Special dentist?

i have a little boy now and i need to find a dentist for him. do regular dentists see young children? he is two. or should i just take him to a pediatric dentist? im trying to find one in my area but there are not many pediatric ones.

Special dentist?
I'm glad to see you are taking such an interest in your child's health. Congratulations!! I preferred not to see a child until he/she was 3 in my office but 2 is a good age to take a child in as the doctor will mostly kid around and play so they will get used to what's going on. A cleaning will be done if the child will cooperate but if not, it won't be forced. If you can find a GP to accept a two year old it will probably save you some $$, if not, then a pedodontist will be good.
Reply:It's best to take him to a pediatric dentist. But there are some family dentist that can handle children. Call them and tell them your sons age and they will let you know if they will treat him or not
Reply:It is recommended that children have a first dental visit at about 12 months of age, when about 1/2 of the baby teeth have come in. The reason to see children this early is to intervene if it looks as if the child has early decay on back teeth or baby bottle decay on upper front teeth. If the child's decayed teeth are restored early, the amount of damage is minimized and new teeth that come in can be monitored for problems immediately.





During an infant visit, the dentist will examine the lips and tongue, and take a quick peek to see if there are any problems developng in the existing teeth and if the teeth are coming in where they should be. The examinations are generally done with the child sitting on a parent's lap or lying across the parent's lap with the child's head on the dentist's lap. It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes or so.





Many general dentists accept very young children as patients, especially if they don't need any work beyond cleanings and fluoride treatments. A two year old can usually cooperate long enough for the dentist to get a good examination done, but not always a cleaning and fluoride application. It all depends on the maturity and cooperation of the child, and how much they can tolerate. If you are looking for a dentist for your 2 year old and you don't think there are any problems, call your regular dentist and ask at what age they recommend having a child come in for a first visit. If they say 3 or even 5 years old, thank them and call another office. You want someone who is interested in seeing your child, not someone who will see your child because you insist. A good first visit can make or break a child’s attitude towards future visits.





If you have reason to believe that your son has decay (black spots on back or front teeth, front teeth are brown and rough looking, swelling in his mouth by a tooth), then you need to find a pediatric dentist who is trained to treat such young patients. Unless someone has a general dentist whom they can recommend to you, because their very young child has had fillings or extractions done by the dentist, a pediatric dentist is best equipped to do the treatment a 2 year old may need, either in the office or in a hospital setting, under anesthesia if many teeth need to be filled or extracted.





I hope this helps!