A pediatric dentist is a type of dental specialist who deals with the specific oral health care needs of children, from infants to teenagers.
The team at Smile Town Burnaby is often asked about the difference between pediatric dentists and general dentists. Specifically, parents often have questions about what qualities, education and additional training make a pediatric dentist specially qualified to treat children?
Qualifications & Training
Pediatric Dentistry is one of 9 dental specialties recognized by the Canadian Dental Association.
After graduation from dental school, some dentists move on immediately to practice. These are general dentists.
To qualify as a pediatric dentist in Canada, dental school graduates must continue their education by completing an accredited advanced education program in pediatric dentistry, and must hold this specialty designation from a Provincial Dental Regulatory Authority.
What do Pediatric Dentists do in their daily practice?
Pediatric dentists are address the specific oral health care needs of children, from infants to teenagers in their day-to-day dental practice.
Some of the specific areas that pediatric dentists deal with on a daily basis include the following:
- Infant oral health exams - including risk assessment for cavities
- Preventive dental care - including oral hygiene cleaning, checkups fluoride treatments, and nutrition and diet recommendations
- Habit counseling - thumb sucking and pacifier habit breaking
- Early orthodontic assessment & treatment - straightening teeth and correcting an improper bite (malocclusion)
- Fillings for tooth cavities or defects
- Diagnosis of oral conditions associated with diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, congenital heart defect, hay fever, and ADD / ADHD
- Management of gum diseases
- Care for dental injuries (for example, fractured, broken, or knocked-out teeth)