What is Pedodontics?
Pedodontics is a branch of dentistry that monitors and treats children's oral-dental health and jaw-face development from infancy, and also includes protective measures. Pedodontics is the replacement of missing teeth, treatment of decayed teeth, arrangement of teeth, protective alternative applications and preventive orthodontic treatment determinations.
Pedodontics, a word of Latin origin, means "children's teeth". Pedodontics (Pediatric Dentistry) is the healthy protection and treatment of milk and permanent teeth of children aged 0-12.
What is a Pedodontist?
A pedodontist is a specialist dentist who performs dental treatments for individuals aged 0-16. The pedodontist can solve these anomalies by analyzing the development of teeth and jaws, if there is an existing problem or if there is a mistake in growth development, with functional treatment, that is, by directing growth while growth development continues, and thus your child may not receive orthodontic treatment in the future.
First of all, pedodontists are expected to get along well with children and convey information about dental health in an understandable language. Apart from this, a pedodontist;
• To have a good command of the child's mouth and teeth,
• To follow new developments in the field of pedodontics,
• To be knowledgeable about the rights of children and patients,
• Being able to work in an intense and stressful working environment,
• To have knowledge about child psychology.
does not have the necessary competence in such matters.
Pedodontists perform all procedures related to oral and dental health of children. To follow the development of children's dental and oral health,
- - Taking precautions against undesirable situations such as caries
- - To intervene in case of missing or damaged permanent teeth,
- - To inform children about oral and dental health.
- - They ensure that children do not have a fear of the dentist (dental phobia), they turn dental treatment into an enjoyable game for children.
- - It determines the caries risk group of the child and organizes personal protective programs.
- - Informs both the child and the family about oral and dental care in children.
- - They check the regular progress of the child's jaw and tooth development.
- - Performs preventive orthodontic treatments.
- - It regulates the child's eating habits.
Why is Pedodontics Important?
Fear of the dentist is usually the result of bad experiences in childhood. Children's dental treatments are performed by specialist physicians, which enables good communication with children at first and easy dental treatments and preventive procedures in the long run. One of the main duties of the pedodontist is to observe the mental and physical development of the developing child and to ensure that the child gets used to the dentist. Almost all of the individuals who are afraid of the dentist have a bad memory about the dentist in their childhood. Pedodontists, unlike other dentists, are trained to communicate with children.
Pedodontists are knowledgeable about the general dentition as well as the anatomical structure of the developing teeth. In the light of this information, eruption problems in the teeth can be easily diagnosed. For this reason, it is a situation that should be preferred that children's dental examinations and dental treatments are performed by pedodontists. The pedodontist can foresee the emerging orthodontic disorders and take precautions, and refer them to the orthodontist when necessary. The pedodontist will take measures to prevent these cavities rather than treating the cavities that have formed on the teeth. Especially with the applications to be made after the permanent teeth have erupted, the teeth that should remain in our mouth for a lifetime are protected.
What are the Protective Practices?
The primary aim of pediatric dentistry is to take measures to prevent dental problems and to direct children to a caries-free future. The procedures applied for this purpose are called Preventive Dentistry Practices. For preventive applications to prevent dental caries, great importance is attached to educating the child and his family about oral and dental health and nutrition. Preventive dentistry applications include superficial fluoride and fissure sealant procedures.
What Do Fissure Sealers Do?
It is a fluid filling material that closes the deep and decay-prone fissures (grooves) on the chewing surfaces of permanent teeth and does not allow bacteria to reach there, thus preventing caries. Fissure sealant applications should be checked every 6 months.
What is Fluorine Application?
Fluorine is an element that prevents tooth decay and strengthens the structure of teeth. Since the enamel is not fully mature when the teeth first erupt, newly erupted teeth are generally less resistant to caries and are prone to caries formation. Fluoride strengthens the enamel, protects the tooth against acid attacks and thus helps prevent the formation of dental caries. Professional superficial fluoride application is only used by dentists.
It is a protective method that can be applied. Superficial fluor should be applied by a dentist every 6 months.
Our comprehensive pedodontics preventive dentistry program protects the dental health of our beloved children with minimally invasive treatment approaches that preserve the maximum amount of healthy tooth structure.
