Pediatric dentist

A dentist dedicated to the dental and oral health of children is a pediatric dentist. In other words, pediatric dentists are pediatricians of dentistry. A pediatric dentist attends to the dental problems of infants' right through the teenage years. A pediatric dentist requires additional qualification after a graduation in general dentistry to meet the special needs of children. Visiting a pediatric dentist from early childhood to the growing years can help avoid dental treatments at later age and stage.

• A pediatric dentist handles normal children as well as hospitalized, handicapped and chronically ill children. The pediatric dentist can approach the child's own special needs in a sensitive, caring and professional manner. A pediatric dentist employs medication and controls pain to alleviate the child's apprehension about treatment.
  
• Prevention of dental diseases and disorders is a pediatric dentist's primary concern. A pediatric dentist advises parents that regular dental care should begin by one year of age. A pediatric dentist explains and discusses diseases of the gum, and how to avoid or minimize the damage if it has already started in the child.
  
• Preventive home care for brushing, flossing, diet control programs, importance of the use of fluorides are taught by a pediatric dentist.
  
• The issue of 'nursing decay', often called 'bottle mouth syndrome' is bound to occur in infants. As the name indicates, this is a pattern of decay associated with prolonged nursing. A pediatric dentist recommends that a child be weaned by approximately twelve months of age to prevent such nursing caries.
  
• It is normal for a pediatric dentist to prevent tooth decay by using sealants. A sealant is a clear or shaded plastic material that a pediatric dentist uses to apply to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. In a child, the back teeth have depressions and grooves on their chewing surfaces and so it is difficult and sometimes impossible to clean. The sealant forms a coating or barrier to protect the tooth from bacteria and bits of food. A pediatric dentist helps dramatically reduce the risk of decay for children and teens by protecting such depressions and grooves with a coating of sealant.
  
• Bite problems (malocclusion) are often a concern of parents of young children. Sometimes this problem is hereditary when a child has an extra or missing teeth from birth.
  
• A pediatric dentist is especially qualified and trained to handle several dental emergencies that can occur in childhood. It may be a broken tooth, broken braces and wires, a cut or bitten tongue or a knocked-out tooth or a common toothache.