When should my child first go to the dentist?

With the first tooth, at the latest by the first birthday. In Germany the statutory early-detection examination is scheduled from the 6th month of life. The early appointment is less about treatment than about getting to know the practice – and advising parents on dental care and nutrition while habits are still forming.

Which toothpaste and how much fluoride does my child need?

Following the 2021 joint recommendation of dental and paediatric professional societies, brushing starts with the first tooth, twice daily, with a children's toothpaste containing 1,000 ppm fluoride: a rice-grain-sized amount in the first year of life, a pea-sized amount from the second birthday. If fluoride tablets are also given, please talk to us or your paediatrician – the total amount should be coordinated.

Does a hole in a baby tooth really need treating?

Yes. Baby teeth hold the space open for the permanent teeth; if one is lost too early, the neighbouring teeth tilt into the gap and space becomes tight. In addition, the enamel of baby teeth is thinner, so decay reaches the nerve faster and causes pain. A filling in a baby tooth is therefore not unnecessary effort but prevention for the permanent set of teeth.

What is a fissure sealant and does insurance cover it?

The chewing surfaces of the molars have deep grooves that no toothbrush bristle can reach – decay develops there particularly often. With sealing, these grooves are closed with a thin-flowing resin. There's no drilling, and the procedure is painless. For permanent molars, sealing is a statutory health insurance benefit for children and teenagers in Germany.

Until what age do parents need to finish off brushing?

At least until primary-school age. As a practical rule of thumb: as long as the child can't yet write joined-up handwriting fluently, the fine motor skills for thorough brushing are missing. The child brushes first – which practises and motivates – then a parent systematically goes over all the surfaces once more, especially the chewing surfaces and the inner sides.

My child is afraid of the dentist. What can we do?

Fear usually comes from the unknown or from a bad first experience. That's why we proceed in small steps and never treat a child against their will – sometimes the most useful appointment is one where we just look and count. You can help a lot by talking about the appointment casually and positively, and by not introducing words like "scared", "hurt" or "injection" in the first place. For pronounced treatment anxiety, you'll find further options on our Anxious Patients page.

What is molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH)?

With molar incisor hypomineralisation, the enamel of certain permanent teeth – usually the first molars, sometimes the incisors too – doesn't harden properly while it's forming. Affected teeth show whitish-yellow to brownish patches, are often sensitive to cold and sweets, and chip more easily. The causes aren't yet fully understood. Close monitoring, intensive fluoridation and early protection of the affected teeth matter – the sooner it's recognised, the more gently it can be treated.

When does braces become a topic?

Tooth and jaw misalignments often become noticeable during the mixed dentition, roughly between the ages of 8 and 12. At regular check-ups we watch for space issues, bite and eruption order, and raise it with you if an orthodontic assessment seems sensible. For an overview of the options, see Misaligned Teeth.

Children's Dentistry in Kiel | Zahnärzte auf der Holtenauer

Children's dentistry

A good start in life begins with healthy baby teeth. We accompany children from their very first tooth – with plenty of patience, a playful approach and a child-friendly practice atmosphere that turns the first dental visit into a positive experience.

Our team explains the right brushing technique to children and parents, advises on healthy nutrition and makes full use of the statutory health insurance preventive programmes for children.

Preventive care for children (statutory check-up programme)
Fissure sealants for permanent molars
Fluoridation as protection against decay
Early-detection examinations
Treatment of baby teeth & the mixed dentition
Fear-free introduction to the dental practice

Request an appointment for your child

Why baby teeth matter more than many people think

"They're going to fall out anyway." This sentence comes up often in dental practices – and it underestimates what baby teeth actually do. They're not just for chewing: they hold the space open for the permanent teeth already forming underneath. If a baby tooth is lost too early, the neighbouring teeth drift into the gap – and the permanent tooth later finds no room. What started as small decay not infrequently ends in orthodontic treatment.

On top of that, baby teeth have a noticeably thinner layer of enamel than permanent teeth. Decay spreads faster in them and reaches the nerve sooner. A hole that would stay unnoticed for months in a permanent tooth can cause pain within weeks in a baby tooth. That's the main reason preventive intervals are closer together for children than for adults.

And finally, baby teeth shape speech, chewing and – not to be underestimated – the first impression a child takes away from a dental visit. A child who comes in for a check-up with healthy teeth and no pain learns that the practice is an unremarkable place. A child whose first appointment is an emergency with pain learns something else. That's exactly why we start so early.

