Most people have experienced acute toothache at least once in their lives. And, of course, they don’t want their child to face such a test. What measures will help keep your baby's teeth healthy? Do baby teeth need to be treated? How to prepare a child for a visit to the clinic? Is it necessary to treat teeth by force? Comprehensive answers - in interviews with leading experts.
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Main areas of pediatric dental practice
- Treatment of baby teeth. The main problem of primary teeth that pediatric dentists have to solve is caries. Caries is the destruction of hard tissues with the formation of a cavity inside the tooth. First, a small yellowish or dark spot appears on the surface of the tooth, then the tooth begins to react to sour, sweet, too hot or cold foods, bad breath, and aching pain appear.
The causes of caries in primary teeth can be intrauterine development disorders, poor oral hygiene, poor nutrition, and abuse of bottles and pacifiers (so-called bottle caries).
Treatment of caries consists of treating the surface of the tooth and coating it with photopolymerization varnishes or silver oxide, preparing carious cavities in the classical way using a drill and filling, sealing the tooth with Vitrim materials.
- Treatment of pulpitis. A complication of deep caries is pulpitis or inflammation of the neurovascular bundle (pulp). Pathology can affect both baby and permanent teeth. The disease is accompanied by increased tooth sensitivity and pain. Treatment is selected by the doctor individually depending on the severity of the inflammatory process and includes both conservative treatment with preservation of the pulp and its removal.
- Orthodontic treatment. Treatment of malocclusion and related problems (impaired chewing, swallowing, diction, facial asymmetry, etc.) is carried out by a pediatric dentist or orthodontist. To correct the bite and straighten the dentition, orthodontic devices are used - braces, vestibular plates, trainers, aligners, as well as special exercises to form the correct bite.
- Pediatric surgical dentistry. A pediatric surgical dentist is approached to remove baby teeth, perform plastic surgery of the facial skeleton, open and drain foci of inflammation of the oral cavity (abscess, phlegmon), and the specialist also performs plastic surgery of the frenulum of the tongue or upper lip.
- Prevention of oral diseases. Regular preventive dental examinations and proper oral hygiene are the main conditions for maintaining dental health at any age. In addition, pediatric dentistry offers several effective ways to prevent dental diseases in children - professional teeth cleaning, silvering, fissure sealing, fluoridation.
Features of pediatric dentistry
The clinic should have a separate hall for small patients. The advantage will be the original design of the room. If the hall is colorful and bright, it will leave pleasant memories for the child.
Study the technological equipment of the office. Modern equipment will be a plus. For example, previously caries was determined only visually. Using a special detector improves diagnostics and allows you to identify the problem at an early stage. In this case, treatment takes less time, and the examination itself does not cause discomfort.
Caries can also be treated in different ways and not all require the use of a drill. It is the buzzing machine that has been the cause of fear for many generations of children. Therefore, non-invasive treatment methods will be an advantage.
For example, Icon allows you to treat a carious cavity without a drill. For this purpose, special instruments, gels and infiltration material are used. This method is suitable for the initial stages of caries.
In some situations, serious cavity treatment is necessary. This will require anesthesia - pain relief. However, administering medication through syringes is very traumatic. Therefore, pediatric dentistry should have electronic anesthesia. The injection is given with a special pen, which causes almost no discomfort. In addition, it allows you to perform anesthesia with a high level of precision.
There is a common misconception among parents that baby teeth do not need treatment. However, if you remove them ahead of time, problems will arise. Therefore, for example, for pulpitis, doctors recommend treatment. The advantage of the clinic will be assistance in one visit. This is possible thanks to ZOE technology. With its help, the tooth remains viable until the period of physiological replacement.
It is difficult for a small child to sit in a chair and endure the doctor’s manipulations. That’s why modern clinics install monitors with cartoons. Then the little patient follows the adventures of the characters, and the dentist carries out his tasks.
It is important that the doctor and assistant are friendly to children and know how to distract them. Then the child will form a positive image of the dentist and she will always be happy to go to see him. After visiting the doctor, you can reward him with a gift or a visit to an amusement park.
Preventive examinations by a pediatric dentist
The very first reason to visit the dentist is to check the frenulum of the tongue, and this must be done before 3 months. Then it is necessary to show the child to the dentist when the first incisors erupt, so that the doctor can evaluate the quality of the teeth, and the visit to the doctor should take place when all the baby’s teeth have erupted. After three years, children come for preventive visits at least 1-2 times a year or more often, depending on the condition of their teeth.
