PEDIATRIC DENTIST
The first contact between children, parents, and the dentist is the most important. Children should adopt the habit of brushing their teeth from an early age and, through play, develop basic oral hygiene routines and get accustomed to visiting the dentist.
The key to this is a good pedagogical approach from the pediatric dentist, as well as collaboration with parents, ensuring that children return to the dentist with a smile and without fear. A good pediatric dentist is someone whom our little ones fully trust. When that trust is established, fear quickly disappears, even in the most anxious children.
A pediatric dentist (pediatric dentistry) includes:
- Educating parents and young children about proper oral hygiene.
- Fissure sealing.
- Treating both baby teeth and permanent teeth.
- Ensuring that visiting the dentist is a pleasant experience.
IMPORTANCE OF BABY TEETH
Preserving baby teeth is crucial, as they maintain space for permanent teeth. Prematurely extracted baby teeth can disrupt normal chewing function and affect the alignment of incoming permanent teeth.
That is why baby teeth are treated the same way as permanent teeth, which includes removing cavities and placing fillings.
CAVITY PREVENTION AND FISSURE SEALING
The UpDent dental office places a strong emphasis on preventing oral health issues, both in adults and in young patients.
Regular check-ups with a pediatric dentist can prevent the development of cavities in molars. You’ve probably heard of fissure sealing. Fissures and grooves on molars are the most common places where plaque and food accumulate. The simplest and most effective way to prevent cavities is to seal fissures immediately after the permanent teeth erupt, starting with the first permanent molars in both the upper and lower jaw.
By sealing fissures, the pediatric dentist creates a smooth surface with no deep grooves where food could get trapped. Filling the fissures with sealant reduces the risk of cavities.
TREATMENT OF BABY TOOTH NERVES
If a cavity has progressed significantly, and considering that children have a very large pulp (tooth nerve), an endodontic treatment called pulpotomy is necessary. This treatment should not be withheld from young patients. Pulpotomy involves removing only the coronal part of the pulp, usually in two visits to the dentist.
In the first visit, the pediatric dentist removes all decay until the pulp chamber becomes visible. A special medication is then placed inside the tooth for 10 days. Most commonly, this is toxavit. In the second visit, the coronal part of the pulp (nerve) is removed, and a paste is applied to mummify the root portion of the nerve. Over this protected pulp, a filling is placed.
This procedure helps the baby tooth maintain its place for the permanent tooth until it is naturally replaced. If the baby tooth is lost prematurely, small dental appliances called space maintainers can be used to preserve the space for permanent teeth. If even that opportunity is missed, don’t worry—there are removable dentures that children willingly wear.
Of course, the most important thing for children is that every procedure is painless. Everything is done under local anesthesia: first, a topical anesthetic is applied so they don’t feel the needle prick, followed by a local anesthetic injection.
PS.
Moms and dads, start taking your children to the dentist with you for check-ups as early as age three.
They find it very interesting, and for us and you, it makes things much easier when you see your child sitting in the chair and getting their teeth treated without fear. Let them observe everything, get familiar with the instruments, and learn about the procedures through play.
Don’t wait until their teeth start hurting, as this makes everything more difficult for both them and you. When pain has already started, children are much less cooperative, and some teeth may no longer be salvageable, even though we try. Our long-standing experience with both children and adults has shown that the greatest fear of the dentist develops during this period. Later in life, avoiding the dentist and oral health problems often stem from the trauma children experience in early childhood.
