Pedodontics is as comprehensive and important as dentistry for adults. It covers the healthy development, protection and treatment of the teeth from the birth of the child until the age of 12-13 when the primary teeth change.
The first dentist visit of the child should be relaxing. Children do not born with dentist phobia but they may afraid because they do not know what to expect. Besides explaining the treatment process to the parents, explaining to the child also with simple words is helpful for avoiding the dentist phobia that may occur in the future.
When should be the first dentist visit for children?
The first dentist visit of children should be in the first year of birth. It is important to take proper care to your child’s new grown teeth and get your child adopt a regular oral care habit from the beginning. The regular dental care which is started to taken from childhood, makes your child face with dental problems less in the future.
Why is the pedodontics so important?
Dental care is important from the moment that the child’s first tooth erupted (generally between the 6th and 12th months). Dental care which is started in babies is effective on a normal jaw development, healthy permanent teeth and ability of chewing and proper speaking. Being oral health in a good condition is more effective than dental treatments. Dentists work with both children and parents closely about child’s oral health. The child is followed closely from using tooth brush, dental floss to eating sugar.
What does pedodontics cover?
Pediatric patients may need different dental treatments than adults. Some of the treatments performed for children:
- Fillings
- Extracting teeth
- Root canal treatments
- Oral surgery
Preservative Treatments
Besides treating the different type dental problems, it is important to protect the teeth with patient-parent education. In pedodontics the aim is not only treating the child’s dental diseases, but also protecting the child from these diseases. Here are some preservative treatments:
- Dental cleaning
- Fluoride treatments
- Orthodontic plannings
- Early diagnosis of decays
- Educations for brushing and using dental floss