What is Pedodontics (Pediatric Dentistry)?

Pedodontics (Pediatric Dentistry) is a branch of dentistry where all oral-dental treatments and preventive applications are performed for children aged 0-13 years. Pediatric dentists dealing with this branch are called pedodontists. Pedodontists apply all kinds of preventive applications and treatment methods required in the oral and dental health of infants, children and young individuals.

Pedodontics , a word of Latin origin, means "children's teeth" , while pedodontist is defined as a pediatric dentistry specialist. Pedodontists, also called pediatric dentists, work with individuals from infancy to young adulthood. A pediatric dentist helps children achieve and maintain good oral health.

Who is a Pedodontist (Pediatric Dentist)?

Pediatric dentists aim to protect the healthy milk and permanent teeth of children until adolescence, to eliminate the problems caused by caries, trauma, hereditary and similar factors, as well as raising awareness and education of the mother during pregnancy. The main purpose of pediatric dentists is preventive and preventive medicine. The most important goal is to prepare children for a caries-free future by planning early diagnosis and treatment within the scope of Preventive Dentistry Practices.

What are the Working Areas of Pedodontics?

Informing the family about oral and dental care is the most important working area of pediatric dentistry. It is extremely important for the mother to have a healthy mouth and dental structure during pregnancy. Babies' mouths are sterile when they are born. Microorganisms are transferred to the baby by the closest relatives such as parents or caregivers. In particular, putting the child's bottle, pacifier or spoon into the mouth causes the transfer of microorganisms to the baby through saliva. For this reason, the higher the oral hygiene of the family, the lower this possibility will be.

Another area of work of pediatric dentists is to eliminate the fear of dentists in children and to work on this issue. Diagnosing the child's caries risk status early and organizing the diet and oral hygiene accordingly will prevent painful and difficult procedures that may occur in the future.

Preventing caries formation with preventive applications (fissure sealant or fluoride application), performing filling and root canal treatment when necessary, preventing harmful habits such as finger sucking, nail biting, pencil biting, etc., performing early orthodontic treatments, making placeholders instead of extracted milk teeth, intervening in emergencies such as trauma and providing dental treatment of children requiring special care with anesthesia and sedation applications are other areas of work of pediatric dentists.

What are Preventive Applications?

In pedodontic dentistry, procedures are performed to prevent the disease before it develops with preventive applications and to protect the remaining healthy tissues after the disease develops. The first priority in preventive dentistry is to inform the parents. Since it is not possible for children to come to the dentist for check-ups every day, it is important to inform parents about preventive practices that can be applied at home.

Preventive dentistry is the most important and valuable service of dentistry, starting during pregnancy and continuing throughout life. Preventive dentistry is applied within a protocol to be determined individually. It is carried out within a program that includes information, guidance, various clinical applications, individual and social activities.

There are a number of practices that dentists can do to prevent the development of dental and oral diseases. These include determining the risk of caries and taking measures to reduce this risk, protecting teeth prone to caries with procedures such as fissure sealants and fluoride applications, and regular follow-up.

The last stage of preventive dentistry is to prevent the progression of the diseases (caries, gum diseases, crowding or gaps between teeth) by treating them and to take precautions against different diseases that may develop.

What do space maintainers do?

Fissure sealants are part of preventive dentistry. They are mostly applied to permanent teeth but can also be applied to deciduous teeth. A fluid filling material is applied on the newly erupted teeth that are prone to decay, creating a barrier between the tooth and decay-causing bacteria.

This method serves to protect teeth that have not yet decayed but are likely to decay without abrasion or reduction. These methods applied in pedodontic dentistry are applications for the protection of milk teeth or permanent teeth.

What is Fluorine Application?

Fluorine affects the caries-causing bacteria, making it difficult for them to cause caries and making the teeth more resistant to decay. It helps to heal teeth that have started to decay or to slow down the progression of decay in teeth with deep decay.

Fluoride application is divided into two as home applications and applications performed by the dentist. Home applications include the use of fluoridated toothpastes, mouthwashes and dental floss. Applications performed by dentists are carried out by applying fluorinated gels or varnishes to the teeth. If necessary, dentists may prescribe fluorine tablets.

The most common question asked by parents about fluoride applications is whether fluoride has side effects. In order for fluorine to have side effects, it must be used above a certain dose. If the dosage is observed, it does not pose any problem except for the possibility of allergy development.