When is the right time?

The German professional bodies today recommend bringing children in as soon as the first milk tooth appears — and at the latest around twelve months of age. ³ Even without any complaint, this early appointment is not about treatment, but about a first orientation for you and for your child.

In the earliest years, a visit to the practice is above all an introduction. We look at whether the teeth are coming through as they should, talk with you about home oral care, and discuss diet — particularly bottle feeding, sugary drinks, and night-time breastfeeding, which we evaluate in a nuanced way rather than as blanket rules. ² Such an appointment usually lasts only a few minutes, and that brevity is the whole point. Your child should get to know the practice, the chair movements, and the sounds before coming in for a specific reason. A first impression that is light and unburdened carries over to every visit that follows.

When to call us in advance:

Some observations warrant an earlier or short-notice appointment. Please get in touch if you notice any of the following:

• White, yellowish, or brown patches on the front teeth — even if your child reports no pain
• Pain or tenderness on touch when eating, drinking, or brushing
• A chipped piece of tooth after a fall, even if the tooth looks unremarkable from the outside
• Swollen gums or persistent bad breath without an obvious cause

This isn’t about raising the alarm: we’ll talk on the phone about whether a near-term appointment makes sense or whether it’s reasonable to wait for the next regular check-up.

How to prepare your child

Children pick up very quickly when the adults around them grow tense. The most important preparation is therefore your own attitude. Talk about the appointment as casually as you would talk about going for a walk — not as a reward, not as a threat, simply as part of everyday life.

What we find tends to help:

• Word choice in everyday talk. Avoid words like injection, drill, or it will hurt, even when meant as reassurance (“it definitely won’t hurt”). Such sentences tell the child for the first time that there might be something that could hurt. Instead, describe what you’ll do (“We’re going to the practice — someone there will get to take a look in your mouth”).
• Picture books. There are several calm picture books about going to the dentist that you can look at together a few days beforehand. Choose one in which the visit is unspectacular — not one in which the hero has to overcome fear.
• Role-play with the toothbrush. Let your child count your teeth, then you count theirs. That’s the exact movement that comes first in the practice — and your child already knows it.
• Time of day. If your schedule allows, late morning is often a good slot. The child is rested, has had breakfast, and isn’t hungry. Straight after the midday nap is less suitable, because many children need more time to settle in than a single appointment provides.

What to bring:

• Your child’s health insurance card (in Germany: the GKV or PKV card; for EU visitors, the EHIC)
• The yellow pediatric check-up booklet (Kinder-Untersuchungsheft), if you have one
• Any earlier dental findings or X-rays you may have
• A familiar soft toy or a small book
• A light cloth or bib for the journey home

If you aren’t sure whether something belongs: bring it. We’ll simply hand it back at the end.

How the appointment unfolds

We take our time. At the first visit we begin by talking with you, while your child explores the practice. Once your child feels at ease, we have a look in the mouth together — often first with you in the treatment chair and the child on your lap. Some children prefer to sit on the chair alone; others need several appointments before they’re ready. Either is fine.

If your child doesn’t want to take part on a given day, that isn’t a failed session. It’s information for all of us — they still need a little more time.

A first appointment usually includes:

1. A greeting and a short conversation with parents and child
2. An introduction to the instruments (mirror, air puffer) — to look at and touch
3. A gentle look inside the mouth, as far as the child goes along with it
4. Notes on home care, the fluoride recommendation, and diet
5. Scheduling the next appointment, in step with the rhythm of the German pediatric preventive check-ups (the yellow-booklet schedule)

If a step doesn’t work today, we’ll arrange a new appointment — often it’s enough to come by again next time without an examination, just to say hello and look around. This brief “follow-up invitation” is a deliberately low threshold, not a hidden treatment strategy.

Coming along, or a separate appointment?

A question parents often ask us: should my child come along to my own next appointment, or get a first appointment of their own straight away? The answer depends on the child’s age and on the reason for the parent’s appointment.

The rule of thumb: a quiet check-up appointment for the parent is a good opportunity for a first taste. An appointment with treatment — root canal work, a longer session, or local anesthetic — is not. What feels unremarkable to you can become a very vivid first impression for a two-year-old, one that sets the tone for many visits to come.

On the parent’s lap, or in the child’s own chair?

Both work; the right choice depends on age and on the day itself.

• On the parent’s lap (roughly up to 3 years): the child lies back against your chest while you hold their hands and head. We sit knee-to-knee with you and look into the mouth from above. Familiar closeness, a very brief look is possible.
• In the child’s own chair (from about 3 years, sometimes earlier): we let the child try the chair out — up, down, light on. You sit within view. More room for a proper examination, but a little more independence is asked of the child.

If your child is undecided between the two, we’ll happily begin on your lap and switch over as soon as they want to.

Home care from the very first tooth

Oral hygiene doesn’t start with the first dental appointment, but with the first tooth. As soon as the first little tooth is visible, brush it once a day; once several teeth have come through, brush twice a day. A soft children’s toothbrush and a rice-grain-sized amount of fluoride children’s toothpaste are sufficient, according to the current recommendations of the German professional bodies. ¹

The exact amount and age recommendations were last updated in 2021, in a joint consensus from several German professional bodies (DGKJ, DGZMK, BZÄK). ¹ A fluoride-containing children’s toothpaste from the first tooth — in the adjusted dose — is now considered the preferred strategy over the previously discussed fluoride tablets; your pediatrician decides on vitamin D dosing independently from this.

Dental care by age — at a glance:

• From 6 months / first milk tooth: Once a day with a soft children’s toothbrush and a rice-grain-sized amount of fluoride children’s toothpaste (1,000 ppm).
• From around 12 months: Twice a day, still rice-grain-sized. You do the brushing — the child may “help”.
• From around 24 months: Twice a day, still rice-grain-sized (1,000 ppm). Rinsing isn’t necessary; the child may spit out the foam.
• From around 24 months — alternative: A pea-sized amount with 1,000 ppm paste, if you and your pediatrician have chosen that path. Both routes are valid under the 2021 consensus.
• From the start of school: Pea-sized, 1,450 ppm (adult concentration). Brush after your child consistently until they can write reliably — a well-known indicator that fine motor skills are sufficiently developed.

If you’d like to read the original recommendation in full, you can find it in the position statement of the Bundeszahnärztekammer (the Federal Chamber of Dentists in Germany):

If you have questions

If you’re still unsure whether your child is ready, please give us a call, or send us a message through the contact form. We’ll talk through with you what a first visit might look like in your situation, and on request reserve a longer first appointment so there’s enough time to get acquainted.

You can find more about our preventive services for children under Preventive care.

About this article. This piece was prepared with reference to the current recommendations of the Bundeszahnärztekammer (Federal Chamber of Dentists in Germany), the DGZMK S3 guideline on early childhood caries, and the patient guides of the KZBV (National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Dentists) and the Stiftung Kindergesundheit (Children’s Health Foundation). Source citations appear in the list at the end of the page. — The notes here are general in nature and do not replace a conversation with a dentist in practice.