Pedodontics
[:en]Pediatric dentists are dedicated to the oral health of children from infancy through the teen years.
Pedodontics, also known as pediatric dentistry, is a specialty dealing with the infants, children and young adults’ oral and dental health from birth until the permanent dentition process is complete.
The first objective of pedodontics is to treat the emerging problems. Another goal is to find the source of these problems and take measures to prevent them from occurring. One of the most important thing in pediatric dentistry is to introduce the child to the dentist before caries or any other problem occurs. The experience of the child at the first appointment and trust in the dentist is of great importance in preparing him for the situations he may encounter in the future.
Researches on caries frequency in recent years show that this frequency reaches 92-95 percent in children, especially in the period of mixed dentition (7-11 years). This high rate of caries has made it necessary to apply some methods of caries protection in order to protect the child’s future oral and dental health, and more importantly, overall health . The procedures applied for this purpose are called Preventive Dentistry .
Preventive Dentistry ; It includes regulation of nutritional habits, training of mouth and teeth cleaning , procedures that can be applied to teeth such as fluoride and fissure sealants and regular controls.
When should children have their first dental examination?
It is recommended that the first dental examination to be performed after the eruption of first milk tooth (usually between 6 months and 1 year old). After the first inspection; parents get informed about subjects such as how to do the cleaning of the mouth and teeth of the baby and with which brush and toothpaste, the limits of the use of bottles and pacifiers, the prevention of lip and finger sucking habits, preventing bacteria from passing from the mother to the baby, the child’s mouth and teeth development stages, nutrition and protective applications that can be done to prevent dental caries.
Applications
Fluoride Application
It is the safest and cheapest protective practice with proven effectiveness to protect the teeth from caries and to prevent the progression of caries that are began and developed. Fluoride is added to the enamel matrix, hence making the tooth stronger and more resistant to caries. Fluoride applications are carried out in frequencies and amounts determined according to the age and risk of caries formation.
Fissure Sealant
Grooves on the chewing surface of milk and permanent teeth are called fissures. Fissure caries constitute 80-90 percent of the caries seen in children. Although your child has the habit of properly brushing his/her teeth, tooth decay may occur as a result of food residues remaining in these deep grooves and pits that the bristles cannot reach. The process of covering these deep grooves and pits on the chewing surface with a flowable filling is called fissure sealant. Fissure sealant application is a very effective protective application that is applied painlessly in a short time, without any damage to the tooth and ensuring that your child have no caries.
Placeholder
One of the most important duties of milk teeth is to guide and maintain the position of permanent teeth comes from the bottom to ensure their correct alignment in the dental arches. While milk teeth can also be treated like permanent teeth, they may need to be extracted in cases of severe infections . When lost in the early period, as a result of infection or trauma , the adjacent teeth move towards this gap and cause the distance required for permanent teeth to close. In this case , an appliance called placeholder is necessary to prevent loss of space and consequent orthodontic problems. Based on the position and the number of extracted teeth, your dentist will design the placeholder that is suitable for your child.