Which Dentists are Best for Your Kids: General or Pediatric?

Getting your kids to go to the doctor is hard. Getting them to go to the dentists is even harder. Most kids don’t care for the sounds, sights, or sensations brought on by this type of doctor. Finding an oral care professional that knows how to get kids to cooperate can be a difficult and daunting task. Many parents choose to just go to a general practitioner that can handle all members of the family. When doing this you have to ask yourself, “Am I doing this to be more convenient for me or am I doing what is best for my child?”

If you are considering dentists for a preteen or teenager, a general oral care professional will probably be just fine. While it is possible that your preteen doesn’t have all his or her adult teeth he or she will have most of them. As far as a teenager goes, the only remaining teeth that group has to worry about is the wisdom teeth. A general oral health care professional might be the best choice because he can give your teen exactly what he’s looking for a sense of being more like an adult.

There are some advantages to using pediatric dentists for you smaller children though. Small children don’t often take to new situations easily. For some kids this type of office might even be a little scary. Unlike a medical doctor’s office, where you child can sit in your lap and feel safe and secure, your child will essentially be on his own. That doesn’t mean that you won’t or can’t be in the room with him. It just means instead of having the safe harbor of mom’s lap, he’ll have to have comfort in a hand or even just mom’s voice. It can be unnerving for your child.

Other than knowing how to calm the fears of a small child, pediatric dentists are also well versed in how a child’s mouth works. There is a great age range where teeth come loose and fall out. Only someone who is well trained in pediatric dentistry can spot if there is a problem in the delay of your child’s tooth development. He can tell you if your child’s teeth are healthy and help you and your child learn how to tackle the problem of learning how to brush properly. It may seem second nature to you but how do you show a four year old how to brush?

When finding dentists for your children you really should have their needs in mind. Sure it’s more convenient for everyone to go to the same office on the same day. For the most part you can do that for your kids. General practitioners are great and very knowledgeable, but if you are looking for a new oral care professional and have small children you might want one that specializes in pediatric oral care. This way you know that he can handle your child and your child will get excellent care.