About
Pediatric Dentistry…
Pediatric Dentistry is
a specialized branch of dentistry developed for dental care of infants and children
through their adolescence.
It provides complete
oral health care for children with prevention as well as treatment of all kinds
of dental problems including:
- Cavities
- Injuries to teeth
- Aesthetics
- Problems of gums
- Abnormal habits like thumb sucking
- Problems related to crooked teeth
etc.
It also provides
dental care for children with special health care needs such as disabled
children or those with medical problems
How is
it different from adult’s dentistry/general dentistry?...
Children do not enter
the dental clinic as readily as adults. Fear of unknown or anxiety about
dentistry or simply the lack of maturity and coping ability due to young age
prevents them from accepting the dental treatment easily.
Pediatric dentistry
is an art and science that includes variety of techniques to modify the child’s
behavior in the dental clinic, alleviate their anxiety and slowly guide them
through the dental experience so that dental treatment can be readily accepted
by them.
For example, one of
the techniques called as “Tell-Show-Do” includes stepwise description of the
dental procedure to child in a way he/she will understand before actually
performing it.
The pediatric
dentist…
Pediatric
dentists are trained in child psychology that enables them to communicate with
children and help the anxious and uncooperative child relax in the dental
operatory. Based on the concepts of child psychology at different ages, they
use variety of techniques to help children cope with their apprehension and
cooperate for the dental procedures.
For
example, in 4-5 year old children, “animism” i. e. looking at everything as
live objects is quite prominent. So fighting with the “germ” sitting in the
tooth becomes fun for them! The elder ones like to take up challenges! So
undergoing dental treatment can be constructed as a “challenging adventure” and
its successful completion gives them great feeling of “accomplishment!”
Pediatric
dental clinic…
So how does a child
agree to come readily into a so-called Dental “Clinic” setup? The word Dental Clinic
instills apprehensions in Adults itself, so a child’s feared reaction is no
surprise.
This is where
Exclusive Pediatric Dental Clinic comes in. Many clinics which practice only
Pediatric Dentistry are coming up. Their unique features such as the child
friendly appearance, play area full of toys, TV set with cartoon films running
and the dental staff well trained in handling kids make them different from a
general dental clinic.
Also, presence of
many other children, opportunity to observe other children’s treatment helps an
anxious child relax and feel comfortable in a these clinics .
 |
Moment of pleasure!
When the pediatric dentist receives
gift from the little patient as token
of love!
|
Pediatric
dentistry is “child-centered” not “tooth-centered”!!!
The ultimate aim of
pediatric dentistry is not just to perform the dental treatment for the sake of
relieving a toothache or solving the dental problem of the child. The goal is to
give a child an overall comfortable and enjoyable dental experience so as to
instill a “positive attitude” about dentistry in their mind.
The exclusive
pediatric dental clinics serve the purpose much better! There remains no “fear
factor” for visiting a dentist. Trip to their favorite “dentist uncle/aunty”
becomes fun for them, performance of dental treatment being just a part of the
game!
