Dental Treatments Offered by Pediatric Dentist

A very important and core factor when it comes to maintaining your child’s oral health is regular dental checkups in Dubai. A child’s teeth and gums, especially during the period from infancy to late childhood, are particularly sensitive, and they require proper dental care. For this very reason, there is a special kind of child dentist for children who are called ‘pediatric dentists in Dubai’ or ‘pedodontists.’ These dentists have all the right kind of qualifications and experiences that are required to look after children’s gums and teeth through various stages of their childhood.

Difference between Pediatric Dentistry and General Dentistry

Pediatric dentistry is quite different from general dentistry, especially in terms of the specialized tasks, treatments, and procedures taught in both fields. Pediatric dental treatment particularly includes factors like infant oral health exams, emergency dental care, special kind of counseling on nutrition, and dealing with premature loss of primary teeth, to name a few.

The main difference lies in the types of dental procedures that are taught in pediatric dentistry and general dentistry. To help you understand better, here are some of the basic dental treatments and services that are provided or offered by pediatric dentists for your child.

Routine Checkups

When you take your child to a pediatric dentist for his or her routine checkup, the oral surgeon will carefully assess your child’s dental health and look for potential oral issues.
During this dental exam, the pedodontist will:

• Look for cavities or any other issues like tooth decay
• Perform thorough and detailed teeth cleaning
• Analyze the gums for periodontal disease
• Look for any hidden dental problems

Habit Counseling

This isn’t exactly a dental treatment, but it is more like a specialty service provided by pediatric dentists. Many infants and toddlers have a serious habit of thumb-sucking and using pacifiers. Such habits seriously affect the proper growth of teeth and can even lead to dental issues when the child grows up.
Pediatric dentists offer habit counseling, which basically aims to help the child get rid of these habits in order to ensure the proper growth of their teeth.

Tooth Extractions

There are times when a baby tooth of a child is misshapen or grows with long roots, which prevents the tooth from breaking or falling out as it normally should. In such a case, tooth extraction becomes a dire need in order to make space for permanent teeth to grow.
Your child’s pedodontist will follow a very specific method of tooth extraction in this case because a child’s gums are naturally very sensitive at such an early stage. Therefore, pediatric dentistry teaches oral surgeons the right way to care for a young person’s teeth.

Wearing a Mouthguard

Many children end up with dental braces due to several issues like misaligned teeth or because their teeth grow in different sizes. This makes it very important for such children to wear mouthguards, especially when they’re playing sports.

A mouthguard is an oral protective accessory that protects the teeth and gums from serious injury. A pediatric dentist helps choose the right mouthguard for your child and also teaches them how to wear one properly. It is essential to choose the kind of mouthguard that’s comfortable, doesn’t hinder breathing, and is perfectly well-fitted for your child’s mouth.

Treating Bruxism

Among the numerous dental conditions that occur in children, one of the most problems is ‘bruxism.’
This dental condition is characterized by headaches, earaches, and jaw pain in children. Hyperactive children are believed to be at a higher risk of developing this condition as they tend to clench and grind their need more frequently than other children. This constant grinding and clenching of teeth may result in tooth loss or broken and cracked teeth.

A child dentist will typically suggest a non-invasive treatment for bruxism for your child, which involves wearing night guards. Your child’s dentist will give you a custom-made night-guard with a soft material so as to fit your child’s teeth without causing any pain.

Much like mouthguards, nightguards also help protect the teeth, but more than that, they prevent the child from clenching and grinding their teeth, especially when they are sleeping at night.

Sealants

Many children are unable to open their mouths full and wide, which makes it tough to brush those hard-to-reach spots during daily brushing. If these areas aren’t brushed regularly, they can develop tooth decay and give rise to cavities in your child’s mouth.

Pediatric dentists help overcome this problem by applying dental sealants to children’s teeth. These sealants are basically plastic resin material that helps bond the grooves on their teeth, offers extra protection, and prevents tooth cavities. Sealants also make brushing easier by smoothening out the tiny grooves inside the child’s teeth.

Root Canal Treatment

Your child’s teeth can easily become infected or decayed due to several reasons such as gum disease, failure to brush regularly, and delayed dentist appointments, for instance.
This requires a procedure known as ‘root canal treatment’ which involves the removal of diseased pulp from the tooth, which is basically a tissue that contains blood vessels and nerves. The pulp is removed, the tooth is properly cleaned from the inside, and the tooth is then sealed shut. Children often come in with swelling and pain in their teeth, for which they might need root canal treatment.

Tooth Cavities

Also known as tooth decay, tooth cavities refer to those areas on the surface of the teeth that have become permanently damaged. Pediatric dentistry treats decay and cavities in children, which can occur due to many reasons, such as dental plaque and the presence of bacteria.

Treatment for Chipped Teeth

A chipped tooth is a common occurrence in children given how excited and energetic they usually are and the fact that they bite onto anything that comes their way. A chipped tooth is generally not a very serious issue unless your child is in pain because of it. Pediatric dentists offer pain relief options for chipped teeth and also treat the broken part of the teeth with the help of composite. Composite is a material that is attached to the teeth to repair the damaged areas and make it look as original and new as before.

Final Word

A pediatric dentist greatly specializes in pediatric dental treatment when it comes to caring for children during infancy to the late teenage period. They know exactly how to deal with their dental issues and provide the right kind of treatment for it as well. Book appointments with one of the expert pediatric dentists in Mirdif.