A pediatric dentist or dentist for kids in Miami is someone who will take good care of your child’s teeth, and that includes infants, children, and teens. Their office will be kid friendly and maybe even fun. They can also do sedation dentistry if needed.
Dentist for kids in Miami
You might have heard from your friends or your pediatrician that you need a pediatric dentist. But why do you need one? A pediatric dentist is someone who finished general dentistry training and then went on to get a specialty in pediatric dentistry. This means that they treat infants, children, and teens for their dental care.
Children can be fearful about the unknown and the process of going to a medical or dental appointment can be stressful. A pediatric dentist will know exactly what to do to help them stay calm and maybe even look forward to their visit. From kid-friendly waiting rooms and staff that cater to your child to the dentist who will provide gentle treatment, your kids will have a pleasant visit. Your pediatric dentist will also help with teaching your child healthy habits so they can have good dental health for life.
A dentist for kids in Miami can also use sedation dentistry to help kids with stress-free cleanings or extractions. Some dentists use nitrous oxide, oral sedatives, or IV sedation, depending on the patient and what type of dental treatment is needed. This can help keep kids calm and maybe even make their senses less sensitive so they don’t remember the sounds and smells of dental treatment.
We’ll take a closer look at dentist for kids in Miami FL in just a moment, but let’s pause for a bit and learn from some of the experts in pediatric dentistry.
It is not uncommon for health care professionals including pediatric dentists to assess and re-evaluate what they do, looking for ways to improve (Lamster & Eaves, 2011).
Dentists work on preventing dental issues from forming, but if they do, they also diagnose and treat diseases and other issues in the mouth for patients ranging in age from infants through old age (Lamster & Eaves, 2011).
Some of the innovation and assessment in dentistry includes working to get water fluoridation standardized, and developing new materials used in dentistry that have made more treatments available than ever before (Lamster & Eaves, 2011).
How do dentists pull out baby teeth from children? Dentists for kids
A pediatric dentist may have to do a tooth extraction. There are a number of reasons why this may be necessary. A tooth may be infected, or there may be some crowding issues. It’s important to treat the infection so it doesn’t spread and if the teeth are too crowded so the adult teeth can’t grow in, the blocking one needs to come out. Your child may have had some dental trauma also. The most common reason for an extraction is that a baby tooth did not fall out as it should and the adult tooth had to grow in behind the baby tooth.
Your South Miami dentist will do the procedure as quickly as they can. In fact, your pediatric dental clinic may take longer to numb the area and explain what will happen before they start the process than the actual extraction will take. The dentist in Miami will often use a local anesthetic administered by needle, or nitrous oxide gas.
Not every tooth with an infection will need to be pulled. Sometimes the Coral Gables dentist can do a root canal, sometimes called pulp therapy, to save the tooth.
What’s the purpose of kids’ teeth? Dentist near me for kids
Kids’ teeth are like adult teeth. They help your child chew solid food and speak. They also serve as place holders for the adult teeth to grow into later. At that time, the root of the baby tooth will dissolve and the tooth becomes loose, and then it falls out just in time for the tooth fairy to pay a visit. Then the adult tooth grows in in that place a few days or weeks later.
If your child has some dental trauma and the baby tooth falls out too soon or is knocked out, your pediatric dentist will probably use a space maintainer to help hold the spot until the adult tooth is ready to come in. Space maintainers are either little metal bridges that hold the space, or it can be a false tooth attached to a retainer that your child wears until that adult tooth comes in.
Is it normal if a 12-year-old still has kids’ teeth? All kids dentist near me
Generally speaking, no. By age 12, most children have lost their baby teeth and the adult teeth are in, with the exception of the wisdom teeth which come in during your child’s teen years. Sometimes baby teeth are a little stubborn to fall out and need a boost from your pediatric dentist doing an extraction. If the baby tooth has not fallen out after a couple of months of the adult tooth coming in, you should see your dentist.
When should be the first dental visit of a child? Good dentist for kids
Your child should see a dentist for the first time within 6 months of their first tooth erupting, or by their first birthday. Your pediatric dentist will do an assessment and see if your child’s mouth is healthy and the teeth look like they will grow in properly. They are not likely to take X-rays at this age unless they really need to. Your dentist can also talk about preventing tooth decay and what to include in your baby’s bottle, and when and how to brush their teeth.
As more teeth come in, your child may experience the discomfort of teething. Your dentist can give you some pointers on how to help your child be more comfortable.
Since the teeth are starting to come in, continued use of pacifiers or thumb sucking may cause the teeth to become poorly aligned, so your pediatric dentist can help you with ending those habits and keeping your child’s teeth healthy.
You can help prepare your child for their first pediatric dental visit by talking about how fun and exciting it will be. If you have already had a consultation with the dentist, you will also be more calm and confident about the process, and your child will notice. Be sure to let your dentist know of any health issues your child may have, or if they have any sensory processing challenges so your dentist can plan ahead.
Reference:
Lamster, I. B., & Eaves, K. (2011). A model for dental practice in the 21st century. American journal of public health, 101(10), 1825–1830. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300234