Pediatric Dentistry
Children need dentistry as much as anyone else, maybe even more so as caries (cavities) is the number one child disease. A child’s first teeth will erupt by six months of age with the secondary teeth pushing through starting around age seven. Without regular dental care, children can develop tooth problems that cause complications and large amounts of pain. Cavities in children are seven times more likely than allergies and five times more likely than asthma.
Pediatric Dentistry Treatments
A dentist performs a wide range of care for children’s teeth including:
- Oral exams for infants and mothers, which assess the risk of cavities
- Cleaning and fluoride treatments along with dietary recommendations
- Counseling for habits and possible teeth straightening
- Cavity repair
- Management of oral diseases and repair of dental injuries
As fast as children grow up, they are not actually small adults and often have trouble sitting still during an exam or simply being patient. Dentists and their team work with children and will approach exams in ways that make them feel at ease. Many have offices that are painted in bright colors and have furniture and toys that children enjoy.
Children’s dental care is also unique. One of the main functions of baby teeth is to hold the space to allow permanent teeth to erupt. Therefore, a dentist’s goal is to keep baby teeth healthy to allow the teeth to do their function and prevent pain. Sometimes it is necessary to take out baby teeth due to infection or trauma, if this happens there are still ways to maintain that space to allow the full eruption of permanent teeth. Valuable space is sometimes lost when baby teeth are lost and that space is not maintained.
Good oral health habits start early in life. Having regular dental exams, cleanings and assessments will start a child down the path of lifelong health.