphere.

A lot of adults do not receive proper dental care, and this often stems from anxiety they feel over visiting the dentist. Establishing a good relationship with the dentist from an early age often means a lifetime of good oral health care.

Pediatric dentist Stefan Ionescu has received special training to make your child’s visits to the dentist something they will look forward to. He loves working with children and has even gotten into the habit of bringing his four-year-old goldendoodle Zorro into the office with him on occasion. Our office was designed with children and fun in mind!

Bringing Your Child to the Dentist for the First Time

If you have your own anxieties about going to the dentist, please try to keep those to yourself so you do not unduly influence your children. Apprehensive parents often mean apprehensive children, and we hope to avoid that altogether.

When your children have their first dental appointment, our team will spend some time with them as they grow accustomed to the sights and sounds of the dentist's office. Dr. Ionescu will perform a quick examination, then spend some time brushing your little one’s teeth. He will speak to your children in terms they can understand to help reduce any fears they might be feeling about being in a dental office.

Dr. Ionescu and his team will also make sure parents understand how best to take care of their children’s teeth at home. If you have questions, be sure to bring these up during the visit.

Depending on the age of your child, Dr. Ionescu might recommend a fluoride treatment or sealant application to help keep cavities at bay. He will also check to make sure your child’s oral health is progressing as it should.

Helping Uncooperative Children

If you expect your child to be uncooperative or agitated the first time visiting the dentist, it’s still important to bring them. If Dr. Ionescu is unable to examine your child, he can still show him or her around the office and otherwise make their visit to the dentist a happy and positive one. Often your child’s next visit will be a much different experience as trust has already been established.

Call Us to Make an Appointment for Your Children

Get your children started on a lifelong path of good oral health by bringing them in to see the dentist around the age of one year. Dr. Ionescu and the entire team at Little Smiles Dentistry look forward to showing your children that the dental office is not a scary place. Give us a call today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are baby teeth so Important?

Many people wonder about the importance of baby teeth because they will be lost during childhood and replaced by permanent teeth. But it is imperative to keep these first teeth healthy.

Baby teeth, which are also called primary teeth, are significant for a number of reasons:

They enable a child to chew and eat properly.
They provide spacing and guidance for the permanent teeth to erupt properly.
They permit development of the bones and muscles of the jaw.
They impact speech development.
They help provide an attractive appearance, which in turn helps your child gain self-confidence.

Although they begin forming before birth, your child’s first teeth will usually erupt sometime between the ages of six months and one year. The lower central incisors are the first to come in.

Most children will have all 20 of their primary teeth by the age of three. Although the front teeth will be replaced by permanent teeth around the age of six or seven, children will keep their back teeth until they reach adolescence—sometime between 10 and 13 years of age.

My child sucks his thumb. What can I do?

Many infants and young children find sucking on fingers, thumbs, pacifiers, and other items to be soothing, and it is a completely natural reflex. These children often find a sense of security from it and it can help them fall asleep.

Thumb- and finger-sucking that continues once permanent teeth have come in can cause problems. The level of dental issues it might cause depends on the intensity of the sucking. Children who vigorously suck may have more dental issues than those who are more passive about having a thumb or finger in their mouth.

In any case, it’s best that children stop the habit before the permanent front teeth start to come in. Usually children from ages two to four will cease the thumb-sucking on their own. Those who don’t usually will succumb to peer pressure once they start grade school.

There are those children who find it more difficult to break the habit. Here are some suggestions that might help:

Use positive reinforcement. Don’t chastise children for thumb sucking. Praise them when they are not doing it instead. Reward them during particularly difficult times that they haven’t engaged in the habit.
Comfort children who might be doing it because they feel anxious or insecure.

If these gentle approaches don’t do the trick, you can have your child wear a sock at bedtime or put a bandage on the thumb to remind them of the habit.

If the habit persists, we might recommend a mouth appliance.

Meet Our Doctor:

Dr. Stefan Ionescu

Dr. Stefan Ionescu enjoys creating a fun and comfortable experience for children at each and every dental visit. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He taught high school in Europe prior to returning to Texas and obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Baylor College of Dentistry. He then went on to complete an additional two years of specialized pediatric training at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Dr. Ionescu is a board certified pediatric ...