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When is the magic age to take your little one to the dentist? The American Academy of Pediatric Dentists recommends you take your child to the dentist for the first time at age one. Usually at this visit, they’ll just acquaint you to what to do with his/her teeth. By age three, all of the baby teeth have already erupted and it’s crucial to visit the dentist to ensure everything is developing properly. You can either choose your family dentist or a pediatric dentist.
My children go to Dr. Laxer with Laxer, Long & Savage. We love this practice. My girls skip out the door to go to the dentist, which for me, is a huge selling point! They must be doing something right here! I have to admit, I did not take the girls until they were almost 3. I think our gene pool is delayed in getting teeth so I recall that the girls didn’t seem to have enough teeth to warrant that first visit at age one. I will probably follow that same trend with my twins who are two. They are terrified of the hair salon so I’m pretty sure they would not be all that receptive to a teeth cleaning! I just make sure I follow the obvious rules: we brush their teeth after meals and before bed and we don’t ever send them to bed with a bottle or sippy cup. So far, no cavities. If you ever get attitude about brushing teeth, try pulling up photos of yucky cavities on the Internet. Google it and show it to your children – they will become obsessed and motivated to brush their teeth and often!
My current dentist for myself (and hubby too) is Dr. Ed Hull at 425 N. Wendover Road. He is also a family practice and every time I go in, I see new bulletin boards of all of the new child patients. I have toyed with switching my kids and bringing my entire family there. But since my girls are really happy, I’m not messing with a good thing. I think either way, our family would be in great hands.
Please share your pediatric dentists. That way we can build a comprehensive reference all around Charlotte for every Smarty mom:-)
27 comments
We also love Drs Laxer, Long & Savavge- We see Dr Savage and my kids adore him!! It also helps that their Aunt Emily is a hygienist there, my sil. I plan on taking my twin boys who are 2 1/2 next week with my older two kids to get them aquainted with the office, then they will go when they turn 3. Jennifer Hoyle
We go to Laxer, Long & Savage as well. We see Dr. Savage and cannot say enough wonderful things about him or the entire practice. Every experience has been positive.
We use Dr. Jason Clark near the Aboretum (pediatric denistry). He’s been great with the older child who started going at age 3 (and is now 5) and also with the younger who had her first visit at 18 months.
I called Drs Laxler, Long & Savage when my twins turned one, and they told me that – unless there was some sign of a problem – I didn’t need to bring them in until they turned three.
So funny that this topic popped up today. I’m taking my almost 18mo to the dentist for the first time today! We’re going to see Dr. Stephanie Chen in her SouthPark practice. She came highly recommended by both my dentist and my aunt (who has taken all 4 of her children there). We’ll see how it goes!
We, too, go to Laxer, Long and Savage and LOVE Dr. Savage. The first visit we had our picture taken with him, got a tee shirt, a balloon, and a “goody” bag, which is the best thing ever for my four year old!
We also go to Dr. Savage at Laxer, Long and Savage, and my son adores him. They recommended bringing in my son at 2 1/2 for a trial to see if he’d open his mouth and let them do anything. He was happy to open wide and get his teeth looked at. He also allowed them to do a cleaning and a fluoride treatment. He was excited to go back at 3 and thought it was cool when they showed him the x-rays of his mouth.
Must add Dr. Stephanie Chen to the list. Her practice is near South Park. WONDERFUL hygienists there who made my daughter (now 4) so comfortable. It was a very positive experience.
Both of my girls ( 11 & 5 ) LOVE Dr. James Brittain. His whole staff is fantastic!
I love Young and Polite Children’s Dentistry (husband/wife team) in the Steele Creek area.
We love Dr. Stephanie Chen at SouthPark. My son had an unpleasant experience with another pediatric dentist in town, and was very anxious about seeing a dentist. Dr. Chen and her crew made him feel right at home, and laid to rest his anxiety. Love them!Susan K.
