Southern Oaks Dental Care is able to provide oral care and dental services to every member of your family, regardless of their age. That includes infants and young children! Our pediatric specialists are highly trained in caring for children’s dental needs and putting them at ease when they visit the dentist. The days of “scary” trips to the dentist are over when you bring your children to our office. We not only work with you as a parent to instruct your child on the best ways to care for their teeth, but also work to help your child relax and enjoy their time at the dentist’s office.
Pediatric Dentists in Beaumont, TX
A pediatric dentist is similar to the medical pediatrician who treats your child: They are highly educated and specially trained to meet the oral care needs of children. In addition to four years of college and four years of dental school, pediatric dentists require an additional two to three years of university study to be licensed. Pediatric dentists are trained to deal with different types of childhood behavior, including kids that may be too stubborn or frightened to want to sit down in the dental chair. Pediatric specialists know how to make children feel relaxed and comfortable for their appointment and are even trained in providing oral care to children with special needs.
Childhood Dental Problems
Children can develop problems with their teeth when they are still very young. In fact, it’s recommended that your first pediatric dental visit when your baby is six months to a year old, when their first teeth begin erupting. Early childhood tooth decay is a concern that your pediatric dentist will talk about with you as well. If a baby continues breastfeeding or bottle feeding too long, the result can be tooth decay. Most children will also experience inflammation of the gums at least once before they are three years of age. Many dental problems can be easily corrected in children, if the issues are caught early on.
Importance of Primary Teeth
Caring for your child’s primary teeth, or “baby teeth,” is extremely important. Those teeth will serve as a guide for their permanent teeth which will come in later. Since some the back molars don’t arrive until the teenage years, your child’s baby teeth need to last a long time. The baby teeth allow normal development of the jawbone and surrounding structures to proceed.
What happens if a baby tooth comes out too soon, or is lost due to tooth decay? This creates a situation where the permanent tooth can come in crooked. Problems with baby teeth can also spread to permanent teeth when they come in. If tooth decay occurs in baby teeth, it can result in an infection, pain, abscesses and other issues. Those same problems can spread to a permanent tooth when it erupts. This is why the proper care of your child’s teeth, including good brushing and flossing habits, are so important.
Your Child’s First Pediatric Dental Appointment
A lot of parents wonder what they should tell their child before a trip to the dentist’s office. If you experienced scary visits to the dentist when you were a child, you should understand one thing: Things have changed a lot since then! Thanks to the training of pediatric dental specialists, and advances in dental technology, trips to our office are warm, welcoming, friendly and fun for children. As for what you should tell your child before their first visit — if you are nervous about it, don’t say anything. Your anxiety will only make your child nervous about the appointment as well.
Dental Sealants for Children
Tooth decay among children used to be almost a given. But thanks to the development of dental sealants, that is a relic of the past. Dental sealants are one of the treatments that we recommend to protect your child’s teeth until their permanent molars come in. In a pain-free procedure, the sealants are “painted” onto the child’s back molars. The sealant hardens into a thin, see-through plastic shell that offers an extra barrier of protection for those hard-to-brush back teeth. This is just one of the treatments that we recommend and offer as a pediatric service.
Thanks to advances in pediatric dentistry, things have changed a lot since you were a child. If you have a child who is ready for that first visit, contact Southern Oaks Dental Care to schedule your child’s appointment with our friendly pediatric specialists.
