Both general and pediatric dentists have their advantages for patients of different ages and priorities. The most important thing is that you regularly attend preventative dental appointments every 6 months to maintain good oral health and prevent cavities and gum disease.
However, it can be beneficial to know how a pediatric dentist can help your child’s oral health in a way that general dentists can’t. Read on in this blog from Campfire Pediatric Dentistry to find out how.
What Is a General Dentist?
A general dentist is what you can think of as an all-purpose dentist. They treat patients of all ages with a one-size-fits-all approach because their main area of focus is treating the dentition of adult teeth.
While a general dentist may also treat kids, they don’t specialize in children's dentistry or oral health problems that affect children. A general dentist is someone you go to for general dental care like preventative, restorative, and cosmetic dental care for young adults or older patients.
They may offer more advanced restorative treatments for adults like dental implants or implant-supported dentures. General dentists have received 4 years of dental school and do not have additional training, education, or specialization.
What Is a Pediatric Dentist?
A pediatric dentist is a dentist that has specialized in children’s dentistry. This means that on top of the four years of undergraduate school and four years of dental school, they need to complete an additional 2 to 3 years of education and training in pediatric dentistry.
Throughout this program, a pediatric dentist learns about many things, including a child’s anatomy, child psychology, oral health problems that affect children, early orthodontics, child communication methods, and how to treat patients with special needs.
A pediatric dentist exclusively treats children from infancy to 18 years old, at which point, the patient would be expected to find a family or general dentist to continue their dental care. However, pediatric dentists may continue to treat patients with special needs into older age.
Benefits of Taking Your Child to a Pediatric Dentist
The additional years of schooling and training in the specialization of pediatric dentistry enable a pediatric dentist to have the edge over general dentists when it comes to knowledge and experience in treating children.
General dentists typically don’t know that much about children’s oral health and don’t offer dental treatments such as frenectomies, pulpotomies, and pediatric crowns which are used to treat oral health problems in children.
Pediatric dentists usually offer early orthodontic treatment to prevent the need for braces later in life, while general dentists typically refer patients to orthodontists for any orthodontic work. A pediatric dentist will have in-depth knowledge of tongue and lip ties, your child’s oral development, issues that disproportionately affect primary teeth, and how to care for your child’s teeth and gums.
A pediatric dentist will have a child-friendly dental office that is vibrant in color, offers entertaining amenities to keep kids occupied, fun artwork, and friendly and compassionate staff.
Because of a pediatric dentist’s background in child psychology and treating children with special needs, they can accommodate children with developmental disorders, physical special needs, and dental anxiety. They can make children feel comfortable by breaking things down in a child-friendly way.
Expert Pediatric Dentistry At Campfire Pediatric Dentistry
Your child deserves the best dental care they can get and that’s not something they’ll get with a general dentist. At Campfire Pediatric Dentistry, we have extensive experience and training in how to maintain a child’s good oral health and prevent serious oral health problems.
We offer sedation services and a relaxing office with comforting and fun amenities. Contact us at Campfire Pediatric Dentistry today to schedule your child’s next preventative appointment with Dr. Nathan Benassi.
