Pedodontics literally means ‘pediatric dentistry’. Pediatric dentistry covers the full range of oral health and care for developing children. In pedodontics, each child undergoes many different treatment procedures depending on the patient’s needs and medical history.
The most common pediatric dental services include dental examination and dental filling, tooth extraction, preventive and restorative treatments.
Dental Examination
The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends that every pediatric patient visit the dentist at least every six months.
Parents should start scheduling visits to the dentist within six months of the baby’s first tooth erupting. This is usually between 6 months and one year of age.
Things to consider during pediatric dental examination:
- Symptoms of early childhood caries
- Gingivitis
- Pediatric periodontal (gingival) disease
- Tooth erosion (loss of substance)
- If cavities, called cavities, are detected in the teeth, dental fillings, stainless steel crowns or extractions will be recommended. X-rays and disease scans are also commonly used, depending on the patient’s age and medical history.
Fluoride treatment
Fluoride is a mineral found in rocks and soil. During examinations, the dentist may apply topical fluoride to the patient’s teeth after a professional dental cleaning. Fluoride prevents decay by making tooth enamel stronger and reduces the risk of dental plaque formation and buildup.
Fillings
Early childhood caries is light brown and occurs mainly on the biting surfaces of the deciduous molars. They can also occur in the front teeth, such as incisors or canines.
Bacteria from untreated tooth decay can spread to other teeth, which can lead to more serious oral health problems.
Caries treatment (filling) includes amalgam fillings and composite fillings.
Baby Tooth Extractions
Baby teeth may need to be extracted if they are severely decayed or damaged by an injury.
Another common reason for extractions is that deciduous teeth remain in the mouth longer than they should, which delays the eruption of the permanent tooth below.
Floor Protectors – Placeholders
When a child loses a baby tooth prematurely due to decay, disease or damage, space maintainers are often used to keep the space in the gums open to protect the place where the permanent teeth will come in (so that the space is not blocked by neighboring teeth). These placeholder appliances are applied by taking measurements from the relevant area.
Space maintainers prevent misalignment (crowding) of permanent teeth.
Fissure Sealants (Preventive Dentistry)
Fissure Sealants cover the chewing surfaces of the back molars and form “physical barriers” in the pits and fissures of the teeth (the deep areas of the teeth on the surface). It is one of the effective, safe and painless methods to protect a child’s teeth from caries for an average of 5 years (with effective brushing).
Adult patients can also have their permanent teeth treated, but this is less common.
Stainless Steel Crowns
Stainless steel crowns are metal crowns that restore decayed, damaged or broken baby molars.
If there is a possibility that cavity fillings may fail (too much loss of material), these crowns are one of the best solutions for restoring (reinstating) a child’s tooth, and they are also .durable and strong.
Mouthguards
These appliances, also called braces, are usually made for pediatric patients, especially those involved in athletics.
These are appliances applied to prevent injury to teeth, face, lips, jaw, gums and surrounding soft tissues.
