Well Child Visits

Well visits, or pediatric preventive care visits, are recommended by the AAP at regular intervals throughout childhood and adolescence. In the first 3 years of life, there are more than 10 scheduled checkups with your pediatrician to ensure your child is healthy and happy!

After age 3, your child should have a yearly well visit. Effective 7/1/18, the NYS Education Department requires regular health examination for all students entering K, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 grades, once a year for sports, camps, and any time a student enters a new school district.

Each well visit begins with weighing and measuring your child. Developmental screening questions will be completed. Your child’s hearing and vision might be checked, depending on their age. You will have an opportunity to ask any questions during your visit with the doctor, and a head to toe examination will be performed. At some visits, additional services, like fluoride varnish, or additional testing, like lead testing, might be recommended by your doctor during the visit.

You can expect that any vaccines recommended for your child will be given during the well visit.

• Well Child Schedule of Visits

• Pittsford Pediatrics Immunizations Schedule

Based on AAP guidelines and our best knowledge about vision in children, we strongly recommend early vision screening starting at age 1 year.

We will screen your child at the well visit at age 1 year and again at age 3 years using a device called GoCheck Kids. The screening is quick, easy, non-invasive, and informative.

We will bill your insurance for this service. Many insurance plans cover this service as part of preventative care, but others may apply the cost to your deductible. If so, your estimated out of pocket cost is $10 - $20.

The only risk of screening is the possibility of a referral to an ophthalmologist based on a positive screen for early risk factors for vision loss.

Please ask if you have questions!

Dental caries are the most common chronic disease of childhood, and early caries are the single greatest risk factor for caries in the permanent teeth. The best preventive measure for early caries is the use of fluoride – both in your daily dental hygiene, and in the application of fluoride varnish 2-4 times yearly. Fluoride works by inhibiting tooth demineralization, enhancing remineralization, inhibiting bacterial metabolism, and reducing enamel solubility. In 2015, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), and the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) all agreed that primary care pediatricians share the responsibility for providing this important service to their patients.

Benefits of Fluoride Varnish:

• Safe, inexpensive, and effective: 30-35% reduction in caries
• Quick and easy to apply
• Not associated with harm or adverse events
• Strengthens enamel and can prevent progression of early caries

The FV we will use is allergen, gluten, and aspartame free. Application should be easy, with your help, and will occur during the normal scheduled well exam. This will not change my recommendation to use fluoride-containing toothpaste daily, and initiate dental care with a Dentist around age 2 years.

Because of the important role oral health plays in overall health, most insurances cover this service as part of the Preventive Health visit (your regular checkup). The charge submitted to your insurance company for the service is $30 – if you would like your child to receive FV but are concerned about coverage, we recommend contacting your insurance to confirm coverage in anticipation of your well visit.

If you would like more information about FV, a great resource is the Healthy Children website. This website is run by the AAP, and has an article entitled “Fluoride Varnish: What Parents Need to Know” that is easily accessible.

We are excited to be able to address this important aspect of your child’s health in our office. We welcome any questions at your next visit!