Dentists’ Role in Childhood

This article focuses on a dentists’ role during childhood. It explains

the impact that these professionals make on such an early age.



Dentists are often seen as medical professionals who are consulted when

there are problems regarding the oral cavity. The thing is that they

should be consulted when the baby’s first tooth comes out. The reason

behind this is for the oral health care provider to visibly asses the

state of the tooth as well as the condition of the entire oral cavity.

This is a sort of preparation for things to come since the first tooth

is usually followed closely by the second one. The appearance signals

the capability of the baby to ingest semi solid food.



Advice and Assessment



Dentists usually give parents advice regarding how to clean the baby’s

first pearly whites. Despite the fact that these are temporary, the

permanent ones will not start to appear until the child is around the

age of five to seven years old. This means that proper care should be

bestowed on these temporary ones to ensure that the fall out when the

time is right and not earlier than usual. The reason for this is that

early removal of the tooth can lead to an empty space for too long. This

empty space can allow others to move in its area or to be crooked since

there is much space to spare. The space can also be injured when the

child chews something hard or sharp in the area. It is also not

comfortable to chew with gums in place of the tooth because it can

eventually turn sore.



Dentists also play a big role when it comes to helping children with

their temporary pearly whites. They can take out stubborn temporary ones

especially when the permanent are already halfway out. Leaving the

temporary tooth in place, even when the permanent one is already out,

encourages the permanent tooth to be crooked and misaligned. Usually the

temporary ones become loose a few weeks before the permanent ones come

out. Children are encouraged to make them looser in order for these to

fallout at the right time. In some cases, when they become loose too

early, the dentists may advice delicate handling of the tooth until the

signs that the replacement is on the way. The dental professionals often

pull out stubborn milk teeth to make way for the permanent ones.



Dental appliances are often utilized to help facilitate straighter bites

and correct malocclusions. Children benefit more from early and proper

use of the dental appliances since their teeth have just come out and

can be corrected easily. Adults can also wear braces and other dental

appliances to correct improper bites and crooked teeth but it is

customary for orthodontists to start while the individual is still

young. Dentists who specialize in orthodontics usually start their

treatment of children at the age of ten years old, some even older. The

reason for this is that this is the age when all the temporary teeth

have finally come out, except for the molars.



Consultations with these oral health care providers should be one of the

priorities of parents. Dental care and services are often more

expensive for adults compared to that of children.