Preventative care and the importance of dental education for children
Dental care for children at our Birmingham dental practice
As adults, the vast majority of us are aware of how to take care of our teeth and the problems that will often arise if we fail to do so. Children however, are another kettle of fish, happily munching their way through bags of sweets without a care in the world. Some, indeed, may be hoping that their teeth will come out so that they can get some money from the tooth fairy!
Of course, all children will lose their initial teeth but this does not mean that they should not look after them. These first teeth are still quite capable of decaying and causing a significant amount of pain, something which no parent wants to see their child go through.
Prevention and education
At Arthur House Dental Care, we offer a gentle introduction to the world of dental care for children from Birmingham and all over the West Midlands. By focusing on education and preventative care, we aim to make children feel comfortable in visiting a dentist, something which we hope will stand them in good stead for many years.
We will teach them, not only how to clean their teeth properly, but also, in a way that children understand, gently advise them about the effects that sweets can have on their teeth. By offering this advice, we would hope that this is carried with them as their adult teeth come through, ones which will not be replaced if they fall out!
Ultimately, taking care of our teeth is not difficult and mainly involves developing a good routine to care for them which includes correct brushing, flossing and regular dental check ups. We hope that by setting children off on the correct path, that they will go through life with only the minimum of invasive dental procedures needed.
Children’s Braces
From the age of around six, a child will have developed their adult teeth and, it is shortly after this age, when orthodontic care should be considered in some cases. The reality is that many children have overcrowded teeth, due to their smaller jaw structure, and this causes them to become crooked and uneven.
In the past, children’s dentists would have considered extracting some of the teeth to provide room for the others to grow evenly. In most cases though, this is actually unnecessary and by using special braces for children, this can usually be avoided.
These braces, called interceptive braces, are used when signs of future problems are detected. They work by developing and aligning the jaw, as well as increasing the bone volume to hold the teeth in place correctly. By doing so, erupting teeth are allowed to come through evenly and without causing others to become crooked.
Most orthodontic treatment for children starts around the age of seven, or a little more, and if your child is showing any of the following symptoms then we would recommend contacting our Birmingham dental practice on 0121 323 4492 to arrange a consultation with us.
- Uneven looking teeth
- Teeth and jaws that appear out of proportion to the child’s face
- Difficulty in chewing or biting their food
- Breathing through the mouth instead of the nose
- Sucking of the thumb