A child's teeth are smaller, but plaque forms on them as fast as on adult teeth, and baby-tooth enamel is thinner. When to start, how often to come and what a visit looks like. Why a child needs professional hygiene
Baby-tooth enamel is thinner and softer than adult enamel, so decay moves through it several times faster. Up to the age of 7 or 8 a child cannot clean their own teeth properly: hand control is not precise enough yet, and plaque stays between the teeth and along the gum line, where it hardens into tartar within a month. Tartar cannot be brushed off; a hygienist removes it.
Professional hygiene for a child is not only a cleaning. It is a visit where the child gets used to the dentist without pain and without a drill, and that is the main reason to start early.
From what age
| Age | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–2 years | First check-up: how to brush, which toothpaste, how often sweets. No hygiene yet. |
| 3–5 years | First professional hygiene if there is plaque or tartar. Soft polishing, no ultrasound, 15–20 minutes. |
| 6–12 years | Mixed dentition: hygiene twice a year, because new teeth are at their most vulnerable in their first two years. |
| from 12 years | As for an adult: ultrasound, polishing, twice a year. |
How often
Twice a year is the baseline. More often if there has already been decay more than once, if plaque builds up quickly, or if the child wears a removable plate under which plaque collects. The dentist decides that after the first visit, not from a table.
What the visit looks like
- Getting acquainted. The child sits in the chair, looks at the instruments, the hygienist shows how they "sing" and "blow". No surprises.
- Plaque disclosing. A dye shows where the brush does not reach; the child sees it in the mirror and remembers it better than any lecture.
- Cleaning. Soft polishing paste and a rotating brush; tartar, if any, comes off with a hand instrument or, for older children, ultrasound.
- Fluoride. A fluoride varnish strengthens the enamel for 3–6 months.
- Coaching. The child brushes together with the hygienist; parents see how long and with what movement.
20–40 minutes in total. If on the first visit the child only lets us look and show, that is a good result too: next time they know what will happen.
What it costs
Dental hygiene for children at Laurus Dent plus costs 40–55 EUR depending on age and the amount of plaque; for adults 80–85 EUR. If the hygienist spots decay, a filling in a baby tooth costs 50–60 EUR. All prices are on the price list.
At home between visits
- Up to age 7–8, parents finish the brushing after the child's own attempt, every evening.
- Fluoride toothpaste in an age-appropriate amount: pea-sized from age 3.
- Sweets with meals, not between them. Acid after every snack dissolves enamel for 20–40 minutes.
- Water, not juice or sweetened tea in a bottle, especially at night.
Booking
The children's dentist and hygienist at Laurus Dent plus see patients Monday to Friday 8:00–20:00 in Spikeri, Riga. Call +371 67224064 or book online; we offer the nearest available time. How to prepare a child for a first visit is here; children's dentistry as a whole is on the service page.