Taking your child to the dentist can be scary for them. However, good dental care is essential for a full, healthy life. Your kid’s oral health plays into their speech development, nutrition, and looks as they grow so they should be well cared for.
If you feel like navigating kids dentistry is new territory, we’re here to help. Here are five common procedures every parent needs to know about.
1. Dental Examinations
Dental examinations are check-ups that you have at intervals for your children. During these examinations, dentists check for cavities, gum disease, alignment problems, and more. These check-ups are essential for learning about emerging oral health issues as they appear.
Through these regular check-ups, you can ensure that you prevent any dental issues before they occur. If you catch any problems, they can be addressed before they have a chance to grow worse. That’s why dental examinations are important for your child.
2. Dental Cleanings
Even if you brush and floss regularly and teach your children to do the same, dental plaque can develop in hard-to-reach places. You can get your children’s teeth professionally cleaned to prevent this bacterial build-up from growing as an investment into preventative dental care.
When you get professional teeth cleaning for your child, the family or paediatric dentist uses specialized instruments like air or water jets that clean your teeth from all plaque or build-up. Getting your children’s teeth cleaned gives them a fresh, clean slate again, which they can maintain.
3. Dental Fillings
Dental fillings are procedures that restore teeth after they have suffered from cavities or decay. The dentist must remove all the decaying parts of the tooth and rebuild it with composite resin or other dental materials. Even now, 13.2% of children between 5-19 years have untreated dental cavities.
Getting primary dental cavities fixed with fillings is recommended, even though children end up losing these teeth as they grow. That’s because these teeth help space out the remaining teeth and play the role of placeholders for the children’s permanent teeth.
4. Dental Extractions
Sometimes, a tooth is beyond all hope of repair. It could have an infection that cannot be treated with a root canal or it has decayed so much there isn’t enough tooth left to restore it. Dental extractions are when they have to pull out these teeth completely.
This procedure is quick or complex, depending on how damaged the tooth is. The extraction can take place at once, or the dentist might need to break the child’s tooth and remove it in parts if necessary. Your child’s gums will be sensitive after the procedure, so follow the dentist’s aftercare instructions.
5. Dental Space Maintainers
Dental space maintainers are custom-made dental appliances that maintain the space left by primary teeth that were lost too soon. They ensure that the spacing between teeth remains optimal so your kids face fewer alignment issues.
This, in turn, allows the new permanent teeth to erupt from the correct position. Experienced child dentists know how to plan the development of your children’s permanent teeth smoothly so you can worry less about getting them braces in the future.
