Pedodontists – Dental Specialists for Children

Services of a pedodontist should be sought for, for routine dental examinations & prophylactic care. Teeth cleanings should be done if necessary. If a tooth is taken, then a pedodontist will put a space maintainer in that place, so that the adult tooth is formed correctly in that place.

Thumb sucking:-

Mostly prevalent among children upto 4 years of age. If it persists after this age one has to consult a pedodontist. It might result in front teeth protruding. This may lead to overbiting.

A pedodontist might advice to put braces at a later stage. He can refer the child to an orthodontist (provide orthopedic care), if the teeth and jaws are developing abnormally.

Tongue thrusting:-

Some children have the habit of putting their tongue out. This might protrude the lower jaw.

A pedodontist may advise braces for this also and also orthopedic care might be needed.

Lip sucking:-

Some children have the habit of sucking their lower lip. This also leads to improper development of teeth.

The remedy is same as mentioned above.

Above all this a pedodontist has a positive approach towards children and their dental problems. To get rid of all this bad habits other than cavities, pedodontists also advise a psychological approach.Most children go for thumb sucking, lip sucking etc as they lack security. Parents should not tease or beat the child for this but instead should reward the child each time he/she stops doing it.

Infant care

Infants should be taken to dentists as soon as their milk teeth appear ie about 7 or 8 months old. Early dental consultation with a pedodontist helps one to seek advice about a baby’s diet, bottle use, fluoride use & tooth brushing. Pedodontists deals with preventive dental care at this age. Pedodontist will advise parents how nutrition affects dental health. In early consultation with the pedodontist the kids will also be comfortable with their doctor at a later stage.

6 years to 12 years:-

The period when the milk teeth fall and the adult teeth comes in. This is the period of mixed dentition. Every 6 months one should consult a pedodontist. Children and parents should be brushing twice daily. Parents should also floss once a week. Mostly children have a tendency to copy adults. If caries appear in children, that means parents also have a tendency to develop caries.

Generally small children does not like a stranger poking in their mouth. But most children & toddlers become friendly with their pedodontist as soon as their appointment is over. This depends on the approach of the dentist towards the child. Even other than the teeth & jaws. A pedodontist examines a child’s head, neck & face. He examines the overall growth in the face area and also the symmetry & proportion of growth of each organ in the face.