As a parent, it can be a tough decision to choose a dental office for your child to visit. It is not an uncommon occurrence for a child to have a cavity that needs to be filled, and visiting a pediatric dentist in Carlsbad is a good choice for your child. As the parent, you want to make sure that your child is receiving high-quality care, which is why a pediatric dentist is advantageous: the dentist focuses specifically on the care of children’s teeth, which at times require different treatments than adult teeth.

Baby Teeth vs. Permanent Teeth

It is important to make a clarification between “baby” teeth and “permanent” teeth. Your child’s first set of teeth are known as their baby teeth, and eventually all of those teeth will fall out to allow room for the permanent teeth to grow in. Once the permanent teeth have grown in, it is even more important to care for those teeth because they will be around for the rest of the child’s life.

Parents sometimes make the wrong assumption that it isn’t as important to take care of the baby teeth, because those teeth will eventually fall out. But, there are several reasons why it is very important that a parent helps their child to take care of the baby teeth:

• Teaching good habits: A young child is impressionable, and it is the perfect time to teach them good dental habits. Instilling those brushing and flossing habits at a young age will help them to take good care of the permanent teeth when they grow in.
• Avoiding dental pain: If a baby tooth develops a cavity or another dental problem, then it might cause pain for the child. In order to avoid these dental problems and keep your child out of pain, then the child needs to learn how to care for their teeth to avoid tooth decay.
• Protecting permanent teeth: Poor care of the baby teeth can actually have a negative impact on the permanent teeth as well. For example, if tooth decay develops and it is left untreated in the baby tooth, then it might cause damage to the permanent tooth below.

As you can see, there are important reasons why a parent should care for their child’s teeth at a young age. Too many times, parents make the mistake of skipping dental appointments early in the child’s life, because they decide to wait until the permanent teeth have grown in.

Don’t wait to schedule a dental appointment for your child. If you child has teeth in their mouth, then they should be visiting a pediatric dentist in Carlsbad, such as Carlsbad Children’s dentistry. Regular checkups help you to identify dental problems earlier, which makes it more likely that your child will be able to avoid major dental work that results from untreated dental problems.

We offer many different services, and our goal is to accommodate children of all ages. We would love to talk with you about the dental services that we can provide for your child. Call us to schedule an appointment with Carlsbad Children’s Dentistry at: (760) 633-1131