With my kiddo, i told her we were going to see a new doctor in the morning and she would need to open her mouth, let the doctor tickle her teeth and say ahhh…we went over it a couple times and she was pretty excited. Maybe 2 yo? We brought her fav sunglasses and her doc gives tokens for prizes - so she was in heaven. If the doc can’t do an exam, there are options - but until they’re 4 or so, w/o obvious concerns, the goal is just to build good experiences.

Just going to say, taking a child less than 3 yrs to the dentist is the WORST. I always have anxiety before their appointment. My kids have never not cried when they got their teeth cleaned/examined that young, and no dentist or dental assistant has ever not looked super annoyed with them (even though they must deal with it all the time??). I know this is not encouraging lol, it's just something you get through as a parent and chalk it up to a hard day 🙄 my (now) 5 + 8 year old do amazing.

My oldest is took at 1, she had quite a few teeth. My youngest I waited until 1.5, her teeth didn't come in as quick, and honestly before 2, they don't do much anyway. But by their first appt where they could actually understand what was happening (it was about 2/2.5) they both did AMAZING. They get excited as hell now, thank God.

Hi!! Dental assistant here! Kids do not understand what is going on, why a stranger is touching their mouths, and if they are going to get hurt. It is COMPLETELY normal for kids to cry. Take them as much as you can so they get used to being at the dentist. Do not let a dentist shame you for your babies crying because they are scared. Find a good dentist that is fun and exciting and makes the kids feel so comfortable. We want kids to enjoy their time so they don’t turn into adults that are scared