Timing, reasons, and predictors for first dental visits among children seen at two university hospitals

Dental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease. The recommended age for the first dental visit (FDV) is 1 year, yet a minority of children visit before the age of 3 years.

The aim of the study was to estimate the patterns of and predictors for dental visits among a sample of children.

Parents of children between the ages of 6 months and 18 years, who attended the paediatric dentistry clinics and the well-baby clinics, were recruited. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data. Logistic regression was utilized to assess the predictors of ever visiting a dentist.

The mean age at FDV was 5.8 ± 2.1 years. Parents' belief of not needing to see a dentist was the most common barrier to visiting a dentist (33%). Among the reasons for FDV, caries and pain were the most common (45% and 20%, respectively). Predictors of ever visiting a dentist were children who are not an only child and children of parents who visited a dentist themselves.

Children visited the dentist at an age older than that recommended, and the reasons for FDV were mainly caries and its consequences.