Oral health impacts the life of a child immensely until they grow old.
Parents provide the foundation for establishing the importance of oral hygiene and teach the child the basics, like brushing their teeth and the value of drinking milk once they’re old enough to understand.
Usually, parents begin introducing this at the age of two.
Kids are often inattentive and won’t listen, and this is expected.
So, at times, most of the early instructions are out of the window as soon as you say them. It would be best that this would come from a pediatric dentist.
So, you know your child will listen well and try to take them in.
What Is A Pediatric Dentist?
A pediatric dentist is a dental professional trained to handle children’s oral health from infancy through adolescence.
They specialize in treating conditions affecting the dental health of a child.
They can help diagnose oral conditions associated with cardiovascular health, diabetes, ADHD, and asthma.
They can counsel parents with babies that thumb-suck, repair tooth damage like a chipped baby tooth, manage gum diseases, and many more.
A child will have milk teeth or deciduous teeth first, which often appear between four and seven months old. Although some babies are already born with milk teeth, this is uncommon.
A child loses their baby teeth or milk teeth around six years of age, usually starting in the front. Permanent teeth replace all the child’s milk teeth at 13 years old.
When a child loses all their deciduous teeth, they need to be extra attentive with their oral hygiene because all damage to the teeth will need dental treatments.
A pediatric dentist can identify potential problems in your child’s mouth when they perform a dental checkup.
Once they see a problem that needs to be addressed, like a tooth gap needing a kid’s dental bridge, they can attend to it soon. To give you an idea, here are some pediatric dental treatments that they can perform:
- Cleaning And Preventive Care: During cleaning visits, the dentist may, at the same time, educate the child about proper oral hygiene and how it can be beneficial for them as they grow.
- Fluoride Treatment: For kids with weak enamel, a fluoride treatment can help strengthen the teeth. It also helps prevent cavities as it fights the bacteria that may live on the gums and teeth.
- Fillings: Some teeth that suffer decay can be stabilized by a dental filling. It also helps prevent further damage and help improves the structural integrity of the tooth.
- Sealants: A sealant, especially at the back permanent teeth, may help protect them from cavities. It’s a painless and quick way to address potential problems compared to an invasive dental filling.
- Extractions: A severely decayed tooth must be pulled out to prevent more problems.
- Crowns: A damaged permanent tooth that can’t be repaired by filling needs to have the outer portion of the tooth replaced with a crown. This solution will restore the look and function of the tooth and make it sturdier. Crowns are typically made from porcelain that looks precisely like a human tooth.
- Braces: Kids with misaligned, overbite, or crowded teeth may want to fix them with a metal or ceramic brace. When used over time, this dental device will help straighten misaligned teeth. A pediatric dentist and an orthodontist can make this happen for your child.
- Emergencies: Accidents can happen, and a child who injured their mouth because of an accident needs to be attended to by a dentist immediately. A dental injury requires immediate attention to prevent further damage.
It’s crucial to know these possible treatments for your child’s teeth, so proper solutions and management can be given to ensure the child grows confidently.
How Will These Treatments Ensure Healthy Teeth?
These pediatric dental treatments will ensure healthy teeth for as long as your child takes care of their oral health while growing up.
These are essential to your child’s dental health, as they help the teeth stay intact. Dental fillings, for example, will allow the teeth to last a long time.
By repairing the damaged tooth, the filling will stop the progression of decay and restore the normal function and appearance of the teeth.
Extracting a rotten tooth will prevent the decay of nearby teeth and help relieve your child’s toothache. When left in the mouth, a rotten tooth can infect other healthy teeth.
It would be better to remove one tiny problem than let it compromise the rest of the healthy ones in your child’s mouth.
A fluoride treatment would depend on the child’s mouth condition.
But typically, it can be done every six months. This treatment is a natural preventative measure that will protect your child’s teeth and strengthen them.
Thus, you’ll need fewer dental visits as the child will have more occasional tooth decays.
Conclusion
A bright smile can give any child a boost of confidence.
They will feel like they can conquer the world as they become more optimistic about what they can accomplish.
Focusing on their oral health as young as possible with the help of a pediatric dentist will ensure that they won’t need invasive treatments growing up.
But even if they need treatments, a reliable and experienced pediatric dentist can help them guarantee that this will last a long time.