As a parent, caring for your family’s dental health is one of the important aspects of caring for their health. Some families feel family dentists are the best choice for all family members since each person will have a consistent level of dental care. A family dentist will have the expertise to care for all ages and use their knowledge of everyone’s exam to hone the educational input they provide to the family.
Many people find general and family dentistry practices to be the right choice when looking for the right dentist. Since all family members will have their dental care plans developed by the same practice, the office will be able to coordinate the family’s appointments by scheduling procedures for more than one family member on each visit day.
As time goes by and each family member develops a relationship with the dentist, you might find yourself referring to the dentist as “our family dentist.” If new neighbors come to you and ask about recommending a dentist, you may be able to suggest they go to your dentist’s office confidently. When it comes to dentistry for the family, it’s always good to have a dentist everyone trusts.
Choosing your child’s dentist may mean veering from visiting your family dentist because they might not offer pediatric services. When you and your spouse add your first child to your family, you may need to add a new dentist, too. How do you find a dentist who offers affordable pediatric dentistry?
Start by asking friends with children who have healthy teeth which dentist they use. Make a short list of these highly recommended local pediatric dentists and look each up online, reading reviews of their services by people you don’t know. Find the best dental reviews on websites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which only allows reviews by actual customers or clients of a business. This care in choosing review sites ensures you avoid false reviews by competitors or spammers.
Finding the best local orthodontist who offers pediatric services doesn’t have to be a chore. Once you’ve located the right dentist for you and your child, you’ll have a professional partner in your child’s dental health. Although you begin brushing your baby’s teeth and gums as soon as their first baby tooth erupts, children don’t need their first dental visit until reaching the age of one year or within six months of their first tooth erupting, whichever comes first, according to Cleveland Clinic.
How the Right Pediatric Dentist Helps Your Child
Having a good family dentist will have a huge impact on your oral health and hygiene, as long as you and your family keep your scheduled appointments. Childrens dentistry or pediatric dentistry, is a field of dentistry that deals with oral health care in youngsters, from when the first baby tooth appears through to their teen years.
Functional teeth are healthy and strong, and there are no bite issues or crookedness. For your teeth to be functional, you must observe proper oral hygiene, and go for scheduled dental visits. How is dental hygiene made easy? Brush in the morning and night using fluoride toothpaste, floss once or twice a day, limit sugary and acidic food and drinks, avoid tobacco products, and visit your dentist every six months.
Flossing between teeth is important as it removes food particles that the brush cannot reach. Floss between your incisors, molars, and the tooth between the canine and molar, which is the premolar.
Adult teeth roots anchor the tooth in the jawbone. A root contains nerves and blood vessels that supply the tooth with oxygen and nutrients.
Oral hygiene is crucial for maintaining strong, healthy teeth and avoiding costly dental procedures to correct problems caused by poor oral health. Always keep your biannual dentist’s appointment.
When it comes to dentistry, many different fields deal with the different types of problems associated with teeth and gums. Apart from general dentists, there are orthodontists, periodontists, prosthodontists, and endodontists. For gum disease and problems, you should see a periodontal dentist.
A periodontist is specialized in treating gum issues and carrying out procedures that include the jawbone and ligaments. These include scaling and root planing of the tooth that is under the gums, bone grafting if needed for dental implants, dental implant placements, and even gum graft procedures.
Periodontist concerns include gingivitis, periodontitis, receding gums, oral cancer, and bone loss.
At your first periodontist appointment, your medical history details will be taken. Your mouth, gums, and teeth will be examined, including your neck and jaw joints. X-rays may also be taken. Based on the findings, a treatment plan will be drawn up.
If you have gum problems, search for gum treatment near me or gingivitis treatment near me and check the reviews of the periodontists that come up. Check them out and see how long they’ve been in practice. Ask about their treatment plans, and if they have non-surgical approaches. Don’t wait to consult a periodontist for any concerns you may have.
UPDATED 2/17/21
Maintaining good oral hygiene is important for overall health and self esteem. A recent study showed that 74% of adults in the United States felt an unattractive smile could hurt their chance for career success, while 96% of people believe a great smile makes a person more attractive to the opposite sex.
Whether you are switching to another family dentist office or if you are new to how things work at the dentist, always be sure to ask plenty of questions — they can end up making your visit a lot more pleasant and you may end up saving more time, money, and see an improvement in your oral health.
Below are a list of important questions to ask when choosing a family dentist:
- How much do you charge for general dentistry services and cavity fillings? Tooth decay is four times more common than asthma among those aged 14 to 17 years old, so you definitely want to check how much a cavity filling costs if you have children.
- If you have a health insurance plan, will they participate in it? Sometimes dental insurance is not covered in health insurance plans. The dentist office should be able to tell you what plans they participate in.
- When and how are you expected to pay for your appointments? Have them walk you through the fees, payment methods, and payment schedules that you can participate in. Most offices will be happy to help find a payment plan that works best for you.
- What types of dental procedures can their dentist office perform? Sometimes dental offices may be behind the times and not offer state-of-the-art procedures, like an all on 4 procedure. However, with 28% of people aged 35 to 44 years old suffering from untreated tooth decay, you can expect most offices will perform a dental implants procedure.
- How does the office handle emergencies outside of office hours? Sometimes dental accidents happen; people may chip a tooth and it needs to be attended to as soon as possible. Most offices will have someone on call who can direct you on what to do.
If you plan on taking your child to the family dentist, here are some questions you should consider asking:
- How much is teeth whitening? This procedure is very popular among teens and college-aged students, so if you have a child within that age range, they may be asking for a teeth whitening procedure. Whitening restores the natural tooth color, while bleaching methods whiten beyond the natural color.
- If your child has sensitivity or pain in their teeth or often suffers from bleeding gums, ask if the office provides sedation dentistry. Sedation dentistry can be in the form of general anesthesia or a gas that calms people during dental cleanings and other procedures.
- Does my mouth, or my child’s mouth look healthy? What, if anything, can we improve upon when it comes to maintaining good oral hygiene at home?
- What dental treatments are absolutely necessary for my child and I at the office? Are there any benefits to certain cosmetic procedures?
Of course, always ask about proper brushing and flossing technique; all dentists will be happy to share their tips and tricks.
When you have a family, it is convenient for you to find a family dental practice that will see all of you when it’s time for dentist appointments. The oral family dental care that you get from a family practice includes much-needed dental care for children as well as adults of various ages and with various dental problems. A family dental practice is also made to be friendly for people of all ages and may have special aspects that are only for children such as toys and books. This can help to keep your children occupied and less nervous before their appointments.
To make things even more convenient, most parents look for family dental locations that are not too far from their houses. Many children don’t do well on long car rides, and many parents don’t have the time for errands that take all day. A family specialty dentistry practice can usually make multiple appointments for you at the time or at staggered times so that you can get everyone seen in one stretch of time. This gets a lot of errands out of your way for the next few months and makes it easier to get multiple people to their appointments.
See more: www.friedmandentalgroup.com