Pediatric Dentistry

Pediatric dentistry is a specialized branch of dentistry that specializes in the oral health of children and adolescents.

Specialists in this field take a three-year pediatric dentistry course to gain the skills needed to treat children’s oral problems.

World-renowned institutions such as the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommend that your baby’s first dental visit be performed six months after the first tooth erupts or at the age of one by a pediatric dentist.

Pediatric dentists advise parents on how to clean their baby’s teeth, brush their teeth, and floss. They also give parents tips on proper nutrition and the use of certain medications, such as iron drops, and advice on baby habits, such as using a pacifier or thumb sucking.

To know the need to see a pediatric dentist and learn more about this, we recommend reading the article Pediatric Dentistry.

Treatments provided by a pediatric dentist

Dentists specializing in this field offer a wide range of services and treatments to their patients, including baby teeth, permanent teeth, gums and children’s mouths.

Oral health education

Pediatric dentists deal with patients who have newly developed teeth, so their primary emphasis is on providing the necessary oral health education. These educational services are provided not only to children, but also to their parents in order to best maintain oral health.

The purpose of these trainings is to develop healthy habits in children during their development from infancy to adolescence and older ages. For example, a pediatric dentist advises patients on proper brushing and flossing techniques. It also advises on proper nutrition and diet.

Diagnosis and prevention

Children are often at risk for tooth decay because it is difficult to clean teeth in young children. In this regard, the pediatric dentist provides basic preventive services such as cleaning teeth. It may also provide specialized services such as fissure sealants or fluoride therapy to prevent tooth decay. In addition, it identifies problems that the patient may face in the future and suggests appropriate treatment solutions.

Specialized therapies

A pediatric dentist offers appropriate treatments for a wide range of children’s dental problems and diseases. Examples include tooth filling and caries repair, tooth extraction, broken tooth repair, and endodontic treatment (pulpotomy, pulpectomy).

It also recommends anesthesia treatment in certain situations for children with physical and mental disabilities or children who have severe fear and anxiety due to their young age and do not cooperate with their doctor.

Specialized pediatric dental services

Restoration of deciduous and permanent teeth

Children’s teeth may need to be filled for a variety of reasons, such as decay, fractures, and lack of proper growth. Dental fillings are not specific to permanent teeth and can also be done for deciduous teeth.

The health of deciduous teeth is as important as permanent teeth. The presence of pain or infection in the baby tooth causes the child to refuse to eat or not chew food and causes heartburn. In this case, the food is not fully absorbed and causes the child to grow and become weak.

Fluoride therapy (fluoride therapy)

Fluoride is one of the elements in nature that has a special ability to strengthen tooth enamel. Exposure to fluoride enamel replaces nutrients lost over time and prevents decay.

Fluoride therapy increases tooth resistance and prevents tooth decay in children.

 

Fissure sealant

Fissure sealant is a safe and painless way to increase tooth strength and prevent caries for a long time (5 years or more).

One of the places that is most prone to decay is the chewing surface of the teeth, the surface between which food is chewed and crushed. These surfaces are prone to decay due to their numerous grooves.

To prevent decay on these surfaces, the tooth grooves are covered with a special tooth-colored material called sealant.

Using this method significantly reduces tooth decay in children, but in addition, toothbrushes and floss should be used for oral health.

Preventive orthodontics (astronaut)

There are cases when the baby loses baby teeth sooner or the baby tooth is pulled out prematurely. In this case, the teeth on both sides begin to move towards the empty space. On the other hand, the child’s permanent teeth have not yet grown and are located under the gums (under the baby teeth). If the cavity of a permanent tooth is filled with another tooth, the tooth under the gum can not grow completely and thus leads to the irregular growth of permanent teeth.

To prevent this from happening, deciduous teeth should be preserved by timely referral to a pediatric dentist and taking the necessary measures until the permanent lower teeth appear.

In necessary cases, after a baby tooth falls out or is pulled out, a device called a spacecraft is made by the pediatric dentist by molding and placed in an empty space to cause the permanent teeth to grow regularly.

Baby tooth veneer

If the decay of a deciduous tooth is severe, it can no longer be protected from fracture and decay by filling. In such cases, a special metal veneer is made and glued to the tooth. This veneer comes out of the mouth when the baby tooth falls with it.

Treatment under anesthesia

An important challenge for the pediatric dentist is dealing with non-cooperative children who have severe and uncontrollable fears and anxieties.

Numerous factors such as incorrect information transmitted to them through parents or friends, their young age and bitter and painful previous experiences make it impossible to treat the child.

Dentists use anesthesia to treat this problem during dental treatment. This method can also be used for children with physical or mental disabilities.

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