Has your child been to a pediatric dentist lately? Has is been awhile since your child set foot in a pediatric dental clinic for dental care? Then maybe it is time to schedule a visit.
Family dentistry or pediatric dental clinics typically specialize in treating those tiny teeth your children have. And they get them very early on! Parents will remember and shudder at the thought of those sleepless nights from newborns having their first teeth come in. It can happen as early as six months. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, or alternatively known by its acronym AAPD, insists a visit to the dentist by the time your bundle of joy is one year old.
Pediatric dentists from one edge of the country to the next will tell you the importance of dental hygiene and frequent visits to their offices. Chances are you might be one of the 60 percent of people that have gum disease and do not even know it! Do not feel bad though. Early symptoms of gum disease tend to be very hard to notice.
Benefits Of Pediatric Care
For children, especially, without proper dental care and good habits, their teeth could end up with a list of problems that carry into their teen years, to their adults years and even into old age. If your child is between the ages of five and 19, they may be one of 18.6 percent of children with untreated dental caries. If they and by extension, you, are not careful then your children will enter the next bracket of 31.6 percent of adults between 20 and 44 years old with untreated dental caries.
Visiting a pediatric dental clinic can help reinforce good habits for dental care. Pediatric dentists know all the tricks in the book to keep your child’s teeth clean like how to brush and floss. The earlier this lesson is formed, the better the chances of it sticking around.
Regular visits to the dentist also gives the dentist an opportunity to do a checkup. They have many tools at their disposal like cleaning, fluoride treatment, and even x-rays for cavities. AAPD recommends checkups as often as six months. Not only does this leave an opportunity for any issues to be caught early, but also gives your child the peace of mind that the dentist’s office is not so bad!