The Curmudgeon took our just-turned-2-year-old to her first dentist appointment. I read to take them when their first tooth appears, or by their first birthday, but that just seemed insane. I think I was 5 at my first visit. No one in my family gets cavities until around age 12, then we get a couple and never get any more the rest of our lives. Curmudgeon's family is the same. Teeth of iron, I tell ya. We decided to wait, and play it by ear.
HOWEVER, DD has a cross-bite. Our research says, if she doesn't grow out of it by age 4, then we're looking at a spacer to expand her palate at age 7. I decided I want a professional to confirm, and since we're apparently overdue for the First Dentist Appointment according to modern standards, why not kill two birds? She's got a lot more than one tooth now, so it seemed worth it.
He took her. She was uncooperative as we anticipated. Dentist had Curmudgeon brush DD's teeth, confirmed our research about cross-bite, and sent them out the door in a hot second, charging $120. We were expecting this, but, as Curmudgeon pointed out, that's more than an exam/cleaning at the dentist for either me or Curmudgeon, and neither actually happened for DD. Sooo... we're probably not taking her back until she's got some permanent teeth or we suspect a problem.
What do you think? What age are you taking your kids for their first visit? How much are you paying, and what are you getting for it?