Advantages of the Pediatric Dentist

Finding dental care for your child is a crucial task. Many parents don't realize that it's best to find a pediatric dentist as soon as you baby's very first teeth pop through his gums. While it may seem like overkill to begin bi-yearly treatments before your child is even walking, regular dental visits to a professional who is experienced in caring for children's teeth is extremely important from the time the very first tooth comes through.

A pediatric dentist specializes in the dental care of infants, children and adolescents. Each professional completes another two years of specialized training which focuses on topics related to children's unique teeth development. Their program also incorporates hands-on experience with children of all ages.

Advantages to Child-Specific Dentistry

So, why should you search for specialized dental care for your child? Aren't those little teeth going to fall out in a couple years and be replaced by the big adult teeth that definitely need care? You'd be surprised at how many advantages children's dentistry provides:

Healthy teeth are essential to your child's overall health and well-being. Chewing is a crucial part of gaining nutrition from various fruits, vegetables, meats and grains. If a child's teeth are falling out early due to improper care or if his gums are painfully swollen, he won't be able to digest the nutrition that he needs because eating will become a struggle.

Those little teeth also play an important role in speech development. Imagine trying to form sentences around a mouth without teeth! Obviously, children develop their vocabularies at varying rates, but no matter when they begin speaking fluently, those little baby teeth play an important role.

Finally, the initial baby teeth provide placeholders for the big teeth that will be coming later, helping the permanent adult teeth descend into their designated spots.

Caring for Baby Teeth

A knowledgeable pediatric dentist can provide a new parent with a wealth of knowledge about how to care for the very first teeth. It's important to care for each tooth as it comes, and to teach your child the importance of brushing their teeth every day. At each appointment, they receive gentle reinforcement of parents' instructions, plus the added advantage of advice on why brushing is so important.

Finally, a dental professional who specializes in caring for children's teeth can answer many of the average parents' questions about caring for their child's teeth from the very beginning. Did you realize that dental care at home goes beyond simply brushing your child's teeth every day? Certain actions such as sucking on a bottle, using a pacifier, or even sucking on a thumb can cause dental problems if the child is allowed to continue the habit for an extended period of time. Nursing or drinking certain liquids at bedtime can also cause potential problems if sugars will be left on the teeth throughout the night. Your child's routine exam can provide an avenue for these activities to be checked and stopped before they cause permanent damage to your child's teeth.