We use Dr Sharon Holley at exit 23 here in LKN.We have had trauma visits, in addition to the regular visits, and each time the staff and Dr Holley were amazing with my boys.
We also love Drs laxer, Long & Savage. Kate saw Dr. Savage for the 1st time this week ( she is 2 1/2. She was so excited to get her picture taken with him, got a tee shirt, a balloon, and a princess toothbrush and gave him a hug when she left. She has already asked when are we going back! 🙂
McKee Dental is a great family dentistry. They are a 30-ish married couple who not only are wonderful with children, they will accept any calls during emergencies over the weekend. Orthodonist pick would be Quimby and Collins located near Blackney. They are awesome and the place has a great atmosphere.
My kids, and family go to Dr Keith Kye near Birkdale, all seats have satellite TV, so put the cartoons on and the kids are happy to be there, great hygenists, and he even met me on a Sat morn, for an emergency visit!!
Both of my children visit Dr. Chen in the Southpark area. They actually look forward to going no matter what the situation. Every experience is great and the staff has remained the same for the past 8 years.
I just went to my dentist, Dr. Murray with Murray & Sturner on Carmel Rd, told me that my 15 month old was too young, but to bring him with me next time. Then he will be almost 2 & he can see mommy getting her teeth cleaned, sit in the chair & possibly have the dentist take a peek. I thought this sounded like a great, non-intimidating, way to ease into things! Hopefully it goes well!
Ask your family dentist if they see kids as well. We’ve started taking or son to ours and they’ve been great! They also said you didn’t really need to bring them until they are around 3. I scheduled both our appts together and the first time, he just watched and got to check out all the tools and let the dentist count how many teeth he had. The second time he actually sat in the chair on my lap and let them brush his teeth. The third time, the hygentist let him work the “sucky thing” when she was cleaning my teeth and help her out. He thought that was SUPER cool so by the time it was his turn, he hoped right up in the seat and let her not only clean his teeth, but scrape and floss as well. I was so proud of him and he seemed to relatively enjoy the experience! I think the key is def breaking them in slowly though so they don’t get scared or nervous to go.
My kids go to Dr Michele Boyne in Rock Hill (we live in Fort Mill). She is wonderful with my children. My daughter knocked out a front tooth when she was 3 and Dr Michele was wonderful with her and made a perfect replacement tooth. http://www.drboyne.com/
I used to take my 3 year old to Young & Polite, but they did not file insurance claim properly and I got so frustrated! So now I’m bring him to Dr. Laxer and we are happy.
Dr. Stephanie Chen is excellent! My daughter was adamant about not going to the dentist for the first time. Now she is going for her fourth time and as is so excited!The entire staff is so kind and patient. Highly recommend!
We waited until my son was FIVE (yes, I said five) to go to dentist. But my rationale was the he had literally never missed a day or night of brushing (we are very good about that) and his teeth looked great. So, of course his teeth were perfect once we finally went! We did go to LS&L as well and LOVED them. Wow dentistry had changed since I was little!
Dr. Jason Clark at the Arboretum is great – easy to get into, great staff and super gentle. My kids love the dentist mainly due to him.
We absolutely love Dr. James Brittain. He’s just perfect with children. My daughter actually looks forward to going to the dentist because of the positive experience with him and the entire staff!!
Dr. James Brittain-he’s located across from the Mint Museum-is wonderful! My little boy loves him and he was very anxious about going the first time…a great find!
We just had our first dentist visit at Young and Polite and I was so impressed. Everyone from the receptionist to the hygienist to the dentist was so nice. We’ll see about the insurance billing.
I take my seven year old twins to Drs. Peleaux, Bailey and White on Sharon-Amityville Road. We’ve always been happy with all of the dentists and the care we’ve gotten. They are not specifically pediatric dentists so the whole family goes to them. As a plus, one of the hygenists named Maggie is a mom of twins herself!