The first visit – step by step

The first appointment isn't about treatment, it's about getting to know each other. What happens:

Arriving and looking around. Your child is allowed to look, touch, ask questions. The treatment chair goes up and down, the water spray gets tried out – everything that might surprise later becomes a familiar piece of equipment first.
Counting instead of examining. We often start by counting the teeth together. It's an examination, but it feels like a game to the child.
Looking at teeth and jaw. We look at the number of teeth, their position, the gums and how the teeth are erupting – and whether early decay is showing anywhere.
Brushing lesson. We show how to brush – to the child and the parents. Because until primary-school age, parents finishing off the brushing is the decisive factor.
Fluoride varnish. If it fits, a protective varnish is applied. It takes seconds, doesn't taste of much and hardens the enamel.
Next appointment. Together we decide when we'll see each other again. If everything looks fine, that's the regular preventive interval.

What parents can do beforehand – and what's better avoided: talk about the appointment casually and positively, the way you would about a haircut. Avoid sentences like "You don't need to be scared" or "It definitely won't hurt" – they put the idea into a child's head that there's something to fear in the first place. Your own bad experiences shouldn't be told in front of the child either. Best to schedule the appointment for a rested time of day, not during nap time.

Preventive care by age – what's covered

German statutory health insurance accompanies children from their first teeth to their 18th birthday with a fixed programme. An overview:

6th to 33rd month of life

Three dental early-detection examinations. These focus on checking erupting teeth, advising parents on nutrition and dental care, and applying fluoride varnish.

34th to 72nd month of life

Three further early-detection examinations, spaced roughly a year apart – so through nursery age up to shortly before starting school.

6th to 18th year

Individual preventive care: oral hygiene status, education and brushing instruction, topical fluoridation and sealing of the permanent molars – usually twice a year.

The six-year molar

At around age six, the first permanent molar erupts behind the baby teeth – without any baby tooth falling out for it. Many parents mistake it for a baby tooth. It's the tooth with the highest decay risk in the whole mouth and the most important candidate for a fissure sealant.

Don't forget the bonus booklet: from the 12th birthday, preventive appointments count towards the bonus booklet. Keeping it complete without gaps means a higher allowance later for tooth replacement. More on our Costs & Insurance Cover page.

Protection against decay at home

What happens at the practice is the smaller part. The decisive factors are at home – above all two levers: fluoride and how often sugar is consumed.

On toothpaste, dental and paediatric professional societies agreed on a joint recommendation in 2021: from the first tooth, brush twice daily with a fluoride children's toothpaste (1,000 ppm fluoride) – a rice-grain-sized amount in the first year of life, a pea-sized amount from the second birthday. It's important to consider all fluoride sources together: if fluoride tablets are given as well, coordinate that with us or the paediatrician so the total amount is right.

With sugar, frequency matters more than quantity. After every sugary contact, the pH in the mouth drops and the enamel loses minerals until saliva has balanced it out again. A piece of cake in the afternoon is therefore less harmful than juice sipped throughout the day. Particularly critical is a bottle with sweet contents – above all if it goes to bed with the child. At night saliva flow is minimal, so the protective effect is almost entirely absent.

And: finishing off the brushing remains the parents' job. The fine motor skills for thorough brushing only develop around primary-school age – as a rule of thumb, until the child can write joined-up handwriting fluently. Until then the child brushes first, and a parent then systematically goes over all surfaces once more.

When treatment is needed after all

Even with good prevention, something can come up. Then the rule is: explain what's happening – and don't rush anything.

Small areas of decay

Early demineralisation isn't a hole yet. It can often be stopped with more intensive care, fluoridation and closer check-ups, without any drilling.

Fillings in baby teeth

If a hole has formed, it's filled – even in a baby tooth, so the tooth is preserved as a placeholder until the natural change. More on our Implants page.

An accident involving a tooth

Falls onto the front teeth are among the most common dental accidents in childhood. What to do in the first few minutes – especially with a knocked-out tooth – is on our Toothache & Emergency page.

When a child doesn't want to

No child is forced into anything at our practice. Sometimes the most useful appointment is one where nothing is done – and it works at the next one. For pronounced treatment anxiety, see also Anxious Patients.

Children's Dentistry