4 Questions to Ask Your Pediatric Dentist

Pediatric dentists are dentists who specialize in the oral health of children from infancy through their teen years. They have the experience as well as the qualifications to care for your child’s teeth, gums, and mouth throughout the various stages of childhood.

Children start to show their teeth during the first 6 months of life. This is considered their baby teeth, which usually they start to lose around the age of 6 or 7 years old. The baby teeth are replaced by secondary, permanent teeth. Without proper dental care, your child could face oral decay and disease that can lead to a lifetime of pain and complications.

Allure Dental Center recommends an infant be assessed by a dentist within the first 6 months of the eruption of their first tooth and no later than by one year of age.

Some great reasons why you should take your child in for a dental exam:

– You can find out if the cleaning routine you are doing at home is working
– Your dentist will look for any problems and be able to fix them before it becomes worse
– Your child will learn that going to the dentist helps to prevent any oral problems

While all dentists are qualified to care for you and your child’s oral health, the difference between a dentist and a pediatric dentist in their training. A family or general dentist typically receives three or more years of undergraduate school, followed by another four years of dental school. This is where a general dentist starts taking on clients as they are qualified to handle the most common dental and oral concerns that affect people of all ages.

To become a pediatric dentist, a general dentist then must take an additional two to three years of intensive training and residency. Pediatric dentists are then considered specialized dentists as they are trained to handle:

– Treatment of children under anesthesia and sedation
– Treatment of medically compromised children and adolescents
– Management of the child’s growth and development concerns which affect the mouth, face, and head

To be more specific, pediatric dentists handle the essential preventative and restorative dental treatments that children require in a way that is tailored to them.

Use photos
Using photos can bring the child’s understanding about a dental visit to life over their own imagination. Start by helping your child understand to understand why it’s important to visit the dentist, which is to help maintain healthy teeth and gums. Draw images or view pictures to give a more detailed understanding.

Watch videos
Along with photos, you can use educational videos about dentists to help them better understand the role a dentist plays and why it’s an important part of their dental care routine. Be sure to review the videos beforehand to make sure the videos do not offer any graphic or frightening shots.

Role-playing
Pretend to be a dentist, and have your child be the patient. This allows an excellent opportunity to involve your child in the dental experience and review their oral care routine as well as showing them the correct brushing and flossing techniques.

Bring your child with you to your dental appointments
Bringing your child with you to your dental appointments to let them become familiar with the surroundings and staff to make them more comfortable for their visit.

Prepare your child at home for the dental visit
It helps to talk to your child about the dental visit and what to expect during their appointment. Let them ask any questions and answer them as well as you can.

Time it well
Children tend to have cranky times and better times throughout the day. Schedule the appointment when you know your child will be the happiest and relaxed. Avoid taking them to the dentist when they are tired or hungry.

Stay positive
Staying positive will help to keep your child happy and relaxed throughout the dental appointment. Be sure to treat the visit as a positive experience, this will help to give them a better attitude towards the dentist.

If you would like to schedule an appointment with us, please feel free to do so through our website or by calling us. We serve patients from Mountain View CA, Sunnyvale CA, Los Altos CA, Stanford CA, Menlo Park CA, Atherton CA, Loyola CA, Cupertino CA, Palo Alto CA, Redwood City CA and surrounding areas.