Baby Teeth Are Important!
Early Intervention and Preventive Care are Essential!
First Oral Health Screening by First Birthday
Oral Health is an important part of overall health. Your child is not healthy without a healthy mouth.
Experts recommend that all children have their teeth checked by a dentist or physician by their first birthdays.
Dental decay affects your child's health
- Cavities can be painful.
- Cavities can interfere with a child's ability to learn and eat well.
- Dental disease is an infection that may affect a child's overall health.
Dental decay can be expensive
- Dental problems can grow quickly and become costly to treat.
- The lifetime cost of a single cavity is more than $2,000.
- It makes sense to prevent dental disease, rather than pay for treatment.
Dental disease is preventable
- Ask your dentist or physician to check your baby's teeth by his or her first birthday.
Click here to learn more about children's oral health and finding dental care:
- Oral Health Tips — for taking care of your child's baby teeth
- Baby Teeth 101 — common questions and answers about why baby teeth are important and what caregivers can do to keep them healthy
- First Visit by First Birthday — promotes the importance of early oral health screenings and preventing dental disease
- SmileStones - a caregiver's guide to promote children's oral health
- Find A Dentist - if your child is enrolled in a WDS plan
- Community Dental Resources - information on dental access resources in your community -- regardless of your insurance
For more information about caring for the oral health of infants, toddlers and preschoolers, visit: www.kidsoralhealth.org.
Visit KOMO 5 to view the story on The Center of Pediatric Dentistry in Seattle.
Questions? Call Washington Dental Customer Service at (800) 554-1907, Monday through Friday, between 8 am and 5 pm, PT.