Children are the most beautiful creation of God. They win our hearts with their smiles and sweet little talks.
Our whole world revolves around our kids, and as they grow, they start developing teeth. The parents have to be very careful and cautious about their kid’s oral and dental hygiene.
To safeguard their kids’ teeth and to save them from potential dental problems, they should always visit a pediatric dentist who can advise and guide them about dental and oral hygiene.
Who is a Pediatric Dentist?
A pediatric dentist is also known as the kid’s dentist in an ordinary layman’s language. They are also known as pedodontists.
A pediatric dentist is a qualified dental surgeon who is eligible to give care and treat children’s teeth, gums, and other dental problems related to teeth and gums. A pediatric dentist treats kids from infancy to teenage or young adulthood.
When do Children Get Their Baby Teeth
Usually, children get their temporary or milk teeth at or after the age of six months. By the time they reach six or seven years of age, they start losing their milk teeth.
A permanent set of teeth replaces these milk teeth. If parents don’t take proper dental care of their kids, then they might go through a lot of dental problems like thumb sucking, cavities, tooth decay, extraction of a tooth, plaque, and other complications.
So it is advised to visit your pediatric dentists regularly to keep your kid’s teeth and dental hygiene in order and under control.
Qualities A Pediatric Dentist Should Possess
Showcase Genuine Love for Kids
A right pediatric dentist should be kid-friendly and showcase genuine love for kids. Children love to be with people who love them, and the same goes for pediatric dentists. Caring and concerned about how the patient feels during procedures.
Patience
A pediatric dentist always deals with children. Children do have mood swings. They may be restless, talkative, naughty, shy, cranky, fearful, and may show many other traits.
They are tough to deal with. So a pediatric dentist has to be very patient while dealing with children.
Authoritative
A pediatric dentist should possess an honest yet gentle approach towards patients (kids).
They should have this approach as they have to give instructions that have to be followed by children and other staff in the clinic to carry out the work smoothly and accurately.
Skilled and Knowledgeable
A pediatric dentist should be a highly qualified and experienced dental surgeon who can see and understand different symptoms and signs of various dental problems like when to give a child a pacifier, signs of teeth grinding (bruxism), plaque, tartar, and thumb sucking.
They should have expertise and knowledge of treating various complicated problems that a child comes with.
Compassion
Compassion is the feeling when you come across other person’s suffering and pain and feel like relieving their pain and suffering with full motivation.
A pediatric dentist should exhibit the trait of compassion and be compassionate towards their patients who are kids.
They should have a gentle and kind approach towards kids, even if they at times irritate you because you are the one who will relieve them from their pain.
Approachable
Every person is it children or an adult, want to feel welcomed with a smile and kind face.
So a pediatric dentist should be friendly whenever the patients need them with kindness and in a polite manner. They should make children feel welcomed at their place with kindness and compassion.
Attentive and Engaging
A pediatric dentist should be conscientious and possess the quality of engaging children who otherwise are very restless during their visit to a dental clinic.
They should be able to capture and direct the attention of children who have come there for treatment and should lend them an ear to hear their problems and listens to them patiently and making them feel special.
Kid-Friendly Infrastructure
A pediatric dentist should design their office, keeping in mind the type of patients that they have to deal with. Here, in this case, the patients are always children.
So they should always design a kid-friendly clinic where children feel at ease and create in a manner that has cartoon characters all over, a small play area, a TV playing cartoon shows, or kids movie.
It should have a playful and fun atmosphere where children don’t feel afraid to come.
A Facilitator and Educator of Dental Hygiene
A pediatric dentist and orthodontics are the people who can serve as a facilitator and educator in imparting knowledge about good oral and dental hygiene among children and young adults.
They should make them aware of the ill effects of sugary carbonated drinks and their impact on teeth and gums. They should also educate children about proper care of teeth and gums and tell them the importance of oral hygiene.
Love His Work
Pediatric dentists and orthodontics should be passionate about his work. He should enjoy the work which he does. If you love your job, then you will gain expertise in the future course of time, and this evidently will spread joy in the hearts of children.
Always visit a dentist who is passionate about his work. If the dentist loves his job, then he may often participate in community services also, providing help to the people in need.
Reliable
Pediatric dentists often work with sharp instruments made up of metal in the mouth. So the dentist needs to be trustworthy and reliable.
They should be able to create faith among their patients, and in turn, the patients need to trust their dentist that they will in no case hurt them and do all the procedures with utmost care and precaution.
It is always suggested and advised to find the right pediatric dentist for your kids who may help them in teaching and developing good oral and dental hygiene.
An excellent pediatric dentist makes patients feel comfortable and at ease by talking to them on a more personal level.
A thriving pediatric dentist enjoys their work with full dedication and enjoys their work station that is the mouth and how it can be made productive.
So we can say that” Dentists are the people who make the world a better place by securing our Smile.”
