Pediatric Dentistry
Pediatric Dentists care for your child's oral health.
Like a pediatrician cares for your child's medical health, a pediatric dentist is trained to care for your child's oral health and make sure they have a positive dental experience. Pediatric dentists have an additional two years of training after dental school to learn how to uniquely take care of younger patients. They understand the growth and development of children and how to manage the personalities and behavior of each child. This understanding helps assure your child's early dental experiences are positive and fun!
When should you start?
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a child's first dental visit when the baby teeth begin erupting, or at least by their first birthday. At this time we can instruct parents about oral care, fluoride and diet guidance for your children as well as what they can expect as more teeth erupt, and their child's dental growth and development progresses.
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If your child is older but has not had a dental check-up, it is never too late to get started. We teach older children the healthy way to take care of their teeth, along with other preventive measures. We make the dental experience fun!
Sedation & Hospital Dentistry
Most children can be treated without sedation in the dental office if managed properly. We strive to evaluate the needs of each patient to determine the best option for their treatment and comfort level. Nitrous oxide or “laughing gas” is very safe and helps many patients relax for dental care. It is used in the office and its effect is gone when the patient is finished with their appointment. Oral sedation is also a safe alternative to relax or calm a patient’s anxiety for dental care. It is administered orally before the appointment and its effect may linger after the appointment is complete so activities must be limited and monitored.
Intravenous or “IV” sedation can provide increased levels or sedation but has additional risks and we do not perform IV sedation in our offices. For those patients who can not be managed in the office we can do their dental treatment in a hospital setting under general anesthesia. An anesthesiologist will be in charge of the sedation and monitoring the patient while the pediatric dentist will do the dental treatment. Obviously, when treatment must be done in the hospital there are increased associated costs but sometimes it is the only option for those patients that can not be managed in the office.
How to talk to your child about visiting the dentist
Keep everything you say to your child about visiting the dentist positive and simple!
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Say things like:
"The dentist is going to count and look at your teeth"
"Take some pictures of your teeth, and clean them really well for you"
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Every child is unique and procedures will vary depending on their needs. We will customize treatment and care for each child to provide the best experience possible. Let us help put your child on a path to a beautiful, healthy smile!
Smile Rangers Kids Program
We like to have fun in our office! Our Smile Rangers Kids Program promotes being part of Team Popp Dental and making the dental experience fun. It includes t-shirts, games & contests, birthday recognition and much more.
Be a Smile Ranger and help get the word out about healthy smiles and having fun at Team Popp Dental!!
