Why See a Pediatric Dentist?

Consulting a Pediatric Dentist

Among all the precautions a parent takes to keep their child healthy and active, oral health care also plays a vital role. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends consulting a pediatric dentist and establishing a dental home for your child before the age of one or 6 months after the first tooth emerges and scheduling biannual preventive dental appointments excellent oral care. 

Pediatric dentists, also known as pedodontists, are qualified to treat infants, toddler, school-age kids, and adolescents. To qualify as a pedodontist, additional two years of residency training in dentistry is required. Pedodontists also study child psychology to communicate with children in an effective, gentle, and friendly manner.

Dr. Joseph Cheng, DDS., located in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, is a go-to pedodontist who puts your child at ease and makes sure that he/she experiences utmost comfort during the consultation. Dr. Cheng has listed the below as the important reasons to bring your child for a dental consultation:

  • It helps to keep a tab on the child’s teeth and jaws growth and development.
  • It sheds light on the new and ongoing issues.
  • A parent can learn how to execute strategies to prevent oral injuries at home.
  • It helps a parent begin the child’s oral care at home that does not involve pain or discomfort.
  • It helps to find out if the child is at risk for developing cavities.
  • Preventive treatments can be given at an early stage of the problem.
  • Unwanted oral habits (like thumb-sucking) can be ruled out.

Pediatric Dentist’s Focus Areas

Specialized children’s dental practices are fancied up with brightly-colored décor, toys and games are stacked in the waiting area and the dental offices use smaller equipment specifically designed for children’s mouth. Additionally, pedodontists put the child at ease during the dental exams by introducing one equipment piece at a time. This helps in making the child feel comfortable, safe, and they trust the pedodontist from the outset.

Following are the pediatric dentists’ focuses on the different forms of oral care:

Early Detection

After an initial examination, pedodontists use X-rays, computer modeling to diagnose the problems (like malocclusion, bruxism, jaw irregularities, etc.) in early stages which give favorable outcomes with early treatments.

Prevention

Tooth decay is the most common problem children face, which is however almost completely preventable. Pedodontists apply sealants and give fluoride treatments to protect the children’s tooth enamel and reduce the risk of cavities. A healthy oral care at home is provided for the treatment to last longer.

Treatment

Apart from the preventive treatments (like sealant and fluoride application), pedodontists also perform pulp therapy (like root canal, pulpotomy, pulpectomy, and nerve treatment) and fix oral injury. Dental appliances like space maintainers are given when a child loses a primary tooth too soon to avoid misalignment.

Updates

A well-informed pedodontist provides best solutions to the problems at hand also pass the beneficial information and updates about new diagnostic procedures to the child and parents.

Education

As per the core responsibility, a pedodontist educates the child about the importance of everyday oral care and advices the parents about the best dental products, diet, methods to eliminate the child’s bad oral habits and many other related topics.

Office Hours

Monday

9:00am - 6:00pm

Tuesday

8:00am - 5:00pm

Wednesday

7:00am - 5:00pm

Thursday

8:00am - 5:00pm

Friday

8:00am - 2:00pm

Saturday

CLOSED

Sunday

CLOSED