Children’s Dentistry

Both of our female dentists are excellent with small children, and one previously had a practice devoted purely to children.

It is incredibly important that dental care for children is started very early. The most important feature of the early treatment, in our opinion, is that it is a fun experience. For this to happen, the first visits should take place before any treatment is needed to be done. If you notice that your child has any black marks on their teeth, then perhaps it is too late (and please contact your dentist), but otherwise we normally suggest parents bring their child in for a ‘ride on the chair’ on their parents laps and be given a sticker or stamp as they desire.  We can discuss this happening sometime after the child turns two. The important issue is that they learn to relax and have fun. This means the child learns to cooperate, and most issues can be dealt with while they are very small and without any injections.

It is a very different situation if the first visit is associated with a toothache. The child then associates dental visits with pain, and once the whole situation has escalated into a battle of wills, then the ideal option can be to get the treatment done at a specialist to paedodontist with the child sedated, and the costs are significantly higher. Again, it is a case where the prevention of problems is much better than curing them.