In the multidisciplinary pediatric dentistry department, you can undergo a preventive examination and a comprehensive examination of the condition of the child’s oral cavity. Our specialists treat caries of primary and molar teeth, carry out fluoridation, silver plating, fissure sealing procedures, preventive teeth cleaning, treatment of bite pathologies, etc.
The use of modern treatment methods, high-quality materials, high professionalism of specialists, a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere, sensitive, attentive attitude towards each child, absence of pain and discomfort - all this makes visiting pediatric dentistry at our clinic a pleasant and useful experience.
How to choose a medical institution
When searching for dentistry, pay attention to the qualifications of the doctors. They must have a medical university background with a specialization in pediatric dentistry. If the doctor first learned to work with adult patients, then he undergoes retraining. This is necessary for quality work.
Regular attendance at conferences, seminars and advanced training courses will be an advantage. Dentistry is an actively developing branch of medicine. New materials and technologies appear, so the doctor needs to get acquainted with them. Thanks to this, the dentist will use painless and modern treatment methods.
Pay attention to what services the clinic offers. In addition to treatment and tooth extraction, children also need other types of help. For example, correcting a bite. In this case, an orthodontist is needed. Therefore, good dentistry has specialists of different profiles.
However, there are nuances: truly qualified doctors select the method of treatment in accordance with age. For example, a child’s bite can be corrected without waiting for permanent teeth to appear. It is important that doctors draw up an individual treatment plan for each small patient.
The lifespan of clinics also matters. The older the dentistry, the better. Then it’s easy to find reviews about it, including negative ones. In addition, you can ask your friends and find out where they go.
About choosing a clinic
Before deciding where to go and with what amount, you need to have an idea of what a modern children’s dental clinic should be like, where there are all the conditions for guaranteed high-quality dental repairs:
- Qualified dentists of various profiles.
- Use of advanced technologies.
- Availability of modern filling materials.
- Providing comprehensive dental services.
- Reasonable prices.
Service offerings are the number of features provided. Patients prefer that all procedures, including additional examination, be performed at one institution. Demand for services must exceed supply or be at least at the same level. The price of services should be competitive and not intimidate patients.
How to get an appointment at Ilatan?
On the clinic’s website you can find out in detail the full list of services that dentists provide to children and make an appointment. A personal site coupon will allow you to receive a 10% discount on the entire range of services.
In addition, you can use other services:
- Ask questions to the clinic specialists.
- Request a call back.
- Get acquainted with the professional achievements and specialization of dentists.
- Monitor and take part in promotions that are regularly held at the clinic.
Contact information is provided in several options: city telephone numbers of clinics, an electronic mailbox address to which you can send a letter asking questions.
Clients are given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the price list for all pediatric dentistry services with a list of all hygienic and medical procedures, therapeutic manipulations, indicating their cost.
Basic tips for choosing dental clinics for children
How to choose a dental clinic for a child? A very important and painful question arises before parents when their child begins to have problems in the oral cavity.
The selection criteria, first of all, should be based on doctors, or more precisely, their approach to children. This information can be obtained from reviews on social networks, since a good clinic always uses information sources to inform both regular and new visitors.
Budget options, especially for a child’s first significant trip, should not be considered. Statistics show that children’s fear of visiting dentists is an emotional trauma they received in early childhood.
Why should you consider paid options? Government institutions do not provide the necessary conditions for young children. The ratio of price and quality, in such matters, always comes first. Therefore, it is not worth saving on a child.
The specialization of clinics can be narrow (in one area) and broad (in several). You can choose any of the 2 options, since the success of the clinic lies in the work of dentists and depends on their professional skills. Basic data of the working team can always be found on the official website of the clinic and you can select the right specialist for your child. The selection criterion is work experience and education received.
An important question for any parent is “How much does an appointment or required service cost?” The answer to this question can reassure every adult. Now in many clinics, you can do any procedure for a fee, as there are installment plans, loans, constant discounts and bonuses, and various promotions are regularly held.
In clinics, on a paid basis, a choice of both material (for example, for filling) and the method of performing the procedure (choice of anesthesia) is always provided. Any qualified doctor will give practical advice on this issue, which will help the patient decide and make the right decision.
