Pedodontics (Dentistry for Kids)

It is a common tendency to ignore the decay in milk teeth thinking that they are ultimately going to get replaced by their permanent successors. However, decay in milk teeth, if unattended can cause damage to permanent successors that are forming underneath. It also can cause pain and may be the reason your child refuses to eat food. Decay spreads faster in milk teeth due to their unique internal structure, as compared to permanent teeth. At Dental Trends, milk teeth with cavities or dental decay can be filled with tooth-coloured materials, eliminating pain, restoring function and improving appearance.

Putting the baby to sleep with the milk bottle in mouth results in severe tooth decay at a very early age. This is called baby bottle syndrome. Your natural instinct to care for your baby can sometimes backfire in an unfortunate manner. It is a very distressing situation for both the child and the parents, since it causes pain, discomfort during eating and a poor smile. Treatment of this condition is absolutely vital in order to protect the permanent teeth and to maintain the baby’s nutrition. Treating this condition involves root canal treatment in several teeth, followed by fillings and caps. Based on the co-operation level of your child, our pedodontist may choose to do the treatment under conscious sedation. However, most of the cases can be managed under simple local anaesthesia. The end result of the treatment is a child with healthy teeth, and, a happy parent!

Milk teeth serve a very important function: that of space maintenance. Premature removal of milk teeth due to decay may cause the neighbouring teeth to tilt into the space created by extraction. This disrupts the overall harmony of the dental arches and can cause the permanent teeth to erupt in unusual locations. The end result is a malaligned, crooked set of permanent teeth which may need to be straightened with wires and braces later, which is a time consuming and expensive procedure. Space maintenance is an easy to perform procedure which involves anchoring an appliance to the neighbouring teeth so that they don’t tilt. This maintains the space for the permanent teeth.

Does your child still put his/her thumb in the mouth? What may seem like a harmless activity can cause marked shifting in the position of teeth. Long standing indulgence in these habits can cause flaring of teeth and a prominent upper jaw, which is difficult to treat once the child grows up. Finger sucking and tongue thrusting habits that persist beyond the age of 4 years should alert you to seek a consultation with our pedodontist. In cases of habits that are hard to dissociate from, our pedodontist may recommend a habit breaking appliance to your kid which essentially serves as a reminder to the kid to abstain from the habit.

Kids are prone to falls and injuries while playing. The teeth that most commonly have to bear the brunt of the trauma are the front teeth, which, unfortunately also are the most important teeth in our smile. At Dental Trends, we provide immediate attention to cases of trauma. Various procedures ranging from simply reattaching the broken tooth fragment back onto the tooth to apexification/apexogenesis that promote the continued development of roots of the broken teeth are undertaken.

Children actively involved in sports can benefit from using a mouth guard, similar to ones used by boxers. It helps in protecting their teeth from injury.