Making sure our children’s happy and confident smiles reflect good health and memorable childhoods require effort working hand-in-hand with experts who help us do a better job of caring for our children, such as pediatric dentists. Because good dental care builds not only our children’s confidence, but also strengthens their oral health, it’s important that we know about the steps and procedures our pediatric dentist take on to help shape each child’s bright smile.
Here, Dr. Phu My-Gep of Woodbridge Kids shares common procedures pediatric dentists are trained to perform especially on children:
Start with a First Visit
Most pediatric dentists advise bringing your child into their clinic near their first birthday, or within 6 months of their first tooth appearing. The first visit is usually a consultation, wherein your child’s dentist will “count your child’s teeth”, a dental exam to check for tooth decay and get an idea of what your child’s bite looks like to make sure that it is in good shape. Pediatric dentists sometimes even clean their teeth or take x-rays for additional treatment needs. Following their visit, it is recommended to schedule regular appointments every 6 months so your child gets used to visiting the dentist, and allow decays to be discovered and treated early.
Light Sedation
Sometimes, no matter how relaxing and entertaining a pediatric dentist’s clinic is, or how well children are eased into dental treatments, some are still anxious about visits to the dentist; others have a strong gag reflex that makes it difficult for them to tolerate having a dentist’s equipment in their mouth. When your child is anxious, or has a gag reflex, your pediatric dentist may recommend light sedation for ease of treatment. Light, or conscious sedation options include Laughing Gas (nitrous oxide/oxygen), Oral Sedation, or a combination of both. Light sedation helps your child relax, and allow their dental treatments to proceed safely.
Pediatric Care Asleep
Much like light sedation, Pediatric Care Asleep aims to help your child relax and allow their treatments to proceed safely, but uses general anesthesia and puts them to sleep, allowing your pediatric dentist to successfully complete longer treatments and more complex dental procedures. Using general anesthesia allows your pediatric dentist to give your child quality dental care and eliminate the sensations, sounds and discomforts that cause their anxiety. With reduced stress, dental treatment is safer, especially when your child has a pre-existing medical condition, or has an extreme fear of dentists.
Some parents opt to wait for dental treatments with general anesthesia in a hospital setting, but end up spending 8 to 12 months on a waiting list. During this time, children could experience increased pain, or abscesses would form, increasing treatment needs as cavities progress rapidly in primary teeth. Because of this, opting for a general anesthesia treatment under a pediatric dentist allows your child to receive dental care they need sooner.
Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
Children born with oral conditions such as ankyloglossia, known as tongue tie, or a similar condition, lip tie, greatly benefit from the expert care provided by a pediatric dentist. Tongue tie occurs when the tongue is stuck to the bottom of the mouth and doesn’t touch the lip. Newborns have difficulty latching on while breastfeeding, making it hard to properly feed them, and in some cases, even keep them healthy. On the other hand, lip tie, or labial frenum, causes a gap between the two front teeth and the frenum, or the fold of skin, restricting muscle movement.
With soft tissue laser, pediatric dentists can instantly treat and correct the condition. This allows mothers to breastfeed their newborns right after the procedure and bond with their babies better. For lip tie treatment, the procedure closes the gap between the teeth and prevents it from re-emerging. With soft tissue laser, there is minimal pain felt after the procedure, and children quickly heal.
Fillings
Pediatric dentists are also instrumental in diagnosing and treating cavities, as children’s primary teeth are not as strong as permanent teeth, and these can progress quickly if not addressed early. To treat cavities, your child’s pediatric dentist uses fillings, known as restorations, to restore your child’s teeth to their regular function and appearance. Different filling options include composite (resin), amalgam (silver), strip crowns, stainless steel crowns, and zirconia crowns. Fillings cover and protect your child’s tooth that showed signs of decay, meant to be permanent until they lose their baby tooth.
Braces and Orthodontics
If your child is around 7 years old and shows signs of crossbite, or simply, there are problems with their teeth’s alignment, seeing a pediatric dentist as soon as possible can help prevent it worsening. Your child’s pediatric dentist can guide the growth of jaw bones that support their teeth. Treatment can be timed based on the stages of predictable dental development and correct your child’s teeth. As your child receives better dental care, they can bite and chew more effectively, harmful oral habits can be broken, speech can improve, breathing problems resolved, and the risk of breaking front teeth reduced.
Treatment options include traditional or metal braces, brackets, or the use of Invisalign, known as invisible braces. These treatments correct the alignment of your children’s teeth and make room for permanent teeth to properly grow in. With careful explanation and support from your pediatric dentist, your child can understand how these would give them more confident smiles in the future, and improve their self-esteem.
Preventive Care
With the support of your pediatric dentist, you can take better care of your children’s teeth, and protect their dental health at home. In the clinic, preventive dental care consists of dental sealants in molars to prevent their deep grooves from accumulating plaque, bacteria and little bits of food. With these protective coatings over molars, grooves are sealed and cavities can be prevented from forming.
At home, tips from your pediatric dentist allows you to stay on top of your child’s oral health. These include making sure they brush their teeth twice a day; floss daily; reduce frequent snacking and sugar intake to prevent acid from forming where bacteria like to thrive; chew sugarless gum between meals to release saliva that combat bacteria; and schedule regular dental check-ups to work hand-in-hand with your child’s pediatric dentist in giving your child strong teeth and a confident smile as they grow up.