Why You Need a Pediatric Dentist – When Any Old Dentist Won’t Do

Pediatric dentistry is a relatively new segment in the field of dental care, and at first thought, it may seem to be an unnecessary segmentation of the field. After all, most family dental practitioners have experience dealing with children’s teeth right? So, what’s the difference?

In practical terms, the difference is an additional two years of study dealing specifically with dental care for children from infancy to adolescence. Not every dentist who treats young patients can claim the title of pediatric dentist. The certificate in pediatric dentistry requires dentists to take an additional two to three years of courses to prepare them to deal with the peculiarities of working with and on children’s teeth. A certified pediatric dentist has additional training in:

• Prevention of tooth decay in infants and children
• Behavioral techniques for working with children of all ages
• Training in working with children who have special health care needs
• Two to three years of hands-on experience working with parents and children
• Recognition of the importance of dental health to child development

Pediatric dentists also have special training in how to deal with children’s fears about the dentist. Since they treat only children, their offices are child-focused. Waiting rooms are designed to appeal to children and to offer activities that will help set children at ease while they await their turn in the chair. They’re trained to recognize potential cues that can lead to long term problems and treat them before they develop.

Of course as parents, we also have to learn to deal with behavioral issues when it comes to teaching our children to take care of their teeth. For some quick tips that will help you to supplement the care your child gets from his pediatric dentist, visit The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry at http://www.aapd.org/pediatricinformation/quicktips/quicktips.asp. They offer advice on how to get your reluctant child to brush his teeth, what snacks are great for children’s teeth, and even why a pediatric dentist might be appropriate for your teenager.

Caring for your children’s teeth is far more important than our parents once believed. Back in the day, the common wisdom was that baby teeth really didn’t matter. We know now that not only does it matter, but that dental problems in children affect far more than their smiles. Baby teeth affect nearly every part of a child’s development. Here are some examples.

• Teeth are an important factor in speech development. Missing and misaligned teeth can affect your child’s ability to form sounds and words properly. This, in turn, can make your child a target of teasing that affects him in other ways.
• They also help your child chew properly, which is an important part of good nutrition. A child whose teeth hurt may avoid eating foods that cause him pain, or avoid chewing food properly.
• Tooth pain can be a significant factor in poor grades. Anyone who’s ever had a toothache knows how hard it is to focus on anything else when the throbbing just won’t go away.
• Baby teeth save a space for permanent teeth as they come in. A lost baby tooth can result in overcrowding as teeth shift to take up the empty space, and new, permanent teeth may grow in crooked and misaligned.

In addition to basic teeth care, pediatric dentists are experts in dealing with the types of dental emergencies common to young children. They can guide parents toward appropriate dental care, make recommendations on orthodontic appliances that can prevent later problems, and understand the differences between adult and pediatric reactions to anesthesia and sedation used in sedation dentistry.

AAPD makes it easy for you to find a pediatric dentist close to you. Just go to their Find a Dentist page (http://www.aapd.org/finddentist/), click on “Agree” – they just want to know that you’re not a salesman looking for leads – and enter your zip code on the next page to get the names of pediatric dentists that are within a few miles of you.

Most parents would never dream of trusting their child’s primary health care to a general practitioner whose main experience is in treating adults, but they never imagine that their child should have their own dentist as well. But once you think about it, it makes perfect sense. A dentist who not only understands your child’s teeth, but him as well, will likely never create the fear of dentists that have been so instilled in the rest of us.