Your child should have their first dentist appointment by one year old, or when they get their first tooth. Having pediatric dental care for your children has many benefits. Your child’s oral health is just as important as their physical health. Visiting a pediatric dentist can offset dental problems for years. So what makes pediatric dentistry so important? Why should your child see a pediatric dentist instead of a general dentist? In this article, you’ll learn more about the benefits of seeing the kid dentist in Spanish Fork.
What Is Pediatric Dentistry?
Pediatric dentistry is a field of dentistry that provides dental care for kids. It’s a specialized field of dentistry. Once a dentist graduates from dental school, they enter a 2-3 year residency program to gain pediatric dentistry skills.
During their residency, they work with real children of all ages, and even children with special needs. They perform oral exams, educate patients on dental health, speak with parents, learn about orthodontics, and treat or diagnose diseases and oral injuries.
Pediatric dentists see children as young as infants to the age of 18 or older depending on the dentist’s preference.
What Are the Benefits of Seeing a Pediatric Dentist in Spanish Fork?
There are many reasons why you’ll want to visit a pediatric dentist for your child. Here are some benefits you can expect from your pediatric dentist.
Teeth Cleaning
Kids’ teeth cleaning is just as important as adult teeth cleaning. Children often lack good brushing skills and miss most of the plaque and bacteria on their teeth. As a result, they could suffer from cavities and even gum or tooth decay.
Having a professional pediatric dentist clean your child’s teeth gives them a better chance of maintaining dental health. At a cleaning, they remove plaque and tartar that cause gum disease. Also, at a child’s dental office, the staff use child-appropriate tools for cleaning.
Education
Good brushing habits must develop early in life. Once a child knows how and when to brush their teeth, they care for their teeth well into adulthood. Part of the job of a pediatric dentist is to provide oral health education to both the child and the parent.
Visiting the dentist twice a year helps reinforce your child’s brushing skills. Your dentist goes over basic brushing techniques and methods with your child (and you!) to ensure that they’re brushing well. You can always ask questions as well.
Consulting
Children are born with an innate sense to suck because it’s calming. Parents give pacifiers to calm children, or children suck their thumbs. However, as children age, this sucking habit becomes harder to break.
Sucking causes the roof of the mouth to change and may affect the way teeth erupt through the gums. Some pediatric dentists offer services to help parents and children break the habit effectively.
Eases Anxiety
Pediatric dentists understand that children often have trouble sitting still during appointments or have fears about the dentists. Pediatric dentists train for these moments and have the skills to put children at ease.
Also, going to the same dentist in the same office gives your child a sense of familiarity. Familiarity keeps anxiousness in check making appointments go smoothly.
Sedation
While most children experience mild anxiety when going to the dentist, others have serious fears. Dentophobia is fear of the dentist. For a child with true dentophobia, cleanings and check-ups seem impossible to everyone.
Most pediatric dental offices offer safe sedation for children with true dental fears. When administered safely and healthily, sedation helps parents, the dentist, and the patient feels at ease. Cleanings and check-ups go well.
Catch Problems Early
Because pediatric dentists understand the physiology of child development on a deeper level than general dentists, they catch dental problems like jaw misalignment. Seeing patients early on propels dentists to make decisions about the child’s dental health that are helpful and may avoid problems later on.
There are other dental problems that pediatric dentists see as well, like cavities. Untreated cavities lead to tooth decay and tooth loss.
To catch dental problems early, you’ll want to see your pediatric dentist twice a year. Many parents don’t realize that the health of their child’s baby teeth impacts their adult teeth as well.
Family-Friendly Office
Waiting with a child in the waiting area is challenging. Children’s attention spans are not long at all!
Pediatric dental offices cater to the needs of children in the waiting area. Most offices have things to keep children busy, like activities, toys, or televisions. These keep your child occupied while you fill out paperwork, make more appointments, or wait for your appointment.
Services
Pediatric dentists offer many dental services that general dentists do, but they’re catered to children. Some services offered are composite fillings and sealants.
Composite fillings fill in a tooth when your child has a cavity removed. These fillings look like your child’s natural teeth so they cannot tell they have a filling.
Sealants are a protective coating over the back of teeth to prevent cavities. If your children are prone to cavities, sealants help protect the teeth from larger dental problems. Sealants are great for children who often cannot reach the backs of their teeth when brushing.
See the Kid Dentist in Spanish Fork
Seeing the kid dentist or pediatric dentist gives you and your child peace of mind when it comes to dental care. Pediatric dental care gives children care and complete dental treatment that benefits their oral health into adulthood.
Are you searching for “pediatric dental care near me”? We offer pediatric dental care to the Spanish Fork area. Contact us today to schedule your child’s appointment.
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