Pedodontics - Pediatric Dental

Pedodontics – Pediatric Dentistry

Pedodontics (pediatric dentistry) Both primary and permanent teeth of children in the 0-15 age group; protection; It is a department that aims to treat and prevent the reoccurrence of disease. It concerns both dental health and maxillofacial development, starting from infancy.

The first milk teeth start to erupt around 6 months on average, and the first dental examination should be done during this period. In the pre-emergence period of the milk teeth, the areas where the teeth, called crests, will erupt in the future after breastfeeding should be wiped with a gauze cloth. Objects such as pacifiers, spoons should definitely be parents or caregivers. It should not be taken out by the person and given to the child. Because it is known that caries-causing bacteria are transmitted in this way. Brushing should be started as soon as the milk teeth appear in the first mouth. Since the development of motor functions is not fully developed in young children, they must be brushed by the parents until the child takes his own bath or starts to cut his nails. Brushing should be done twice a day; one of these should be before going to bed at night and one should be after any meal during the day.

The opinion that the teeth are rotten is wrong. Teeth exposed to acidic environment during tooth eruption begin to decay rapidly and can be perceived in this way. After the age of 1, night feeding should be stopped as much as possible. Because as a result of breastfeeding while the teeth are in the mouth, the karyogenicity of the mother's milk, which is not normally considered too cariogenic, stays on the teeth all night, increasing its cariogenicity and causing caries. This causes serious destruction of the upper anterior teeth; It causes early childhood cavities, formerly known as bottle cavities. This type of caries, which occurs at a very young age, affects many conditions such as nutrition, speech and aesthetics of the child, but also causes problems such as pain and swelling over time.

Oral and dental health is an integral part of our physical health. In the mouth area, all teeth are interrelated due to saliva. Milk teeth have different falling ages. Especially the 2nd milk molars stay in the mouth until the age of 12. As the number of caries increases, the number of bacteria also increases. A caries formed in a carious primary tooth affects both the underlying permanent tooth germ and the risk of caries formation in permanent teeth increases as the number of bacteria increases due to the caries in the primary teeth, especially in the mixed dentition period. Therefore, they must be treated. When dental treatments are not performed, serious problems affecting the quality of life of children such as bad breath, pain, intraoral or extraoral abscess are encountered.

The treatment process for children is different from adults. In order to prevent permanent dental phobia, it must be accustomed to treatment. It should be ensured that the child accepts and likes the treatment with many techniques applied. Therefore, pain should not be expected for dental examination. In children who cannot be treated on the sofa for various reasons; All procedures can be treated in a single session under general anesthesia.

In addition to the treatment of dental caries, preventive dentistry is also very important for pediatric dentistry. Fissure sealant prevents bacteria and nutrients from reaching and adhering to deep and narrow recesses (fissures) on the chewing surfaces of molar teeth, which are the most prone to caries. Thus, the formation of fissure caries is prevented.

In addition, another preventive treatment is the application of fluoride. With this preventive treatment, which is carried out regularly every 3 or 6 months, depending on the risk group of the patients, both tooth mineralization is supported; It also provides protection against acid attacks.