Normally, The pediatric dentist is the first to have technical contact with a person's teeth, so his role is of utmost importance. Additionally, by dealing with developing dentitions, the pediatric dentist has the necessary knowledge to instruct the family - together with the child - on the best means of preventing future problems.
Pediatric dentistry and its role
The Pediatric Dentist is the dentist with technical and scientific training that enables him to diagnose, prevent, treat and control oral health problems from babies to adolescents, in partnership with their parents or guardians. In this sense, the most evident attributions of the pediatric dentist can be briefly listed:
- Provide guidance to parents/guardians regarding the oral health of young children;
- Awareness and teaching good dental habits to young children;.
- Detect possible deviations with repercussions on dental structures;
- To identify risk factors and develop preventive strategies;
- Refer the patient to appropriate dental specialty services according to the problem that needs to be treated.
The first visit to the dentist is recommended around the appearance of the child's first teeth. Although it may seem early and uneccesary to take your child for a check up so ealry on it has the potential to save costs and hassles in the long run.
There are cases in which milking teeth present visible irregularities from an early age which could be and often is an indication of future imperfections that could occur in the dentition. Therefore, it is often necessary to have both a pediatric dentist and an orthodontist as there are multiple ways to detetc and correct imperfections in early childhood. This is because bone and dental formation is still in progress and, consequently, can be more easily changed.
This way, we can observe the main way in which dontopediatrics and orthodontics are related: prevention of possible future problems in children.
Children's care should be done in a different way than adults, it is usually necessary for the dentist to be a little more playful to leave patients relaxed enough for the procedures. In Dentaltix, find the right products for this in the session of Pediatric Dental Games.
Odontopediatrics and Orthodontics working together
Odontopediatrics, together with orthopedics, perform complementary work together to prevent future dental problems for youngsters during their childhood.
The role of pediatric dentistry begins in the deciduous dentition phase, since at this time we can identify functional changes, such as cross and open bites. Some of the solutions include a painless tooth wear, or the addition of dental resin. These are treatment alternatives for children aged 2-5 years.
When a change in occlusion is present, waiting is always the worst option and, as we will see later, interceptive orthodontics will help the pediatric dentist with appropriate treatment. Incorrect decision making at this diagnostic stage can unnecessarily complicate and increase the cost of corrective treatment in childhood or adolescence later on.
The diagnosis of malocclusions is the exclusive competence of the pediatric dentist and involves a thorough clinical examination of the child. In addition, evaluation of the patient's history, diagnosis by images and analysis of several study models help in the elaboration of a good training plan. During the mixed-dentition phase, the role of the orthodontist begins to appear more frequently. In cases in which the need for treatment is seen when permanent teeth begin to appear, removable appliances are indicated, although the use of fixed appliances from the age of 8 or 9 is increasingly being adopted.
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Children's orthodontics and its role alongside pediatric dentistry
Orthodontic treatment in young children is known as preventive orthodontics and can be started in children 6 or 7 years of age. At that age, teeth are developing and the jawbone is still growing, so some problems may be easier to treat.
Not necessarily all problems seen by the pediatric dentist should be treated by preventive orthodontics. Two problems that require early intervention are cross-bite and overbite. A cross bite can cause the jaw to grow irregularly. The "protruding teeth" on the bites can be fractured more easily, i.e. the medical team can evaluate them to understand the real severity of the problems and how they will be in the long term.
In addition to preventive orthodontics, interceptive orthodontics also act actively by pediatric dentistry to correct existing but identified occlusion problems at an early stage in an attempt to prevent incorrect craniofacial development in adults.
Interceptive orthodontics is often the first phase. It may not preclude the need for other orthodontic treatments in subsequent years, but it may minimize the complexity of this second phase of treatment. The second phase will begin when all permanent teeth appear between the ages of 12 and 14. The second phase will have a shorter duration, as there will be smaller corrections to be made. In this phase, skeletal development problems are corrected.
Early orthodontic treatment can prevent serious developmental problems and can make the treatment shorter and less complicated.
For orthodontic treatment of children and adolescents it is essential to use the right tools for this. At Dentaltix we have complete and diverse Orthodontic products.
How to use this in your clinic?
The aim of this article is basically to show that the loyalty of a patient can occur from childhood. The work of a pediatric dentist and orthodontists in childhood is crucial for the good dental training of people. More and more parents are aware of this and, therefore, it is extremely important to articulate dental clinics to offer this type of service.
It cannot be perceived, but the number of dental clinics specializing in children's treatment is growing every day and this shows that there is the opportunity and space for clinics to expand their services in that branch.
Therefore, the first step would be to look for trusted professionals and add them to the team. In addition, the patients in the clinic are a good first step for that general care of the family and thus begin to care for your patients in a complete way and promoting great satisfaction.
So, do you feel more prepared to care for children and adolescents? Share with us your experiences using the hashtag #DentaltixKicks on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube!
