Pediatric Dentistry (Kids Dentistry)
Children begin to get their baby teeth during the first 6 months of life. By age 6 or 7 years, they start to lose their first set of teeth, which eventually are replaced by secondary, permanent teeth. Without proper dental care, children face possible oral decay and disease that can cause a lifetime of pain and complications. Today, early childhood dental caries—an infectious disease—is 5 times more common in children than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever.
What Types of Treatments Do Pediatric Dentists Provide ?
- Infant oral health exams, which include risk assessment for caries in mother and child
- Preventive dental care including cleaning and fluoride treatments, as well as nutrition and diet recommendations
- Habit counseling (for example, pacifier use and thumb sucking)
- Early assessment and treatment for straightening teeth and correcting an improper bite (orthodontics)
- Repair of tooth cavities or defects
- Management of gum diseases and conditions including ulcers, short frenulae, mucoceles, and pediatric periodontal disease
- Care for dental injuries (for example, fractured, displaced, or knocked-out teeth)
Why do you need to consult a dentist for children ? Primary dentition or the eruption of teeth is an important phase of a baby. It is often accompanied by diarrhea. However, proper development of primary teeth is important to learn to speak, to eat, and for overall growth. Improper development of teeth can cause infections, swelling, and pain. That is why it is important to visit a children’s dental specialist at this stage.
Pit and Fissure Sealant: Dental sealants (also termed pit and fissure sealants, or simply fissure sealants)are a dental treatment intended to prevent tooth decay.
Fluoride Varnish: Fluoride is effective in preventing cavities and tooth decay and in preventing plaque from building up and hardening on the tooth’s surface.
Composite Restoration: Dental composite resins are types of synthetic resins that are used in dentistry as restorative.
Pulpotomy/Pulpectomy: A Pulpotomy is the removal of a portion of the pulp, including the diseased aspect, with the intent of maintaining the vitality of the remaining pulpal tissue by means of a therapeutic dressing.
Preventive Orthodontics: Preventative orthodontics focuses on the elimination of factors, which if left uncorrected, would result in a worsening of the malocclusion. One example would be space maintenance due to premature loss of deciduous teeth, most commonly the canines and molars.
Habit Breaking: Persistent thumb-sucking is considered a bad habit in children as it may affect the development of the teeth.
