Children need different care for their teeth than that of adults. This is where a paediatric dentist comes in. Their ability lies in being able to care for a child’s teeth through all of the stages of development. Now, while all dentists are able to do this, a paediatric dentist is trained to handle children and their nervousness or temper tantrums. A friendly paediatric dentist is also the best way to start kids off on their dental hygiene journey. It is advisable to start seeing a paediatric dentist as soon as the first baby teeth start to come out.
Is there a Paediatric Dentist in Hilton?
Yes, Family Dental Care has a dental branch in Hilton at the Quarry Shopping Centre with a fully qualified paediatric dentist. Our paediatric dentist in Hilton is open from Mondays to Fridays from 8:30 in the mornings until 17:30 in the afternoons. The dentist is also available from 8:00 until 13:00 on Saturdays. The Quarry Shopping Centre has ample parking bays and round the clock security. Along with our child friendly dentist, our Hilton dental branch has televisions and other equipment to make the little ones feel a little more at ease.
What Treatments are Offered to Children by our Paediatric Dentist in Hilton?
DENTAL CLEANING – a twice yearly dental cleaning by our paediatric dentist in Hilton is the most important step in healthy teeth maintenance. The dental cleaning by our paediatric dentist in Hilton removes any plaque that is left behind during daily home brushing. When regularly done twice a year, the dentist is able to remove the plaque before it hardens into tartar status and starts to decay the teeth.
FLUORIDE TREATMENTS – fluoride treatments are also a good maintenance treatment for healthy teeth. The fluoride treatment helps to prevent plaque from sticking onto teeth. Seeing as how plaque can result in decay, gum disease and infections, it is worth taking the time to keep to a routine dental visit every 6 months to have a fluoride treatment after the dental clean.
FISSURE SEALANTS a dental sealant is also a good way to prevent cavities. In children with a higher risk of cavity development, this procedure will be recommended by our paediatric dentist in Hilton. The fissure sealant is a light plastic coating over the molars. It is done to prevent food particles from getting stuck into the tiny grooves on these teeth. Once tiny food particles get stuck, it is pretty hard to remove and will eventually lead to decay. The fissure sealant is placed on the top of these teeth, smoothing out the grooves making it easier to clean during the child’s daily brushing routine.
FILLINGS – if preventative measures and good hygiene are not adhered to then cavities will form on a child’s teeth. Cavities are formed from hardened plaque bacteria. They do take a while before they start harming the tooth. Plaque can be easily removed by our paediatric dentist in Hilton during 6 monthly dental check-ups. If left for longer then it will start decaying the tooth. The only way forward besides removing the tooth is to partially remove the decayed bits. Our paediatric dentist in Hilton will do this by drilling away the decay. The removed portion will then be filled by a dental filling. Our dentist uses the composite filling. It is biologically safe and has no side effects. It is made out of plastic and glass particles which can be mixed to give an almost identical colour to the cavitied tooth. They are not only used on unhealthy teeth but also when a healthy tooth is accidentally chipped. The same premise is used to fill out the chipped portion. Fillings can be taken care of in one visit to our Hilton paediatric dentist.
EXTRACTIONS- although extractions are mainly done on unhealthy teeth, our paediatric dentist in Hilton may remove healthy primary teeth if they will be interfering with the directional growth of an adjacent adult tooth. The child’s tooth will be extracted by our paediatric dentist in Hilton after the area surrounding it is injected with numbing medicines. This will ensure that is a fully pain free experience for the child. Although nothing will be felt during the extraction process when the mouth is numb, some kids may prove a bit more difficult in sitting still. In these cases our paediatric dentist in Hilton will suggest a conscious sedation to keep the child much more stationary.
SPACE MAINTAINERS- a space maintainer is used to keep a spot open for an adult tooth. It is a metal attachment placed over the area where a baby tooth has just fallen out. Our paediatric dentist will recommend this so that other teeth do not push their way into this spot. If this does happen then when the adult tooth does come out it will lead to overcrowding. The new adult tooth will now be positioned either in front of or behind the other teeth which will need orthodontic intervention to put right.
What are the Numbing/Sedation Options for Children?
- Local anaesthesia- this is when our paediatric dentist in Hilton will numb a part of the child’s mouth by injecting medicine into the gum or the inner cheek. Once this is done the child will have no feeling regarding any of the procedures being done. Normal sensation will return in a couple of hours when the numbness wears off.
- Conscious sedation- if a child is very scared of dental procedures and runs a high risk of not being still in the chair then our paediatric dentist in Hilton will call in an anaesthetist to perform a conscious sedation. This type of sedation is done while the child is still awake but the medicine administered blocks all pain as well as deeply relaxes the child.
- General anaesthesia- when there are multiple dental procedures to be done then our paediatric dentist in Hilton will arrange for the child to be taken to a nearby hospital to undergo general anaesthesia. Here the child will be put into a controlled unconscious state before procedures are done.
