Parents often ask why choose a pediatric dentist at all, when a family dentist can fill a cavity perfectly well. The materials are the same. The training is not.
What is actually shared
Dentistry for adults and dentistry for children have a great deal in common. Teeth, habits, anxiety, fillings, cavities, sugar intake, root canals and extractions all appear in both.
Materials and techniques overlap too. So the difference lies elsewhere.
Three additional years
The answer to why choose a pediatric dentist begins with training. Pediatric dentistry is a speciality chosen after a Bachelor of Dentistry, and it lasts around three further years.
A major component of that course is child psychology. It covers understanding behaviour, handling behaviour and the many forms of behaviour management.
Most dentists have parental knowledge and a natural instinct with children. However, they are not qualified in the science that explains behaviour in depth.
The behaviour toolkit
Behaviour management techniques are numerous, and they can be combined into a custom recipe for a particular child:
- Tell-show-do
- Acclimatisation
- Slow approach
- Reassuring the child
- Modelling from a sibling or another child
- Neurolinguistic programming
- Hypnosis
- Rewards and distraction
- Stories and metaphors
- Conscious sedation
- General anaesthesia
These are used in different permutations to get the right result. At the same time, the aim is a positive dental attitude that lasts a lifetime. That breadth is another reason why choose a pediatric dentist matters for an anxious child.
When fear has no obvious cause
Sometimes fear is tied to a situation, a person or a place. At other times it is deep-seated with no surface cause at all.
In those cases the cause cannot be identified, although understanding it would certainly help. Many young children, by contrast, express themselves well and complete every step of a first appointment successfully.
Overcoming apprehension, introducing dentistry as a game and explaining each instrument are all well documented. Because none of this is central to adult dentistry, choosing the appropriate specialist makes sense. See behaviour modification and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry for further guidance.
Book with a pediatric dentist in Dubai
If your child is anxious or very young, a specialist visit is the gentler starting point. Call +971 50 682 3462 or book an appointment with Dr. Imneet Madan in Dubai.
