What Are the Most Common Dental Procedures in Pediatrics?

Growing children need specific dental procedures to maintain their oral health. However, understanding which methods are essential becomes challenging for parents. As a parent with young children, please use this pediatric guide for dentistry to understand the most common dental procedures in pediatrics.

You might feel that dental procedures become necessary when your child has a cavity. However, do you realize that cavities are preventable by adopting preventive measures that help avoid them? In reality, many procedures help children avoid complications in their mouths, as detailed in this post.

The Most Common Dental Procedures for Children

Dental Sealants

Children often find it challenging to brush their back molars. The difficulty children confront leaves their teeth susceptible to cavities and other sources of plaque buildup. Children develop their first molars by six with grooves which the pediatric dentist near you recommends sealing with dental sealants. Applying dental sealants on children’s teeth is straightforward, painless, and needs no anesthesia. However, the sealants create a barrier over the molars allowing children to clean them appropriately to eliminate plaque buildup.

Fluoride Treatments

Fluoride treatments are another preventive method provided by the pediatric dentist 77090 to make children’s teeth resistant to acid attacks caused by bacteria, plaque, and sugar in the mouth. Children can receive fluoride from toothpaste, tap water in some communities, and topical treatments applied by dentists after a dental cleaning. In addition, in-office fluoride treatments are available as gels, varnish, foam, and mouth rinse containing concentrated fluoride than in toothpaste. Fluoride helps strengthen tooth enamel, and the pediatric dentist determines when your child might need it.

X-rays

X-rays are essential for pediatric dentists to keep an eye on things not visible to the naked eye in your child’s mouth. X-rays on children are relatively safe and necessary to obtain essential information. For example, children might require x-rays between six and 12 months if they are at high risk of tooth decay. Children get low risk can have x-rays at 12 and 24 months.

Extractions

Young children usually don’t need extractions because their teeth fall off. However, the pediatric dentist in Houston recommends extractions as a last resort if your child has cavities or other problems with decay. Extractions also become necessary if your child has overcrowding in some areas of their mouth to straighten their teeth. Tooth removal among children is to ensure their permanent teeth erupt straight.

Dental Fillings

The most common procedure pediatric dentists perform is dental fillings because children’s teeth are prone to cavities. Getting fillers is relatively uncomfortable because the tooth needs numbing before the process. The pediatric dentist drills the damaged tooth structure before filling the tooth with tooth-colored fillings to help children maintain their smiles.

Orthodontic Care

Orthodontic care is required by children and adults alike. However, pediatric dentists provide interceptive orthodontic care to children while keeping an eye on your child’s oral development. The professionals can identify malocclusion and bite problems by intervening early and guiding the teeth as they emerge in the mouth. Interceptive orthodontic care helps prevent extensive treatments later. In addition, dentists keep watch on your child’s bite and jaw development during routine dental exams. The early assessment of your child’s mouth helps prevent extensive orthodontic work later.

Dental Cleaning

Dental cleanings are procedures children are most familiar with. The cleanings should start soon after your child’s first tooth erupts. The initial visits of your child to the pediatric dentist might not involve much cleaning but allows the dentist to examine your child’s teeth, looking for any issues that might develop. Children’s dental appointments must start at age one and continue every six months because it helps children get accustomed to the dental office. The cleanings allow dentists to remove plaque buildup, floss children’s teeth, polish their teeth, and provide fluoride treatments to strengthen tooth enamel.

Dental procedures can scare anyone, but it is essential to remember that not all dental procedures are scary. Pediatric dentists are adept at managing children because they are trained to do so. While your child may not like their initial visits, they undoubtedly become comfortable with the dentist with time, and the processes described help them learn the benefits of maintaining proper oral hygiene to have a beautiful smile.

Greenway Pediatric Dentistry performs all the procedures described in this article and more as needed by your child. If you think children don’t need assistance from pediatric dentists, consider changing your thoughts and scheduling an appointment with this practice to benefit your child’s oral health.