Pediatric Dentistry

Pedodontics

Pedodontics is a specialty also known as children’s dentistry. It includes dental care and dental treatments for children.

• Cleaning and polishing
• Behavior management and dental education
• Restoration of milk teeth and fillings
• Root canal treatment
• Crowns, stainless steel crowns
• Fluoride application
• Space maintainers and active plates
• Routine dental examinations
• Monitoring of permanent tooth eruption
• Nutritional advice for children
• Restoration and treatment of permanent teeth
• Application of fissure sealants to permanent teeth

Tooth Development

1. It begins in the womb.
2. At birth, only milk tooth buds are found.
3. 3-5 months later, permanent tooth buds begin to form. Diseases that the child will suffer during this period can lead to dental diseases.
4. In the 6th month, milk teeth begin to emerge (erupt) in the mouth.
5. At the age of 2.5 to 3 years, the milk teeth have completely emerged in the mouth. There are a total of 20 milk teeth.
6. At the age of 6, milk teeth begin to fall out and permanent teeth emerge.
7. At the end of the milk molars, the first permanent molars appear, which are very similar to the last milk tooth in the jaw, and parents usually mistake these teeth for milk teeth.
8. Between the ages of 6 and 11, milk and permanent teeth are in the mouth together.
9. After the age of 11, all milk teeth are replaced by permanent teeth.
10. When the permanent second molar is 16 to 20 years old at age 12 (if present), the permanent third molars erupt and the dentition is complete.
11. Tooth eruption can cause pain, high fever, weakness, restlessness and loss of appetite in the child.
12. Milk teeth are in the mouth between 6 months and 11 years.
13. A milk tooth remains in the mouth for around 5.5-8 years
14. Milk teeth have functions such as aesthetics, eating and speech functions, continuing jaw development and maintaining their place until permanent teeth emerge.
15. If deciduous teeth are lost early, this can lead to esthetic and functional loss and orthodontic problems or make the existing orthodontic problem more complex.
16. Therefore, early milk tooth loss should be compensated for with a space maintainer.
17. It is an important branch of dentistry that deals with the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases related to the mouth, teeth and surrounding tissues of children from birth to puberty. It is also known as pedodontics.

Purpose:

• Preventing potential problems
• Stopping and treating problems before they progress,
• Regaining lost functions, especially patient comfort, for the child
• Training and following up oral care training for the child and parents,
• Eliminating fear and anxiety in the child, if present, and ensuring the child is socially motivated.

The importance of Dental Health in children

• Tooth decay is one of the most common diseases in all age groups worldwide and is a serious health problem.
• As a result of the bacteria that break down the food residues of sugar (carbohydrate) on the teeth to produce energy, the enamel softens in the acidic environment formed in the mouth and tooth decay occurs by deteriorating its structure over time. It is not possible for the teeth to repair themselves after the deterioration occurs. It must be treated. However, before the destruction of the hard tooth tissue, the areas where decay occurs appear as white spots. At this stage, effective fluoride application prevents the formation of cavities.
• It is possible to protect and strengthen teeth from decay. This is achieved through good oral hygiene (toothbrushing), fluoride application and fissure sealant applications.
• Up to the age of 7 for girls and 8 for boys, parents should help with brushing teeth. Brushing should not be left entirely to the child before then.
• Professional fluoride applications play a very important role in the prevention of tooth decay.
• If caries formation is detected, it should be restored without progress.
• Up to a certain stage, dental caries is painless, which can be misleading for parents.
• Tooth decay in children under the age of 6, especially referred to as early childhood decay (ECD); pain can cause anorexia, restlessness, irregularity or malnutrition in the child and associated general health problems. This means that any bruise that occurs at the age of 3 years or younger is a “severe IE”.
• Due to their non-aesthetic appearance, especially the decay of the front teeth and bad breath in general, all decayed teeth will affect the child’s social and psychological development and cause them to be an introverted individual. All these problems will have a negative impact on the child, the family and society. It is both easier and more economical to prevent these problems or to recognize and treat them early.
• In terms of dentistry, children are not minimized forms of adults. Compared to adults in terms of mouth, teeth and jaw structures, they can have similarities as well as completely different dental characteristics. Some features that are normal in the first dentition period in children are considered pathologic (abnormal) in the permanent dentition in adults. (Milk teeth should be spaced, this is a problem in permanent teeth). Therefore, the development process of children’s mouth, teeth and jaws and the related problems should be treated with different approaches. The treatment method is different for each pediatric patient.
• X-rays play a very important role in the dental examination.
• If pain caused by the pulp occurs in deciduous teeth, partial pulp or canal treatment may be necessary.
• Toothache in milk teeth can lead to tooth deformation (necrosis) in a very short time.
• Tooth extraction is also a treatment option for frequent tooth infections.
• The site of teeth extracted before the age of the fall should be protected with fixed or movable space maintainers.
• However, teeth that have not fallen at the age of the fall should be examined by a specialist and their extraction evaluated.