What is pediatric dentistry?
The field of pediatric dentistry deals with dental procedures and therapies for medical conditions of children's and adolescents' teeth, gums, and jaws. In the course of the past few decades, this dental specialty was continuously developed further and nowadays comprises multiple treatment programs that are...
The field of pediatric dentistry deals with dental procedures and therapies for medical conditions of children's and adolescents' teeth, gums, and jaws. In the course of the past few decades, this dental specialty was continuously developed further and nowadays comprises multiple treatment programs that are especially designed for children and, thus, differ a little bit from treatment programs for adults. Some of the key reasons for the differences between dental procedures for adults and children are:
Contrary to adult jaws, the jaws of a child are constantly changing and developing, as the child itself continues growing and, also, children's permanent teeth do not emerge prior to their 6th year of life
Children often need a much gentler approach to dental work, given that they are much more susceptible to dentophobia than adults, which could needlessly complicate dental treatments
Effective and thorough oral hygiene from a very early age is a crucial step for making sure that a child develops proper dental hygiene as an adult
To sum up, dental treatment and care programs that are specifically tailored to children and their physiological traits and levels of development are essential for ensuring optimal treatment outcomes.
Which dental treatments fall into the field of pediatric dentistry?
Just like the field of general dentistry, the field of pediatric dentistry spans a broad range of dental procedures which can be classified into one of the following few key categories:
To also ensure proper treatment of complex dental problems, such as tooth decay, severe dental misalignments, or weaknesses of the periodontium. pediatric dentists have various treatment options at their disposal that cover even the rarest dental conditions. Examples of such more comprehensive treatments include the following:
Professional advice regarding optimal nutrition and diet
Dental hygiene training for children
Careful desensitization of children to dental check-up visits and treatments
Sealing of dental fissures
Tooth decay diagnosis and treatment
Dental fillings
Root canal treatments (also on milk or baby teeth)
As already mentioned, it is absolutely essential to get children used to proper and thorough dental care as early as possible to lay a solid foundation for proper dental care and hygiene in their adult lives. An important step in that direction is to get a child used to regular dental check-up visits early on while making sure that the child has positive experiences with the dentist to prevent the onset of dentophobia.
How do I get my child used to regular dentist visits?
Once the first milk tooth breaks through a child's gum line, it is absolutely essential to schedule the first dental check-up visit with a dentist to not only ensure optimal health of the emerging milk teeth but to also start getting the child used to periodical dental check-up visits. During these early dentist visits, the dentist provides young parents with important advice about how to safeguard their children's dental health via optimal nutrition and regular and thorough oral hygiene. The dentist also monitors the development of the child's jaws to identify any potential misalignments as early as possible.
The following few heuristics are additional key pieces of advice from dentists for young parents regarding dental care for their children:
Do not use dental check-up visits as threats
Do not tell the child about negative experiences with dentists in the past
Do not use fear-inducing words, such as injection, syringe, or drill to prevent the child from establishing negative associations to dentist visits
During the dental check-up appointments, remain in the background as much as possible and allow the dentist to establish a rapport directly with the child instead of playing an intermediary role
Thoroughly brush your child's teeth and do not have it consume food for at least a few hours prior to a dentist appointment
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