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Looking for a Kalamazoo pediatric dentist? Dr. Karen Mitchell, a mother of five herself, loves treating children, and would be happy to see yours. And one advantage of bringing your children to the Sharp Smile Center is that your entire family can be treated at the same location.
What Is a Pediatric Dentist?
A pediatric dentist is a licensed specialist who has completed two years of specialty training. Dr. Mitchell is a general dentist and not a pediatric dentist, but she has been trained to provide most of the basic dental care for children. For complex or specialized developmental problems, she will refer your child to a pediatric dentist specialist.
Dental pointers for parents:
- Start cleaning their teeth as soon as you can start to see them. At first you will want to use a clean, damp cloth for this. You can switch to a toothbrush later.
- Help them get used to regular dental care with a dental visit at age two or three. This helps them create a positive association with dental visits.
- Choose a dentist your child seems to like. Most adults who suffer from dental phobia can trace their fear to a childhood dentist who was rough with them.
- Teach them proper home care by brushing for them, and then letting them take over when they have enough dexterity to do it on their own.
- Use a quality fluoride toothpaste that has a taste they enjoy. Limit the amount of toothpaste to a pea-sized drop on the brush, so that they don't swallow too much of the fluoride. A little fluoride strengthens their teeth, but too much can cause teeth to develop unsightly white spots.
- Teach them to floss, and if you floss yourself it will be easy to get them to do it as well. As soon as baby molars have come in (around age 2 or 3), you can begin flossing for them. This cleans the areas between the teeth that the toothbrush misses. Around age 8, many children can begin flossing on their own.
- Don't use scare tactics to get your children to adopt good home dental care practices. Some parents threaten children with scary images of dental care if they don't brush or if they eat too many sweets. This will lead them to want to avoid proper dental care.
- For older kids, fluoride treatments can be very helpful. Once your child's permanent teeth have come in, fluoride treatments can make their teeth more resistant to decay, and can even help remineralize early decay spots on their teeth.
- Above all, don't wait until your children actually need treatment before you bring them to a dentist. Those first routine, and hopefully fun, visits go a long way to helping prevent dental anxiety.
Your Child's First Pediatric Dental Visit
At 2 or 3 years of age, usually all of your child's baby teeth have erupted into the mouth, and it's a good idea to have a dental visit.
Some pointers for your child's first dental visit:
- Don't put it off until your child has dental pain. If your child first comes to us in pain, it is likely to be a traumatic experience. That can set the stage for dental avoidance and a lifetime of dental problems.
- Sometimes parents who are nervous about this first visit unknowingly telegraph their anxiety to their child. Over-preparing for the first visit often backfires, as the child senses this is something to worry about. When parents treat the visit as fun and routine, children tend to adopt the same attitude.
Pediatric Dental Anxiety
We like your child to have a pleasant experience with dental care. Memories of traumatic dental care as a child persist into adulthood and often contribute to dental neglect.
Some pointers for helping avoid dental anxiety in your child:
- Don't treat dental care as a punishment. Some parents try to get their children to brush their teeth by threatening them with painful dental care if they don't. This can create tremendous anxiety when they finally do need that care.
- Some parents unwittingly communicate anxiety to their children when they over prepare or coach their child for a dental appointment.
- Bring your child in to Sharp Smile Center early for routine care. If your child's first visit is for a fun, basic examination rather than to treat pain, it puts him or her on a course of creating a healthy, relaxed attitude toward dental care.
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