Children’s dentistry has come a long way. In recent decades, there have been many advances and innovations in the field. Some of these changes have directly affected the health of children’s teeth and gums while others have greatly improved what kids experience during dental visits. Here are 6 of the biggest advances (in no particular order):
1. Dental Sealants
In children, tooth decay mostly happens on tooth surfaces. Understanding this, researchers in the 1960s tried to develop a way to prevent this. This research led to the introduction of dental sealants a decade later.
These sealants are thin pieces of plastic that dentists apply to children’s teeth, specifically to the grooves of their chewing surfaces. By doing this, dentists have greatly reduced the number of cavities in children’s teeth, and hence the number of fillings needed in these same teeth.
Today, dental sealants can last as long as 10 years, providing children will oral protection that can take them well into adolescence and beyond.
2. Dental Lasers
In recent years, lasers have been used more and more frequently for medical purposes. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of dentistry. Dentists today use lasers for a number of reasons. First, they are less invasive than traditional dental equipment. This can result in a more relaxing dental visit, especially for children. Instead of seeing scary and sharp devices, they see something far less threatening.
Dental lasers have provided other benefits, too. They can be used to discover cavities in places where traditional dental equipment often failed to discover them, such as in the grooves of teeth or in stains.
3. Children’s Toothbrushes
In days past, children used the same toothbrushes as adults. But children are not exactly like adults and their teeth are not exactly like adult teeth. Recognizing this, some forward-thinking companies developed toothbrushes just for kids. Philips even makes an electric toothbrush especially for children, and they further provide education to parents, so to help them more effectively guide their children’s brushing habits.
4. Children’s Toothpastes
Like with toothbrushes, in the past children used the same toothpaste as adults. Then, many toothpaste companies recognized that this contributed to the perception among children that brushing teeth was a chore, and they decided to create toothpaste just for kids. These kinds of toothpaste have included tasty flavors and themes that kids love. Among these themes are characters from Sesame Street, Disney and Marvel Comics, and they have helped make brushing teeth more fun for kids.
5. Preventive Care and Education
Pediatric dentists have learned in recent years to project the importance of dental care upon the parents of their patients. They have also taught parents what they and their children should be doing to promote good oral health in between dental visits. This has led to better dental visit experiences for children.
6. Television Monitors
Not that long ago, dental offices were not equipped with television monitors. This left patients, especially children, with nothing to do during their visits except to worry. The installation of TVs in dental offices has led to better dental visit experiences for everyone, but particularly for children.
Kidzania Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics offers high quality dental and orthodontic care for children and families in Aubrey, Little Elm, Prosper, Frisco, Celina and Denton, Texas.