Why Should You Always Opt for Pediatric Dentistry for Your Child?

What Is Pediatric Dentistry?

It is a specialty of dentistry dedicated to catering to children’s oral needs. Children, too, deserve proper care for their mouths as adults do. Dental experts in pediatric dentistry tend to children’s oral health from infancy to adolescence. Procedures in pediatric dentistry are both preventive and restorative. However, many pediatric dentists advocate for preventive dental care for children to avoid the need for restorative treatments.

What Does Pediatric Dentistry Entail?

Many oral procedures can help your child’s dental health. The common ones are:

1. Dental cleanings – are procedures for cleaning the oral cavity. Dental cleanings involve teeth brushing, flossing, root planing, and scaling.
2. Dental sealants – are dental fillings that protect teeth from dental decay. Dental sealants are particularly useful for protecting the chewing surfaces of molars and premolars.
3. Fluoride treatment – is a treatment protocol that re-mineralizes teeth to make them strong and increase their resistance to bacteria and acids that cause dental cavities.
4. Habit counseling – entails training children on healthy oral habits they can adopt, usually in exchange for some damaging dental habits. Examples of poor oral habits that your child should abandon are fingernail biting, thumb sucking, teeth grinding, and using a pacifier at an older age. Without the help of a dentist in 34236, you will have a hard time retraining your child on good oral practices.
5. Nutrition counseling – do you have a hard time getting your child to eat healthy foods? You can seek counsel from a pediatric dentist to help you create healthy, flavorful meals that your child can enjoy. Besides, the dentist will help you prepare nutritious meals that can build strong and healthy teeth.

How Does Pediatric Dentistry Help Children’s Oral Health?

Pediatric dentistry in Sarasota, FL, has changed thousands of children’s lives over the years in some of the following ways:

1. Fighting dental cavities – is perhaps the greatest role of pediatric dental care. Children are highly prone to dental caries, particularly between ages 6 and 14. Dentists in 34236 perform various dental procedures that can help fight dental cavities, including fluoride treatment and dental sealants.
2. Encouraging good oral hygiene – kids are naturally not great at keeping their mouths clean. Given their high affinity for sugary foods, every parent should prioritize dental care for children. Dental hygiene protocols in pediatric dentistry entail routine dental cleanings. Besides, a dentist near you may be the best person to teach your child about proper oral hygiene practices.
3. Preserving proper teeth alignment – dental protocols in pediatric dentistry can help prevent orthodontic problems in older age. For instance, a dentist near you can use space maintainers to save space in the jawbone for teeth to erupt in their correct positions.
4. Managing dental emergencies – careful as you may be, you cannot fully shield your child from encountering accidents. Dental injuries are mostly to blame for dental emergencies among children. Since you cannot predict the occurrence of an urgent oral problem, you need the help of an emergency dentist in Sarasota to treat and manage your oral health.
5. Maintain a good-looking smile – teeth play a big role in the general facial appearance. Such dental services are typically available in cosmetic dentistry. Adults are not the only ones that can benefit from cosmetic dentistry in Sarasota, FL. Children too can benefit from dental procedures that impact the size, color, shape, and alignment of teeth. For instance, a dentist near you can recommend braces to your child to help guide teeth alignment.

Will Seeing a Dentist Be Enough?

Even if you are diligent with routine visits to a dental office in Sarasota, it will not be enough to ensure your child excels in oral health. The secret to excellent dental health lies in consistent practices every day. Therefore, even after a dental appointment with Dr. Shanaka L. Weerasooriya, you have to keep up with healthy oral practices like:

1. Brushing teeth twice daily.
2. Flossing daily.
3. Eating healthy and nutritious meals.
4. Avoid sugary foods like candies, sweet pastries, fruit juices, and sodas.