A child’s oral health is incredibly important. With the amount of sugar found in today’s food cavities and gum disease are a major risk for kids. As a result picking your kids dentist can cause a lot more headaches than it seems it’s worth. But it doesn’t need to. There are a few simple things to look out for when picking a pediatric dentist that will ensure your children receive the care they need to keep healthy and active!
Certification and Licensing
Thankfully the certification and licensing for pediatric dentistry is quite easy to check. If the dentist lists pediatric dentistry as a service they offer then they have completed all necessary additional coursework and schooling to be able to perform dentistry on children. Pediatric dentists are required to complete an additional 2 years of study in addition to their 4 years of general dentistry courses. Furthermore their licensing must be kept up to claim that they offer pediatric dentistry. So any dentist’s office claiming to offer pediatric dentistry muct by lay have completed all the necessary certifications and licensing!
Are They Welcoming?
Pediatric dentists more so than any other kind of dentist need to be welcoming. Children have a stronger fear of the dentist than almost any other group of people. As a result they MUST have a wonderful bedside manner. The best dentists will have offices that are calming, and soothing to kids. They will be open and friendly with your children, greeting them with a smile, and talking with them. They will often use tactics such as demonstrating how certain tools or implements around the office work in order to help make your children more comfortable. The ones that truly go the extra mile for the comfort of your kids are the ones that you know you can trust. A great rule of thumb for determining whether or not the dentist is welcoming is quite simply, Do they treat you like family?
Are They Proactive In Their Efforts?
Prevention plays a huge part of pediatric dentistry. The thinner enamel on children’s teeth is quite delicate, and very susceptible to cavities. If your child suffers from cavities frequently, and the dentist seems to be doing more repair than prevention, it’s likely you should be looking for another dentist. A large part of a pediatric dentists job is to help you teach proper dental hygiene to your children. They are to not only perform annual cleanings, but teach your children how to properly floss and brush their teeth so that they can avoid entirely many of the dental problems that plague our society.
Ask Around
As simple as it may sound, this step is actually the most important of the lot. If you really want to make sure you’re choosing the right dentist for you and your kids, ask your friends where they go. What are their thoughts on their dentists? Feel free to pick their brains a little bit. A lot of the points we have covered this far require experience with the dentist that you likely don’t yet have. Asking others about the experiences they have while visiting the dentist can give you a good look into what you can expect with your first experience.
Be Observant
Last but not least, feel free to treat the first appointment with them as a trail run. Watch for how the dentist interacts with you and your children. Are they kind and courteous? Do they live up to your expectations? Or the descriptions given by friends? Keep in mind that no dentist’s appointment is going to go absolutely perfectly, especially when it comes to kids. But you will if you pay attention be able to tell if the dentist truly cares about your children’s health, or if they are just going through the motions.
In Conclusion
To wrap things up, there truly isn’t an exhaustively long list of things to look for when it comes to choosing the right dentist. A vast majority of it comes down to personal preference and recommendation. That being said, we couldn’t let you go without leaving you with a recommendation of our own. If you’re out and about looking for a kids dentist in the Tucson Arizona area be sure to look into Wilmot Family Dentistry.
