A considerable portion of dental care used to focus on the management of different issues. In children, however, the trend now is shifting towards preventive rather than curative dental management. Preventive dental care involves education on optimal care and the use of different appliances to maintain the health of your child’s gums and teeth. These are designed to minimize the frequency of your child’s dental visits and lower his/her care costs.
Preventive care handled by a pediatric dentist in Murray is customized. As such, the type of treatment for your child will vary from the one used on another child based on the elements that the child is exposed to. Here are some of the preventive treatments used in pediatric dental care.
Dental sealants
A dental sealant is a translucent material that resembles plastic and is spread on your child’s teeth. It remains on the teeth’s chewing surfaces and will stop the formation and spread of dental cavities. Dental sealants are typically used in kids who have deep ridges along their teeth’s chewing surfaces. These surfaces are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria. It takes approximately two minutes to attach a dental sealant on a tooth, so the child can chew freely once the material used hardens.
Fluoride Treatments
Fluoride treatments are primarily meant to boost the strength of your child’s teeth. Fluoride will bolster the enamel layer of the teeth and ease the combating of bacteria and acid, which would ordinarily affect the deeper layers of the teeth and contribute to tooth decay. There are different forms of fluoride treatments, and some are sold over the counter. It is, however, essential to have your child’s treatment prescribed by a dentist since a high fluoride dose will affect the overall health of your child.
Space Maintainers
Space maintainers are designed to prevent the shifting of the child’s teeth if he/she prematurely loses his/her milk teeth. Space maintainers are made of metal or plastic. They are customized to fit your child’s mouth and be perfectly comfortable for him/her. The maintainers will prevent the misalignment of permanent teeth or their crooked growth while promoting the proper development of speech patterns. Moreover, they stop the shrinking of the jawbone, which generally follows a gap on the gums and causes overcrowding of teeth.
Teeth Cleaning
Parents assume professional tooth cleaning is a preserve of adults. Professional dental cleaning of your child’s teeth at least bi-annually is, however, vital to avert the accumulation of bacteria and plaque on your child’s teeth and hard to reach areas. This will prove essential more so in the early years of your child’s dentition since cleaning and flossing their teeth are a challenge at this point.
Parents assume that pediatric dentists are only out to maximize their profits. The above types of preventive care, however, prove that they are as concerned about preserving your child’s dental health and minimizing his/her treatments as much as possible. With the right dentist, you can guarantee that pediatric dental care will reduce the costs of your child’s overall medical care. This is because optimal oral health automatically translates to improved overall health as the mouth is the window to the systemic circulation.
