Pediatric Dentistry

Modern dentistry provides us with great opportunities for choice – it is only important to know how to properly implement it. All pediatric dentistry today is represented by three large groups of medical institutions: state children’s dental clinics, private online dental clinics and specialized children’s dental clinics.

How to choose a dental clinic for a child?

The main factors for choosing a children’s dental clinic are as follows:

1. The dental clinic specializes in providing services to children;
2. Availability of certificates and licenses for the types of medical care, as well as the guarantees provided;
3. The range of dental services provided, for example, the presence of a licensed office of anesthesiology-resuscitation, which gives the right to carry out general inhalation anesthesia and sedation, plastic frenum of the tongue, treatment of early caries (up to 3 years), gingivitis and periodontitis, correction of dental bite and others;
4. Dental clinic interior: friendly atmosphere, “fabulous” design, the presence of children’s and playrooms, an aquarium, high-quality ventilation and climate control;
5. The presence of modern equipment, in particular, a children’s dental chair or even a display for showing cartoons during dental procedures;
6. The website of the dental clinic: design, transparency of information, useful materials, the presence of a price list and an operating mode;
7. The friendliness of the staff, both by phone and in person, the ability to quickly and comprehensively answer any question you are interested in;
8. Duration of core activities of the dental clinic without changing location;
9. The presence of a book of reviews and suggestions (on the website of the dental clinic and in physical access at the location), the presence of positive reviews on the Internet, the ability to contact parents of treated children;
10. The geographical location of the dental clinic, proximity to the house – this factor should not be the most relevant but long trips around the city to the dentist and back are pretty exhausting for children.

As a matter of fact, there are much more factors that can influence the choice of a dental clinic for a child, but we indicated those that parents can take into account and check without serious efforts.

How to choose a pediatric dentist?

It is easy to guess, the final choice of a clinic should be based on facts and impressions about the work of pediatric dentists.

The basic principles of choosing a pediatric dentist are as follows:

1. Take your child to a preliminary appointment with a pediatric dentist to make sure that he or she knows how to find a common language with the child. If you or your child did not like something, or you have doubts, you should not continue to contact this doctor and be afraid to interrupt communication with him or her. Choose another dentist;
2. Examine the personal qualities of a pediatric dentist: is the doctor friendly, patient, sincere, open, communicative person? Find information about the professional qualities of the dentist: is the doctor a universal specialist, a good psychologist, does he or she have the necessary experience? Pay attention whether the doctor explains to the child how to properly care for the oral cavity;
3. The universality of the doctor can be an important moment, allowing you to avoid additional trips to the offices and the child’s addiction to new faces;
4. The psychological skills of a pediatric dentist are an integral part of his or her professional qualities since the calmness of the child during his or her visits to the clinic, the desire to follow the doctor’s instructions will depend on this. A good pediatric dentist will work only in good dental clinics, as well as: he or she will not force the child to open the mouth too wide, will not offer to pull out a milk tooth if caries can be eliminated, will pay attention not only to the current problem but will also examine the entire oral cavity, if treatment is necessary – he or she will explain the treatment plan and tactics to the parents, explain the possible consequences of the procedures and medication, will talk about the reasons for the chosen treatment strategy;
5. A good dentist is able to work quickly. This is important since all children are restless, energetic and have increased salivation, and the use of local long-acting anesthetics in pediatric dentistry is highly not recommended;
6. Although the high cost of services is not an obligatory indicator of quality, nevertheless, the services of a good pediatric dentist cannot be quite cheap.

And finally, additional advice: most often girls have better contact with female dentists, boys – with male doctors since it is usually easier to find common topics for conversation in such psychological bundles. It should be noted that professional dentists are usually able to speak with their very young children in their specific “children’s” language, easily establishing contact with them.