Oral and dental hygiene is an important habit that should be acquired from a very early age. Because body health starts from the mouth first. Childhood is extremely important in terms of minimizing the damage that may occur to the mouth and teeth due to the acquisition of this habit. At this point, routine dentist visits are important in terms of protecting and improving the child’s oral and dental health and raising awareness in the child.
When should the first dental examination be performed?
In children, the first dental examination should be performed after the first tooth erupts (6 months – 1 year). With early dental examination, parents are given proper oral hygiene education, the child’s nutrition is regulated, and the family is informed about the things that need to be taken into consideration to protect against caries. In this way, tooth decay can be prevented while still in infancy. Thus, the foundations for long-term, decay-free and healthy teeth are laid early.
What is Pedodontics (Child Dentistry)?
What Do Pedodontists (Child Dentists) Do?
The main branch of science that deals with the healthy preservation of milk and permanent teeth and the treatment of problems that may occur is called Pedodontics (Pediatric Dentistry). Pedodontics, in children between the ages of 0-13, starting from infancy; It monitors the development of mouth, teeth and jaw and offers protective and preventive treatments to prevent possible problems.
Dentists who have specialized or doctoral training in the department of pediatric dentistry are called pedodontists or pediatric dentists. Unlike adulthood, childhood has dynamics such as rapid metabolism and rapid growth and development. Naturally, the structure of milk teeth and newly erupted young permanent teeth is quite different from the tooth structure of an adult. For this reason, pedodontists (pediatric dentists) are dentists who have the most comprehensive knowledge of children’s oral and dental health and who know the child’s emotional world well.
Pedodontics – What are the Practices of the Pediatric Dental Department??
- Nutrition and oral hygiene education in children
- Preventive dental treatments
- Fissure sealant application
- Fluoride applications
- Restorative treatments of primary and permanent teeth
- Dental trauma treatments
- Milk tooth extraction
- Endodontic (filling, root canal) treatments
- Orthodontic treatments
- Treatment of permanent teeth with open root ends and incomplete development
- Placeholder applications
- Treatment of bad oral habits (thumb sucking, nail biting, etc.)
- Jaw development monitoring, teeth clenching treatment
What are Preventive Dentistry Practices?
The primary function of milk teeth, which are 20 in total, is to ensure the nutrition of the child. However, proper speech development also depends on the presence of milk teeth. Milk teeth protect the space they occupy for the permanent teeth that will replace them and guide the permanent teeth as they erupt.
When primary teeth are extracted early due to caries, this natural placeholder function is eliminated. The most important mission of pediatric dentistry (pedodontics) is to take precautions to prevent such problems that may occur in the mouth and teeth and to prepare children for a healthy future. The procedures applied for this purpose are called Preventive Dentistry Practices.
What is Fissure Sealant?
Fissure sealant is a fluid filling material that closes the deep and decay-prone grooves (fissures) on the chewing surfaces of permanent teeth, does not allow bacteria to reach there, and thus prevents decay. Fissure sealant applications should be checked every 6 months.
Fluoride Applications
Fluoride is an element that strengthens the structure of teeth and prevents tooth decay. Since the tooth enamel of newly erupted teeth is not fully mature, they are generally less resistant to decay and prone to caries formation. Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel, protects the tooth against acid attacks and therefore helps prevent tooth decay. Professional superficial fluoride application is a protective method that can only be applied by dentists. Superficial fluoride should be applied by a dentist every 6 months.
Placeholders
In case of early loss of primary teeth, appliances used to preserve the place of the permanent tooth that will come from below are called space maintainers. Space maintainers are appliances that help prevent adjacent teeth from moving into the extraction space, thus preventing the permanent tooth from either remaining impacted or emerging from a different location, thus preventing orthodontic disorders in the future. Children who do not have a fear of dentists are treated under clinical conditions, while children with mental disabilities or anxiety are treated under sedation or general anesthesia.
As Armağan Oral and Dental Health Clinic, we carry out treatments safely with our expert pediatric dentists in order to prepare your child for the future with health, and we also provide detailed information about dental care to you, the parents. Please do not neglect your routine pediatric dentist visits for healthy generations.
Please contact us for more detailed information or to make an appointment.