Paediatric dentistry
At Moonz dental clinics our work is focused on caring for the dental health of the youngest members of the family. For this reason, we place great emphasis on Paediatric dentistry, the branch of dentistry aimed at providing dental care from birth to adolescence.
During the first few years after birth, collaboration between the paediatric dentist and parents is essential to ensure a proper dental development in children, as well as prevent diseases that could endanger the health of their teeth.
What is Paediatric dentistry?
Paediatric dentistry is the branch of Dentistry focused on preventing, diagnosing and treating dental problems affecting children. They are therefore qualified to treat problems that are more common in infancy, such as tooth decay and Trauma.
Likewise, the aim of Paediatric dentistry is to ensure children teeth develop properly. With this we prevent dental problems from appearing that would be very difficult and expensive to correct as an adult.
Paediatric dentistry treatments
The most common paediatric dentistry treatments are:
Fillings
Fillings is the most common method of treating cavities. Cavities are the most common dental disease in children and may appear in baby teeth (at around six months of age).
Fluoride treatment
Applying fluoride is essential to preventing cavities. It is used to strengthen the tooth’s enamel, help the teeth stay healthy and create a protective barrier that maintains bacteria away.
Sealing of pits and fissures
This is a preventive treatment for cavities. It consists of filling the small pits and fissures of children’s teeth in order to create a protective barrier. These treatments are normally applied to molars, which are the most prone to having cavities.
Pulpectomy
A pulpectomy is a procedure that is used to remove the nerve of a baby tooth that has a severe infection caused by a deep cavity or severe trauma. It equates to a root canal in adults.
Space maintainers
They are small appliances fitted in children, who have lost a baby tooth prematurely. They enable to maintain the space that has been left by the fallen tooth so that the permanent tooth can emerge properly.
Conscious sedation
Conscious sedation is recommended for children who fear going to the dentist, and need to be subjected to a long procedure (lasting several hours) or who have special needs (for example, children with Down syndrome).
Paediatric dentistry treatments
The most common paediatric dentistry treatments are:
Fillings
Fluoride treatment
Sealing of pits and fissures
Pulpectomy(empaste)
Space maintainers
Conscious sedation
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Frequently asked questions
Paediatric dentistry covers the dental development of children from birth to approximately age 14. In other words, once all their permanent teeth have emerged.
A paediatric dentist is an orthodontist specialised in preventing, diagnosing and treating dental problems in children. Therefore, they are a dentist specialised in treating children.
A large part of their daily work consists of planning and administering dental treatments (fillings, fluoride treatments, pulpectomies, etc.), as well as carry out follow-ups and diagnostic tests.
However, it is also essential for the paediatric dentist to provide information to the child as well as the parents. For example, the dentist may provide useful information about the child´s habits, that appear to be harmless, but are actually highly damaging to the teeth (excessive use of the pacifier, prolonged thumb sucking, high consumption of sugar, etc.)
It is best for children to visit the paediatric dentist for the first time before they turn one. In early stages, the dental disease that most affects children is cavities, which may appear as early as six months old.
In fact, there is a type of cavity called baby bottle tooth decay, which may appear on a baby’s teeth even when their diet is exclusively breast milk or baby formula. A timely visit to the paediatric dentist will serve to discard the presence of cavities or, in the event a cavity is detected, to administer a treatment early, which is easier and cheaper, as well as much less invasive for the child.
Content supervised by our Moonz team
Dr. Javier Girón
Dr Javier Girón de Velasco graduated in Dentistry and Orthodontics, both from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. President of the 68th Spanish Orthodontic Society (SEDO) Conference. Additionally, he is a graduate member of the Spanish Orthodontic Society and active member of the European Orthodontic Society (EOS), the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) and the Spanish Orthodontists Association (AESOR).
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