Are you looking for a kid’s dentist near you? You are far from alone. A kids dentist is a key part of your child’s overall health and you can find one fairly easily by doing a little research plus an in-person initial consultation.

Kids dentist near me – affordable kids dentist near me

If you’re thinking about pediatric dentistry for your children, you might have heard that a kids dentist near me is important. Your pediatrician may have even recommended a kids dentist near me in Miami FL to focus on your child’s dental health for infants, children, and teens. Dental treatment from a pediatric dentist is such an important part of your child’s development. Your dentists in Miami for children will help get your child off to a healthy start with pediatric dental tips on how to brush and floss little teeth the best way.

They can also give you advice if your child is reluctant to let go of their pacifier or if they suck their thumbs after their teeth have started to grow in. There are even appliances you can get that will help your child break their habit. A pediatric dentist will be more than happy to help.

And if you live in the South Miami area, you might have come across a pediatric dentist in Coral Gables named Dr. Ivanov while you were looking for gentle treatment for children or sedation dentistry for children.

If you’re looking for a pediatric dentist near you, chances are that you might be wondering how to maximize your time, especially if you are a busy parent with a very busy schedule and with not much time during the day. You have duties such as work, after school pick up duties, extracurricular activities for your children, and much more. It can be daunting to even try to find time to take your child to the dentist. As such, you might be keen on finding a pediatric dentist close to you.

If any of these things sound like something you might have researched, you’re not alone as many parents and guardians of young children, teens, and tweens are looking to find the pediatric dentist that will be best suited for their children. We’ll learn more in just a moment, but before continuing let’s hear from some of the experts of pediatric dentistry.

Pediatric dentistry provides primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health care for infants and children through adolescence (Shah S, 2017).

This specialty encompasses a variety of skills, disciplines, procedures, and techniques that are similar to other dental specialties. However a pediatric dentist’s skills have been modified and reformed to the distinctive requirements of infants, children, adolescents, and special health care needs (Shah S, 2017).

These skills are necessary for the ever-changing stages of dental, physical, and psychosocial development for treating conditions and diseases peculiar to growing individuals (Shah S, 2017).

Can the dentist charge for missed appointment? Dentist for kids near me

This is a very pertinent question to get an answer to as it would be unfortunate if you missed your appointment because of traffic or any other unforeseen event and have the dentist charge for the missed appointment.

Now, while dentists can charge for missed appointments, many dental offices will take this on a case by case basis. Simply put, if you appear to have a very legitimate reason for why you think you might be late then you should simply relay that to the dental office. Most dental offices will be perfectly happy to reschedule you as long as you let them know and in a timely fashion. Although if it’s already 5 minutes after your appointment is supposed to start and you haven’t even left your house, they’re probably going to be less sympathetic. You should be fully aware of the time it takes to get to an office and the office works similar to how many appointments by reservation operate – that is they are holding a time slot, a room, and staff open and ready for you.

If you miss that appointment and do not coordinate with your office to let them know the reason why or to reschedule, they are more likely to charge you than if you call them a day or two beforehand to let them know that your schedule has changed and you will not be able to make the current appointment.

Fundamentally, just using common courtesy with your dental office will ensure that if you ever have to have any changes for any reason that they are not going to be ones that will hurt you financially as again most offices are very reasonable when it comes to life events that might interrupt a scheduled appointment.

What should I look for when choosing a dentist for a family? Dentists for kids near me

There are many different things that you should look for when you’re considering a family dentist. One of the most important is how do they treat their youngest clients? Presumably you want a family dentist because you have a family. It’s not enough to have a dental or an orthodontic office that is great with adults. Presumably you want one that will treat your kids just as well as they treat you.

There are many different ways that high quality dental offices attempt to show excellent treatment for the youngest clients. Some things are quite simple, like having clean high quality toys and reading materials in the waiting room. If the toys are well-worn and all the books are scribbled on, torn, or filled out, then this is very clearly an office that puts a low priority on the happiness of their youngest clients.

If they’re going to have their waiting room be a place where kids want to be, then it’s important that they focus on what will make kids be happy.  Great waiting areas are colorful, clean, and filled with fun activities to keep little minds busy.

This is a great reason why you need to make an initial consultation before you bring your kids to the office. If you walk into the waiting room and it appears to be an unfriendly and an unwelcoming place for children then is probably not ultimately going to be a great family dentist office.

What are some of the best kids dental care services?

There are two major dental services which are super important to children. One of course is the cleaning. Basic cleanings and checkups are an essential part of a child’s overall oral health and well-being. Kids who have them regularly are far more likely to become adults who seek out dental care later in life. The good dental habits that you establish in your children now are going to continue to pay dividends to their oral health years and decades down the line.

The other major benefit of regularly visiting your child’s pediatric dentist is simply the education that comes with it. After cleaning and checkups, most dental offices will offer things like prizes, special children’s toothbrushes, flosses, or toothpastes along with advice on how to maintain a child’s oral health in a way that is child friendly. Some dental offices even offer giveaways for kids who are part of the good dental club making sure that they brush their teeth daily. These types of fun mini education lessons for your children can again help set them up for high quality personal dental care for the rest of their life.

Which is the best kids’ dentistry near me? Dentist near me kid friendly

Best is an entirely relative term as it largely depends on what you believe are the most important facets of a children’s dentist. When you think of a pediatric dentist, are you looking for one who has excellent interpersonal skills with children? Are you looking for ones that come highly recommended? Are you looking for the most affordable ones? Are you looking for ones that are closest to your home? Are you looking for ones that are open outside of normal business hours or on the weekends so you do not need to take your child out of school to meet a dental appointment?

Fundamentally, best is relative for each individual. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide what aspects are the most important ones to you and then narrow your dental search for offices that fit those most important criteria. While we would obviously love to be able to have a dental office that offered it all, the fact is that the best dental office for you will meet the most important criteria to you.

However, if driving an hour each way to your dental office is a deal breaker for you then it will ultimately not be the best even if it offered every service at the right price and with fantastic staffing. This is why it’s important for you to talk with the local offices around your area and figure out what will be best for you and your family’s individual needs. By doing this, you can ensure that you will find an office that both you and your children will love.

Reference:

Shah S. (2017). Pediatric dentistry- novel evolvement. Annals of medicine and surgery (2012), 25, 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2017.12.005