Children & families

The generation that will not be frightened of us.

Many of our child patients are the third or fourth generation of a family we already know. The aim of a first visit is not treatment. It is that they come back willingly.

Request Appointment Call (516) 747-2400

The first visit

Around the first birthday

Or within six months of the first tooth. It is short, it is mostly a look and a chat, and it gets the room registered as somewhere ordinary.

Ride along first

Bring them to one of your own appointments before their own. Watching a parent in the chair does more than any amount of reassurance.

No surprises

We explain what we are about to do in their language, and we do not spring anything on them.

Through the school years

Sealants

On the permanent molars as they arrive. How they work.

Watching the bite

Crowding and bite problems are easier and cheaper to influence while a jaw is still growing. We will flag it early.

Sport and accidents

Mouthguards for contact sport, and same-day care if a tooth gets knocked out. What to do.

Questions

Asked often.

A knocked-out permanent tooth — what do I do?

Pick it up by the crown, never the root. If it is dirty, rinse it briefly in milk or saline, not water, and do not scrub it. Put it back in the socket if you can and have them bite on a clean cloth; if you cannot, keep it in milk. Call us immediately. Minutes matter.

My child is terrified. What now?

Tell us when you book so we allow the time. First appointments can be nothing more than sitting in the chair and counting teeth. We have never met a child who was helped by being rushed.

When should they see an orthodontist?

Around seven is the usual age for a first assessment, when enough permanent teeth are through to see how the bite is developing. We will tell you if yours needs it sooner.

Are X-rays safe for children?

Digital X-rays use a very small dose and we take them only when the image will change what we do. For most children that is infrequent.