The Best Holiday Gift – Good Dental Health

You might not think of a visit to the dentist in the same breath as this year’s most popular toys and computer games, but it’s one of the best gifts you can give your children this holiday season.  If you’re concerned about your child’s baby teeth coming in, the baby teeth schedule, baby back teeth and more, a visit to Raleigh Pediatric Dentist Triangle Pediatric Dentistry might be just what Santa ordered.

Pediatric dentists limit their practices to children from infancy through the teenage years. The very young, pre-teens, and teenagers all need different approaches in dealing with their behavior, guiding their dental growth and development, and helping them avoid future dental problems.  Pediatric dentists focus on prevention as well as early detection and treatment of any dental diseases that may arise in children.  We are trained in ways to help children have a pleasant dental visit so they will feel good about visiting the dentist and can learn how to care for their teeth.

You can think of the pediatric dentist as the pediatrician of dentistry.  After completing four years of dental school a pediatric dentist goes on to receive two to three more years of specialized training in meeting the dental needs of infants, children and adolescents.  During their residency period, pediatric dentists gain experience treating children with many different medical conditions  .During residency training pediatric dentists are exposed to in depth training in managing dental emergencies in children, hospital treatment with general anesthesia, sedation dentistry, and analyzing oral growth and development.

Children’s teeth begin forming before birth and can be affected by any problems encountered during pregnancy. While the normal times for the baby teeth to erupt through the gums show a lot of variation, the first teeth to erupt usually appear around age 6-10 months. The first teeth to come in are usually the lower central incisors. All 20 of the primary teeth usually appear by age 3 but the pace and order of eruption varies.   Clearly, good dental health begins at a very young age, so when you’re planning this year’s gift list, don’t overlook your pediatrics dentist.