Pediatric dentistry · Berlin-Mitte
From the first baby tooth to a complete set of permanent teeth: preventive care in small steps and at your child's pace. The first visit can be just about getting to know us—with no treatment at all.
Starting point
Some children climb curiously into the chair and want to touch every instrument. Others need three tries before they open their mouth. Both are normal, and both have a place here. We do not treat a child against their will: no holding down, no springing surprises, no tricks. Whatever we do, we announce beforehand—in words a child understands.
The same goes for parents: there are no lectures here. Whether it is the bottle, sweets or a long-postponed appointment—the conversation is not about how things got to this point, but about what helps your child now. You stay with your child for as long as they need you, and you can ask any question that matters to you.
Guidance
Whether the next step is an introductory visit, a preventive appointment or a prompt examination depends on age, on the reason for coming and on your child. These three questions give an initial direction.
How old is your child?
What brings you in?
How does your child approach new things?
The first visit makes sense from the first baby tooth onward and can be unspectacular: looking, counting teeth, answering parents' questions. The earlier the first appointment, the sooner your child gets to know the practice without anything needing to be done. That is exactly what shapes how they feel about dental appointments later on.
Feel free to bring the yellow children's health record booklet—the dental early-detection appointments are noted there as well.
Alongside the check-up comes age-appropriate preventive care: brushing instruction, fluoride application and—while the teeth are changing—the question of whether the new molars should be sealed. For children and adolescents, statutory health insurance largely covers preventive care.
How often an appointment makes sense depends on age and on the risk of tooth decay—we decide that together.
White or brown spots, a cavity, pain or bleeding gums should be examined. Tooth decay can reach deep into a baby tooth faster than into a permanent tooth because the enamel is thinner and the nerve lies closer to the surface.
Waiting rarely makes treatment smaller. For acute pain or after a fall, call us directly.
After a bad experience, trust comes before speed: getting to know each other first, nothing against the child's will, every step announced in advance. A child who only watches today has not wasted the appointment.
If treatment is needed, we plan short appointments with a clear pause signal—and discuss whether nitrous oxide or sedation may be appropriate after a medical assessment.
These questions do not replace an examination or a consultation. They only give an initial sense of what the first step for your child might look like. What is actually needed becomes clear at the appointment.
Ages and stages
Between the first baby tooth and the complete set of permanent teeth, the mouth rebuilds itself twice. Each phase has its own weak points—and its own preventive care.
The ages given are rough guides. Every set of teeth has its own pace—teeth changing early or late is usually no cause for concern in itself.
Baby teeth
“They'll fall out anyway” is the most expensive sentence in pediatric dentistry. Baby teeth hold the space for the permanent teeth and guide them as they come through. They are needed for chewing and for sounds like S and Z. If a baby tooth is lost too early, the neighboring teeth can tip into the gap—and the permanent tooth can no longer find its place on its own.
Untreated tooth decay does not disappear with the baby tooth either. The bacteria stay in the mouth and meet the newly erupted permanent teeth there—at precisely their most vulnerable time. A diseased set of baby teeth is therefore a poor start for the permanent one.
The enamel of a baby tooth is considerably thinner than that of a permanent tooth, and the nerve fills a larger share of the tooth's interior. Decay therefore has less distance to cover before reaching the nerve. What takes years to develop in an adult can be through a baby tooth in months.
So the rule is: take small spots seriously instead of treating large cavities. The earlier something is noticed, the smaller the procedure usually stays.
The earliest avoidable cause is the baby bottle: when a child sucks on it constantly, juice, diluted juice and sweetened tea wash over the upper front teeth for hours. The only drink suitable for constant sucking is water.
First appointment
The best time for the first dental visit is before anything hurts: from the first baby tooth, and no later than around the first birthday. That way your child gets to know the practice, the chair and the routines at a moment when nothing is asked of them.
Your child explores the room and sits on your lap or alone in the chair—whichever they prefer. Nothing happens unannounced.
We count the teeth with a mirror and light and explain every move beforehand in words a child understands: explain first, then show, then do.
Brushing technique to match the age, the right amount of toothpaste, bottle, pacifier, fluoride: you get concrete answers instead of general admonishments.
We set the schedule for preventive care. If treatment should be necessary, it gets an appointment of its own—with time and without surprises.
A tip for preparing: mention the appointment casually and avoid sentences like “It definitely won't hurt”—they awaken exactly the worry they are meant to take away. If you treat the visit as part of normal everyday life, you give your child the best model to follow.
Treatment
Treatment, too, follows fixed rules: explain first, then show on a model or on a finger, then do. Your child gets a stop signal—raising a hand means pause, immediately and without discussion. This agreement genuinely holds; it decides whether a child keeps their trust.
