What To Consider When Looking For a Pediatric Dentist

If you have young children or are starting a family, you may be looking for a pediatric dentist to add to your family’s health care team. How can you go about finding the ideal pediatric dentist near you for your family? The first step in searching for a pediatric dentist is to understand just what you’re looking for. 

General dentists vs. Family dentists vs. Pediatric dentists

These are three terms that are often used interchangeably. Understanding the difference between them will help you to find exactly what you’re looking for and maybe help eliminate some frustrations.  General dentists do not treat children. Family dentists treat children as well as people of all ages, but typically do not treat children until they reach a certain age — the age of three is a common threshold. Pediatric dentists see and treat children of all ages — from infancy to approximately age 18 — and usually do not see patients who are not children. 

Pediatric dentists focus on four areas:

Preventative care. Pediatric dentists are specially trained to recognize habits and conditions that uniquely affect children at the earliest possible stages. Examples of those types of habits include tongue thrust, tongue and lip tie, baby bottle tooth decay, mouth breathing and enamel hypoplasia. If any of those habits or conditions are observed, your pediatric dentist in Davie will be able to recommend interventions to prevent any ongoing problems.

Child development and growth. Children’s gums, teeth, mouth, jaw, face and head are different than those of adults, especially because they are continuing to grow and change as they do so. Baby teeth themselves are different than permanent teeth, and erupt differently while defining the channel to be followed by permanent teeth as your child matures. Your child’s dentist in Davie should have specialized training in the physiology, growth and development of children to be able to address issues that emerge as your child grows. 

Children with special needs. While adults and children alike may have special emotional, physical and psychological needs, children with special needs often experience the complicating factor of not being mature enough to be able to explain their feelings or needs as they receive dental treatment. A pediatric dentist near you will have received special training on child psychology and emotional development to be able to effectively communicate with and treat a child with a broad range of special needs. Sedation dentistry is an example of a service that dentists who prioritize treating children and others with special needs will offer.

Questions to consider

With this understanding of precisely what you are looking for, what questions should you be asking as you search for a pediatric dentist for your child?

• Have you received specialized training in pediatric dentistry?
• (If relevant to your family,) Do you have experience treating children with special needs?
• Is your potential dentist’s office and equipment child-friendly?
• Are there general and family dentists in the same practice to treat the rest of the family?
• (If you may rely on insurance to pay for costs of treatment,) Does the dentist participate in your insurance plan?
• Can the dentist provide references from families with children near your child’s age?
• Is the location of the office convenient?
• During what hours are appointments available, keeping in mind work, school, childcare and public transit schedules?
• Does the clinic offer emergency dental treatment for children?

Once you have chosen potential pediatric dentists for your child, we encourage you to schedule an initial consultation for you and (if appropriate) your child to meet the dentist and their staff, and to get a sense of the environment. If you have any questions during your search for a pediatric dentist, don’t hesitate to contact the staff at Regency Square Dental. We’d love the chance to meet and get to know your child and family.