Your paediatric dentist in 1060 Vienna

Your child’s first visit to the dentist can and should take place from the age of 2 years old. The main purpose of this initial visit is for us to get to know each other and for your child to gain a first positive impression of their dentist, the practice and the world of dentistry.

Important: do not wait for the first ‘cavity devils’ to appear before taking your child to the dentist for the first time. Intensive dental treatment during a child’s first visit to the dentist can give them unpleasant memories and, in the worst-case scenario, lead to dental phobia.

It is much more pleasant for everyone involved if your child’s teeth are healthy and in good condition for their first visit to the dentist. This way, your child can get to know our practice and the different stages of a visit to the dentist without any stress and go home with a positive first impression. An appointment for oral hygiene for children is also suitable as an initial dental encounter so that your child can slowly gain confidence.

At our dental practice in Vienna, we are covered by an SVS and KFA health insurance contract for general dental services and removable braces. For all other health insurance companies, we are a private practice for dental and orthodontic services.

Our practice in Linz is a purely orthodontic practice covered by a health insurance contract for free braces. Dr Victoria Matheis is responsible for paediatric dental treatments in Linz.

Good to know:

• Amalgam fillings are no longer used for children’s teeth. Instead, health insurance covers the costs of amalgam-free white fillings.

• For children and adolescents aged from 10 to 18 years old, health insurance covers or subsidises the costs of an annual professional oral hygiene (tooth cleaning) treatment to remove tartar. For children with fixed free braces, this treatment is even covered by health insurance twice a year. Our practice offers oral hygiene treatments for children and adolescents with and without braces. Book your appointment online here. 

• In the field of orthodontics, different costs and subsidies apply for children depending on the misalignment of the teeth and the tools used. Orthodontic treatments must be approved by health insurance companies in advance based on X-rays, model scans, photographs and special applications. In the case of severe tooth misalignment or malocclusion, there is also the option of free orthodontic treatment under the Austrian free braces programme (only available in the Linz practice).

At first, parents clean their children’s teeth, but later on, children can take over the job of brushing their teeth themselves. Nevertheless, it is recommended that parents check their children’s teeth after they have brushed them between the ages of 2 and 6 and preferably also brush them again themselves. This way, children can gradually take responsibility for cleaning their own teeth and keeping them healthy and strong.

Tip: As soon as children have mastered joined-up handwriting, they should be able to brush their teeth independently. It is important to preserve milk teeth for as long as possible, as they serve as placeholders for permanent teeth.

Nevertheless, if a child refuses to brush their own teeth, this doesn't mean that they can be left uncleaned. Parents are still ultimately responsible for the condition of their children's milk teeth and, later on, their permanent teeth.

We have summarised further important tips for your child’s dental care, prophylaxis and dental health in our article on oral hygiene for children. 

It is important to lower expectations that are too high. If a fearful child is able to open their mouth on their own during their first visit to the dentist, this should be considered a great success. Comments such as “There’s nothing to be afraid of” or “This won't hurt” and the use of terms such as “injection” and “tooth extraction” should be avoided where possible. A child’s first visit to the dentist is always exciting and for some families, it is almost a special occasion. However, we ask that only a small number of family members accompany your child on their first visit to the dentist.

With these positive new impressions, we will lay the foundation for regular visits and for keeping your child’s teeth strong and healthy on a long-term basis. If you have any further questions, please feel free to give us a call or use the option to book an appointment online. Our team is looking forward to meeting you for a consultation.

The therapy of bad habits such as thumb sucking and tongue thrusting or treatment for tongue malposition can, if detected early, help to avoid possible later malformations. In such cases, working with speech therapists plays an important role, with so-called myofunctional exercises (like muscle training for the tongue and cheek muscles) helping to change the position of the tongue. This can have a positive effect on growth and improve or even prevent misalignments.

If we detect that your child has a tooth or jaw misalignment, a so-called call “bad bite”, we offer a multitude of orthodontic treatment options to correct it. Removable braces or invisible braces can also be used to correct jaw growth.