What’s the Difference? Dental Exam and Cleaning
Confusions about dental exams and cleanings must not exist in your mind because they are preventive measures to ensure your oral health remains optimal. While adults receive recommendations for dental prophylaxis every six months for unknown reasons, parents of children do not think their child also needs similar exams and cleanings to prevent complications in their mouths.
The pediatric dentist in Phoenix, AZ, recommends this therapy for children at similar intervals as adults. Children lose primary teeth to make way for their permanent teeth to emerge. However, it does not indicate they don’t need dental prophylaxis until their permanent teeth erupt. Instead, pediatric dentists suggest cleaning children’s mouths even before their first tooth emerges at age one or earlier.
If your child hasn’t received a dental exam or cleaning, we suggest you immediately schedule an appointment with the kid’s dentist in Phoenix, AZ, to care for their dental and overall health.
Differences between Dental Exams and Cleanings
As an adult, you must know what happens during these procedures. However, you might not have information on why they are needed for children. This article describes why children also need this therapy to start achieving their goals of having better oral health.
Dental Exams
During dental exams at a dental clinic for children, the dentist checks your child’s teeth for decay and disease. The pediatric dentist works with your pediatrician to create a comprehensive care plan to address your child’s needs. The exams help the dental professional locate dental issues like cavities and tooth decay that might cause premature loss of primary teeth to create a misalignment in the child’s mouth.
The dentist also examines your child’s gums to ensure they are not affected by gum disease. Gum infections are not an issue merely for adults but can also develop among children. Factors like genetics, diet, and oral hygiene practices can cause gum disease in children, which, if not treated early, causes jawbone deterioration resulting in loss of teeth. Therefore, dental exams every six months are optimal for detecting and preventing gum disease.
Children favor sticky and starchy foods while remaining negligent with dental hygiene practices. The foods and beverages children prefer make them prone to cavities on their teeth requiring fillings and other treatments. Holes don’t make their presence felt unless they are detected by dentists taking x-rays to identify whether your child has cavities on or between their teeth. In such cases, dentists recommend you have the activities filled immediately and suggest preventive remedies such as fluoride treatments and dental sealants on their molars.
Dental Cleanings
Dental hygienists generally perform the cleaning procedure on children’s and adult’s teeth. However, the process remains the same, and children should receive dental cleanings from age three. The cleanings can ensure that your child’s primary teeth are healthy and protect them against gum disease. The pediatric dentist also provides information on how to improve your child’s oral hygiene at home, recommending unique products and dietary changes if required.
As can be seen, exams performed by dentists help identify dental problems in your child’s mouth before they aggravate into severe conditions. The cleanings ensure your child doesn’t develop severe issues that might require intensive treatments at a young age from dentists. Therefore these visits to the pediatric dentist are crucial for keeping your child’s dental and overall health in excellent condition.
Besides the above, the Phoenix pediatric dentist also monitors your child’s teeth development from age seven, checking for signs of abnormalities like misalignments and other issues, and refers you to an orthodontist for correction of problems developing in your child’s mouth to ensure they don’t develop crooked or gapped teeth.
Dental care visits for children are incredibly essential, just as they are for adults. Besides helping children retain their primary teeth until their permanent teeth erupt, dentists also create a customized treatment plan for your kid to prevent tooth loss from accidents and injuries.
Losing primary teeth is a natural phenomenon. However, losing them prematurely affects your child’s smile and creates other issues when your kid doesn’t have the motor skills or knowledge to maintain excellent dental hygiene. The best way to overcome this challenge is to take your child or dental visits every six months or as the pediatric dentist recommends.
Do not consider children’s dental exams and cleanings a waste of time and money. Instead, think of it as an investment in your child’s smile that will pay back in time by preventing multiple dental visits and seeking treatments for complications in their mouths.
Desert Ridge Pediatric Dentistry performs dental prophylaxis on many children while providing preventive care treatments to safeguard their oral health. If your child hasn’t received an exam and cleaning for some time, kindly schedule an appointment with this excellent pediatric dentist to benefit your child’s oral health.