Baby teeth extractions – How to deal with them.

Kids love to run, jump, play and in doing so, at times miss taking care of their dental health. Despite our best efforts sometimes we see our kids’ teeth getting cavities and even getting ignored, in the absence of any symptoms. Seeing a dentist every 6 months is absolutely essential to prevent any such thing from happening.

How to avoid such stressful situations?

Dealing with crying kids can be extremely stressful. Hence it is important to inculcate good habits of visiting a dentist for a check up and clean regularly. If baby teeth need to be taken out and kids are familiar with the dental environment the trust that has been built early with the dental team can be extremely helpful.

What if baby teeth need to be taken out?

Talk to your child at home if a gentle way. Use simple terms and try to use words which they can understand. Do not lie that it will be painless. Rather use statements like, it will hurt the way mossie bite hurts. Extracting baby teeth is actually less painful. Options like happy gas can be used to alleviate the anxiety. Children may need to be treated in hospital under general anaesthesia, usually done by Pediatric dental specialist (Pedodontist).

What to do post extraction?

Taking care of the extraction sockets is not much different than what we do in an extraction done for adults. Ice packs can be used to reduce inflammation and pain. Keep your child indoor and get them to avoid strenuous activities. Common painkillers like Panadol (Paracetamol) or Ibuprofen can be used, provided they are not allergic (or have any other issues) to them.

Replacement for baby teeth? Really!!!

If baby teeth are lost early, the rest of the baby teeth/adult teeth may move, closing the space causing malalignment of teeth. Custom made space maintainers can be fabricated and placed into the missing tooth space and can stay there till the eruption of successor adult tooth/teeth.

What does it cost for kids dental visits?

Sandgate Bayside Dental bulk bills children aged 17 or under, who are covered by Child Dental Benefit Scheme (CDBS) of Medicare, to their annual limits. Call us on 32692443 and provide your Medicare card details or visit us in the practice and one of our friendly reception team member will check your child’s eligibility. Our dentists are highly skilled and gentle and our entire dental team is really friendly. We assure you of nothing less than the best dental experience for your child.