When choosing dental care for your family, you may be tempted to select a family dentist. The convenience of having all of your dental needs handled under one roof is hard to beat. However, you may be surprised to learn that your dental care needs vary greatly from your child’s, and that many family dentists refer children to a pediatric dentist.
Children’s mouths are constantly changing and developing. Even before the first tooth erupts, there are a lot of changes that happen beneath the gums. There are many factors that affect these changes, such as hormones, growth spurts, diet, genetics, the list goes on.
Why Choose a Pediatric Dentist
So, why choose a pediatric dentist? Don’t they learn the same things as a general dentist? The answer is yes - and no. A pediatric dentist specifically chooses their profession to study the dental needs of children in-depth.
A pediatric dentist studies typically 2-3 years beyond that of a general dentist in order to learn about child development, emotional development, child psychology, children with special needs, childhood diseases, and much more. Typically, a pediatric dentist also participates in continuing education specifically geared towards the dental needs of children.
Psychology plays an important role in pediatric dentistry. A pediatric dentist is trained to handle children that may have anxiety about the dentist, as well as provide helpful tips for parents in order to help them prepare for appointments and cut down on the unneeded fear of the dentist.
Why Growing Up With a Pediatric Dentist is Important
The foundation of a child’s health starts with the decisions we make for them. As parents, we are responsible for giving our kids the best possible start to life so they can continue to practice good habits throughout the course of their lives.
Choosing a pediatric dentist is a crucial part of structuring a healthy upbringing for your child. Finding a trusted pediatric dentist gives your child the best chance to establish a relationship with a healthcare provider who knows their health background and the best course of action for their long-term dental care treatment plan. Listed below are a few benefits to growing up with a pediatric dentist.
Forming Practitioner-Family Relationships
When your little one is sick, who do you call? The pediatrician. When your child has a dental emergency, who do you call? The pediatric dentist. Pediatric dentists specialize in the dental care of children. The same trust you instill in your pediatrician should be applied to choosing a pediatric dentist. Trust is quite possibly the most important aspect of a patient-pediatric dentist relationship, and it’s a value that we firmly believe in.
Forming these relationships early in your child’s life means you can take comfort that the practitioners you choose know your child’s specific needs and their medical history.
Lifelong Values & Principles
Finding a pediatric dentist with values that align with your own creates a sense of trust and ease of communication. We operate our lives and our families based on principles and values that we invest a lot of stock in, and Charlotte Pediatric Dentistry operates the same way. We’re more than a pediatric dentist - we are your partner for pediatric dental health success. Part of our mission is to promote optimal oral health through patient education and long-term, impactful relationships with our patients and parents.
Family-Centric Atmosphere
We consider our team to be one big family, and we welcome parents to experience our family dynamic by trusting us to their child’s dental care. Because we are consistently establishing and maintaining relationships with families all over Charlotte, it’s important for us to ensure that our patients feel welcome and at ease before the first interaction and with every visit.
Trusted Dental Decisions
Part of growing up with a pediatric dentist means having the comfort and ability to make well-informed decisions regarding your little one’s dental health. We know our patients’ developmental and growth history, so we are well-equipped to help make decisions based on your child’s specific needs, such as a referral to an orthodontist.
We’re making a difference and enriching the lives of kids in our community by helping to provide them with a healthy start and a consistent, quality dental experience throughout their formative years. Let’s discuss taking care of your child’s smile!
