Understanding the Importance of Pediatric Dentists

A pediatric dentist is a trained expert equipped with the knowledge and skills required to maintain the oral health of children who need gentle handling or with special needs. A pediatric dentist mainly focuses on children from infancy all through teenage. Pediatric dentists have the skill set required to take care of your child’s teeth and gums.

One major goal a pediatric dentist has is to ensure that the visit is fun for your child. This is why you find most of these pediatric dental practices have treats, and some may even have toys for children to play with.

A child starts to grow milk teeth at six months. These teeth begin to shed at the age of 6 to 7. Without proper oral hygiene and maintenance, your child may develop dental complications that will be a burden to him all his life.

A regular visit to a pediatric dentist in Pflugerville TX will entail:

• A complete oral examination

Your dentist will perform a detailed examination on your child’s mouth, teeth and gums. This helps in identifying a dental disease on its onset, making it easier to treat it and consequently avert a case where it grows into a serious issue.

• X-rays

X-rays are performed to identify dental issues that are not obvious to identify like decay between teeth, cysts or damaged bones. And again, this is important since when identified early, dental disease is less likely to have a severe impact on your child.

• Thorough cleaning

Your child’s gums and teeth will be properly cleaned, thus getting rid of built-up plaque. This avoids cases of bad breath, gum disease, cavities and other dental ailments caused by poor oral hygiene.

Oral Health Issues for Children

If your child is affected by any of the following dental issues, you are at liberty to book an appointment with our dentist at Grand Family Dental near Pflugerville. These issues are:

1. Tongue thrusting

This refers to when your child closes his mouth and pushes the top of his tongue towards the lips to swallow. This habit may result in teeth misalignment.

2. Early tooth loss

You may be wondering should this be considered a bad thing yet your child is still going to shed his milk teeth. Well, if this happens, the remaining teeth may change alignment.

This may cause the permanent teeth to grow crooked. Misalignment may cause the temporomandibular joint disorder.

3. Baby bottle tooth decay

This happens when your child’s teeth become overexposed to sugar in drinks, including breastmilk.

4. Thumb-sucking

This is a normal behavior in young children. You should, however, not permit it to progress to when your child’s permanent teeth have begun to come out. Reason being it will interfere with the alignment of your child’s jaw and teeth.

This habit may also cause your child to have difficulty in his speech, and the roof of the mouth become malformed.

5. Lip sucking

This may happen independently or with lip sucking. This may lead to the same dental problems caused by thumb-sucking in addition to an overbite.

Benefits of Maintaining Your Child’s Oral Health

Guards your child against chronic conditions

Dental professionals have noted that dental infections have the potential to cause chronic diseases such as diabetes. Dentists in 78660, therefore, recommend that parents book appointments with pediatric dentists to ensure the health and safety of their child.

Confidence booster

A fantastic smile is a product of great oral hygiene and maintenance. It is a well-known fact that a perfect smile works wonders on your overall facial appearance. Investing in your child’s oral health will ensure he/she has a smile to be proud of, which in turn will boost his/her confidence.

Ensures proper cognitive development

Pediatric dentists in Pflugerville have noted that poor oral hygiene can result in low IQ. It is, therefore, important for you as a parent to ensure your child’s oral hygiene is at its best to avoid the risk of poor cognitive development.

Services Provided by a Pediatric Dentist

Pediatric dentists offer the following oral health services:

• Caring for your child’s dental injuries such as cracked teeth
• Examining your infant’s oral health. This includes carrying out a risk assessment for dental caries for the mother and child.
• Repairing your child’s minor imperfections and cavities
• In case your child has developed oral habits such as thumb sucking, a pediatric dentist may provide counseling
• Diagnosingoral conditions known to cause chronic ailments such as diabetes
• Preventive dental care like cleaning with fluoride
• Teeth alignment services
• Simple oral surgeries such as extractions

Benefits of Pediatric Dentists

Pediatric dentists are important because they:

• Help prevent oral ailments
• Educate you as a parent on your child’s oral health
• Provide treatment for oral diseases affecting your child
• Research new and better ways of maintaining the oral health of children and how to avoid oral health problems.

If you are looking for pediatric dentistry near you in Pflugerville, book an appointment with us today at Grand Family Dental.