Pediatric Dentistry 101: The Only Guide You Need

Every parent wants what is best for their little ones. Parenting, as amazing as it can be, is also challenging. You must ensure that all aspects of your young one’s life are catered to. This also includes their oral health. For this reason, bringing your child to our children’s dental clinic near you would be an excellent idea.

As you may know, dental health is tethered to your overall health, so it cannot be overlooked. Hence, you need a pediatric dentist to journey with your child from infancy to adulthood to help lay the proper oral health foundation. Let’s peer into what a pediatric dentist is all about without further ado.

Who Is a Pediatric Dentist?

Most people may not know why it is vital for their children to visit a pediatric dentist instead of a general dentist. Even though a general dentist may know a thing or two concerning children’s teeth, a children’s dentist is trained to cater to these young and developing teeth.

For starters, pediatric dentists are certified and trained to handle dental care for children. Pediatric dentists have dedicated their entire time to caring for these developing teeth. To be a pediatric dentist, one must complete four years of dental school. Plus, two additional years of residency dentistry training in handling infants, children, teens, and kids with special needs.

Proper dental care for your little ones is critical; if there is a lack of it, your kid’s risk of decayed teeth and oral diseases may have lifetime consequences.

Also, remember that children’s teeth are different from adults’, so catering to them would need extra knowledge. Plus, let’s not forget children behave differently from adults, so it can be challenging for a regular dentist to deal with your little one’s oral health issues.

When Is the Right Time for Your Child to Visit Our Pediatric Dentist?

Most parents, especially first-time parents, always have a problem figuring out when to introduce their kids to dentists.

So, if you are wondering when to start oral hygiene practices, remember that the process starts in infancy. In other words, you will need to wipe your child’s gums with a soft wet cloth after meals.

Then, when their teeth erupt, which is usually around six months, schedule your first dental appointment with our pediatric dentist. This is critical since it gives our dentist enough time to conduct examinations to jump-start your kid’s oral health journey.

However, it’s never too late to cultivate dental habits if your child is older. You can bring them as soon as possible to ensure that they are caught and treated early if there are any issues.

What Are Some of the Issues Solved By a Pediatric Dentist?

As mentioned earlier, your dental health will always impact your overall health. Those little pearly whites should be cared for as regularly as possible. Therefore, seeing our pediatric dentist can help solve the following issues.

• Teething Problems

If your kid’s teeth take time to erupt, then our pediatric dentist is the person to see. Developing baby teeth and jaws is critical if you successfully wean your child into solid foods.
Speech is also affected by how teeth erupt, which means that timely eruption would ensure appropriate speech development.

• Malocclusion

Malocclusion is a dental term used to describe a scenario where your lower and upper jaws don’t meet when you close your mouth. C chewing difficulty and speech problems easily arise from a bad bite.
So, if our pediatric dentist spots your child has a bad bite, they may receive braces to address the issue.

• Cavities and Gum Disease

Some people reason that since kids have milk teeth that will eventually be removed, there is no need to care for them. However, they must be maintained since tooth decay can expose the pulp, and toothaches or infections can ensue.
Also, those young gums are susceptible to gum disease, just as likely as adults. So, our dentist can ensure that the teeth are clean and healthy.

Beyond Basic Care

Our pediatric dentist goes beyond giving your child basic oral care. We strive to focus on preventive oral care. Also, you will receive nutrition and diet guidance, resources for developing healthy habits, and extra advice tips for parents.

So, if you need to care for your kid’s smile, contact our children’s dental clinic near you, Sunny Smiles Kids, to schedule an appointment.