Children’s Dentistry
Children are not just small adults. They have different dental needs and they are often not able to be patient and cooperative during an examination or when a procedure is in progress. Children’s dentistry, or pediatric dentistry as it is also known, uses examination and treatment techniques that are specially designed to reduce the discomfort and fear levels of children to make them more cooperative. In many cases, specially designed equipment is available for children’s dental care and treatment.
Understanding Children’s Teeth
Children begin to get their first set of teeth ( the “Milk Teeth”) by the time they are 6 months old. These teeth last till they are 6 to 12 years old at which time they are replaced by the permanent adult teeth. During this 6 year period, children’s teeth need special care to prevent oral decay and disease that could last long after the baby teeth are gone and result in a lifetime of pain and discomfort. This may sound like an exaggeration until one is faced with the fact that childhood dental caries, an infectious disease, is today over 7 times more common in children than hay fever and 5 times more common than asthma. All parents want the best for their children and as far as good health and appearance go, to ignore the mouth and teeth is to take a huge risk. At Unismile Dental we understand how parents feel about their children and our focus is on giving parents peace of mind by using our experience and dental expertise to prevent dental problems and if they do occur, to provide the best and most effective treatment. At the same time, we work to reduce the stress and discomfort that the children feel so that a visit to the dentist is not something that will strike fear into them.
What Do Children’s Dentists Do?
Children’s dentist offers a full range of dental services including:
- Oral examinations of infants. This includes doing risk assessments for caries for both child and mother.
- Habit counseling as in the case of the right use of pacifiers and controlling thumb sucking etc.
- Early diagnosis and treatment of crooked teeth and correction of improper bites.
- Care and treatment of dental injuries such as broken, displaced or knocked-out teeth.
- Providing preventive dental care such as cleaning and fluoride treatments.
- Nutrition and dietary advice for good teeth development and prevention of oral diseases.
- Treatment of cavities etc.
Early diagnosis of dental conditions that are associated with diseases like asthma, hay fever, diabetes, heart defect, ADD, etc.
Regular Visits To A Children’s Dentist are Important
According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), a child should have a routine dental check-up every six months. This may vary depending on the oral health status. The children’s dentist will advise the parent on the frequency of visits that are required.
Most adults have suffered the agony of a toothache at least once in their lives. No parent would want their children to go through this. Regular visits to a children’s dentist are the best way to protect young teeth. We know that visits to the dentist can be frightening for children and we go out of our way to make the experience and pleasant and painless as possible.
