Help Kids Like the Dentist with Laser Dentistry!
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Many children fear dental shots and drills. However, laser dentistry helps children feel more comfortable in a dental office. Why? Dentists can use laser dentistry to find cavities, fill them and treat problems with the teeth and gums. Plus, they do this without shots and drills. Learn more about laser dentistry and other ways to make a child’s dental experience more enjoyable!
Starting a Relationship with the Dentist
Did you know a child needs to see a dentist within 6 months of getting their first tooth? This time period can vary from baby to baby depending on genetics, so a good rule of thumb is to take a child into the dentist around their first birthday. This is a recommendation that comes straight from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
When children start out seeing the dentist early-on, they reduce their risk for tooth decay and the development of other oral health problems. Often, they also learn how to take care of their teeth at a much younger age and are more likely to go to the dentist, brush their teeth and floss. Get a head start and have your child start a relationship with their dentist while they are an infant. This is also better for your child’s health, as problems such as lip- and tongue-ties can be found so speech or oral health isn’t affected as they age.
General Dentistry with Drills
Dental drills are the go-to tool for many dentists to remove dental decay and other areas of disease and decay in the mouth. Drills rotate very rapidly, creating friction on your tooth, which allows it to drill away areas of decay. However, dental drills also spray water at the same time that they rotate. Without that water, your tooth would get incredibly hot due to friction, which would cause tooth damage very quickly.
There are more dentists that use dental drills than those that do laser dentistry. However, laser dentistry seems to be a better way to perform the same dental services for patients. With a dental drill, for example, both the dentist and patient are getting hit with tons of bacteria in the air that comes from the dental drill going into a tooth or area of infection. The rapid rotation of a drill throws all that bacteria in the air. This is just one example of something that happens with general dentistry using a drill.
How Is Laser Dentistry Different?
Each year, more dentists are learning how to do laser dentistry. It is still hard to find dentists that do laser dentistry, as this is cutting-edge dental technology that is relatively new. Laser dentistry is an excellent way to help you kids like their dental appointments more. Many children fear the sound of drills and how they feel when they come in contact with the teeth. This can cause many children to shy away from getting dental work done. Even adults do this!
Laser dentistry is essentially dentistry that uses lasers instead of dental drills to remove tooth decay and to treat areas of gum disease in a patient’s mouth. Using focused laser light in a specially-developed handheld wand tool, dentists can use lasers to cut, remove, and reshape tissues in the mouth. A laser is essentially light energy that is strong enough that it can cut tissue and seal wounds. It can remove the decayed parts of the tooth without drilling and without pain and loud noises.
Laser dentistry can also cut away areas of the gums that are diseased or attached (such as with lip-ties) without the usual pain. As soon as nerve endings are cut, they are also immediately sealed by the laser light, which is why patients rarely feel any pain at all. Other forms of dentistry involve drilling, cutting, stitches and bleeding. Laser dentistry doesn’t. This is why children especially love this type of dental work.
Helping Children to Enjoy Dental Visits
There are many ways you can help your little one enjoy dental visits:
- Choose a pediatric dentist. A pediatric dentist is specialized to specifically work with children. They receive extra training in child psychology and they learn how to talk to children and explain terms in ways they can understand. Plus, they are specialized in procedures (such as lip and tongue-ties) for infants, children, adolescents and patients with special needs.
- Help them with dental lingo. Oftentimes, children are simply nervous about the dentist because they don’t understand the big words that are used in a dental office. We help children understand terms easily. A loud polisher or tool, for example, is simply a “whistly toothbrush” instead of something scary.
- Make sure they visit the dentist often. Children who go to their biannual exams and cleanings from a young age, get used to going and they know what to expect.
- Clean their teeth at home. If your children are small, make sure you clean their teeth several times a day. If they are older, keep track of their brushing and flossing, especially with braces. When they keep up on their oral hygiene, they can significantly avoid any other procedures outside of dental cleanings and exams.
A Better Experience with Laser Dentistry
Do you like the idea of dental procedures using gentle lasers instead of shots and drills? Would you like to have little or no pain during your oral procedures? Do you want to eliminate the need for stitches and have better healing? All of these benefits sound great to adults, which is why so many are switching to dentists that perform laser dentistry. Children are the same and like to have positive dental experiences as well.
That is why laser dentistry is so beneficial to children. It helps reduce their risk for dental phobias and it cultivates a better attitude about a dental office, while treating dental problems just as effectively. For more information about our dental lasers and how we use them for children of different ages, call Hardy Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics today at (720 ) 887-6003!