A common question dentists are asked is: "When do we start bringing our children to the dentist's office?" You can certainly never bring a child to the office at too early an age. We prefer to orient the child to the dental office at a young age, somewhere around 18 months.

The first couple of appointments should include "see, touch, and feel." This allows children to become familiar with the dentist's office, have their baby teeth counted, the soft tissue examined, and clinical information obtained. No real treatment is necessary, which allows children to become comfortable with the setting without threat. Often, children are not brought to the dental office until there is a problem and they need an extraction or filling. Children then associate the dentist with trauma, fear, and discomfort.

Another benefit to bringing children to the dentist at an early age is that many early dental problems may be detected and prevented or corrected before they occur or progress too far, avoiding more expensive future treatments and trauma to the child.

Here are a few tips for parents to help improve their children's overall dental health:

• Avoid allowing infants to fall asleep sucking on a bottle filled with milk, juice, or other sugary liquids. If the problem has already occurred, start weaning the child off this practice by diluting the liquid with a little more water every day until they are left with just a bottle of water.
• Discourage thumb sucking, particularly in children over age five. We recommend the book David Decides to help with this problem. If thumb sucking is still a problem after age five, tongue cribs or orthodontic appliances may be necessary.
• Consider having children's permanent back teeth covered with a sealant -- a clear, hard plastic that covers the tops of teeth where 80-90% of all cavities occur. This sealant can be applied around age six.
• Encourage your children to wear athletic mouth guards to protect their teeth during sports, particularly hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, and football. These guards can be purchased at pharmacies and sports stores, or can be custom-fitted by a dentist.