For children, control is the difference between “enduring” and “taking part”. The agreed hand signal stops the treatment immediately. Then we talk, and we continue only with renewed consent—even if that makes the appointment longer.
For very anxious children, we prefer to plan two short appointments rather than one long one. After a medical assessment, nitrous oxide or sedation can also be discussed; more on this on our page for anxious patients.
A small cavity in a baby tooth can often be treated in one short session—with a tooth-colored filling and local anesthesia that we prepare in a child-friendly way. The earlier the finding, the smaller the step usually stays.
Severely damaged baby teeth can be preserved with a pediatric crown. If a tooth cannot be saved, it is removed; a space maintainer then keeps the place open for the permanent tooth. We discuss calmly in advance what makes sense.
After a fall onto a tooth, the order of steps matters: stay calm, stop any bleeding with a clean compress, then call. Touch a knocked-out permanent tooth only by the crown, do not clean it, and keep it moist—ideally in a tooth rescue box from the pharmacy, or otherwise in cold UHT milk. A baby tooth is not put back in, but the fall should still be examined. The detailed instructions are on our dental injury page.
Costs
For children and adolescents, preventive dental care is largely covered by German statutory health insurance. It only needs to be used—every child is entitled to these appointments.
A Cochrane review of twenty-two trials found, with fluoride varnish, on average 37 percent fewer new decayed tooth surfaces in baby teeth and 43 percent fewer in permanent teeth—each compared with placebo or no treatment.
Marinho et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013 – PMID 23846772 (95-%-Konfidenzintervall 24–51 Prozent beziehungsweise 30–57 Prozent). Die Autoren stufen die Qualität der Belege wegen Verzerrungsrisiken und großer Unterschiede zwischen den Studien nur als moderat ein. Ein Studienmittelwert ist keine Zusage für Ihr Kind – Putzen, Ernährung und regelmäßige Termine bleiben entscheidend.
Detect risks early, strengthen the enamel, correct brushing mistakes before they become cavities—and keep treatments small if something does come up.
Daily brushing at home and the choice of drinks between appointments. No preventive appointment can do the brushing for you—the most important dental care happens at the sink.
Questions
From the first baby tooth, and no later than around the first birthday. The yellow children's health record booklet sets out dedicated dental early-detection appointments for this. Starting early has two advantages: your child gets to know the practice without a specific reason, and questions about brushing, the bottle and fluoride are settled before mistakes turn into findings.
Casually and positively. Announce the visit as a normal appointment, perhaps with a picture book on the subject. Avoid phrases like “It won't hurt” or “You don't need to be scared”—they plant exactly what they are meant to prevent. And talk about your own dental appointments only if you have good things to report.
Yes. Decay in a baby tooth can reach deep faster than in a permanent tooth, can cause pain and inflammation, and in the worst case endangers the developing tooth bud underneath. A cavity found early can usually be treated with a small filling—one found late needs considerably more.
Then we do not treat against your child's will. We stop before trust is lost and try again in smaller steps or at a new appointment. For urgent or extensive treatment there are options such as nitrous oxide or sedation after a medical assessment—holding a child down is not one of them.
In the recommended, age-appropriate amount, fluoride is considered well studied and effective against tooth decay; the dental and pediatric professional societies recommend it jointly. Dosage is what matters: a rice-grain-sized amount of children's toothpaste from the first tooth, and a pea-sized amount from about age two. Which toothpaste and which amount suit your child is something we discuss in concrete terms at the appointment.
With prolonged use, both shape the jaw and the bite—the thumb usually more strongly, and it cannot be taken away. A pacifier is therefore easier to limit and to wean off, ideally by around the third birthday. At that point, an open bite can often still correct itself.
Chilled but not frozen teething rings, a cold washcloth, or a gentle massage with a clean finger. We advise against teething gels containing sugar or alcohol and against amber necklaces—cords around a small child's neck or wrist are a real accident hazard.
Touch a permanent tooth only by the crown, do not clean it, keep it moist—in a tooth rescue box or, failing that, in cold UHT milk—and call us immediately. A baby tooth is not put back in, but the accident should still be examined promptly. Step-by-step guidance is on our dental injury page.
Power struggles here are usually lost by both sides. What can help: an appointment where we talk with your teenager rather than about them—about plaque, bleeding gums and what matters to them personally, from appearance to bad breath. Some arguments work better when they come from someone else.
Get to know us before anything hurts. We take time for your child and announce every step in advance—and if the first visit consists only of watching, that is completely fine.
Or call: 030 436665501