Paediatric Dentistry
A paediatric dentist is a specialist who qualified in the dental needs of children ranging from infants to adolescents and also patients with special needs.
Paediatric dentistry requires an additional three years of postgraduate education and clinical training after dental school with focuses on behaviour management, dental growth and development, prevention and oral health of children.
Your first visit
At your child’s initial appointment, we will review their medical and dental history. We ask that parents come prepared to review their child’s prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal periods of development. Kindly arrive ten minutes early to your appointment so that you can complete the necessary medical history and consent forms.
Following a review of your child’s medical history, we will perform a visual examination of their mouth. We use kid-friendly language and a tell-show-do approach to explain what we are doing so that the child is aware and engaged in every step of the visit.
For older children, we may want to take an x-ray of their teeth to help identify any decay between the teeth that is not evident during their clinical examination. An x-ray will also help us determine that their teeth are coming in the way they should.
Bite Size Paediatric Dentistry believes in prevention first. You may not be aware, but your child’s baby teeth are susceptible to decay just like adult teeth. We will discuss a range of things with you and your child, depending on your needs. This may include oral hygiene habits, dietary habits, dental trauma prevention and dental first aid.
Here are some suggestions to prepare you and your child for her/his first dental visit:
- Tell your child about their upcoming visit to the dentist.
- Explain to your child that the dentist is here to help them have healthy teeth and gums.
- There are several excellent books that you can find at the library or bookstore that will help prepare you and your child for their first visit.
- Please remember to be positive, enthusiastic and convey a sense of goodwill about your child’s upcoming visit.
- Please allow us to conduct the visit. Kindly allow us to explain and answer all questions regarding the dental tools and equipment to your child. We will explain these things in a kid-friendly and non-threatening manner.
Any questions or concerns? Please feel free to reach out to us before your appointment so that we can make your child’s first visit as positive as possible!
Sedation Options
We understand that a visit to the dentist may not always be easy for some of our younger or more anxious patients.
To help ensure your child can still receive the oral care they need, while helping to ease their anxiety during treatment, we offer a number of sedation options including nitrous oxide and oxygen sedation (happy gas) and general anaesthesia.