เด็กทุกคนที่มาที่คลีนิก จะได้รับการดูแลอย่างใกล้ชิดจากทันตแพทย์ ส่วนวิธีการในการดูแลรักษานั้นจะขึ้นอยู่กับความเห็นของทันตแพทย์

การบริการด้านทันตกรรมสำหรับเด็กที่ คลินิกทันตกรรม มีดังนี้

When should I first bring my child to the dentist?

Having said this, it is very rare to find a general dentist who will do an actual procedure, like a filling or an extraction on a child under the age of three.  If it is absolutely necessary to do a procedure on a very young child, the general dentist usually refers to a pedodontist (a children”t dentist) who can sedate him or her, or an oral surgeon who can “sleep” the child.

Fluoride and children

I have written an entire page on the advantages, disadvantages and controversy surrounding fluoride (along with a rather amusing letter from an antifluoridationist).  In general, fluoride is a well accepted fact of life in American dentistry.  We use it in toothpastes, mouth rinses, topical applications, for desensitizing teeth, remineralizing decay, and as a dietary supplement for children.

Topically applied fluoride creates a coating of decay resistant armor which lasts for several days on the surface of the teeth, and penetrates into decayed areas of teeth to help remineralize them.  (Fluoride binds with decayed tooth structure and encourages it to recombine with calcium in the saliva to begin the process of hardening the decay.)  We recommend it in all the toothpaste you buy so everyone in the family can enjoy this protection.

We also recommend that children under the age of 12 receive daily doses of fluoride in tablet form, or in the municipal water supply.  This form of fluoride is incorporated into the actual structure of the teeth that are developing at that time, and imparts some lifelong protection against decay.

One word of caution however.  Very young children often mistake the toothpaste placed on their toothbrushes for candy and will actually eat it.  The amount of fluoride in toothpaste vastly exceeds the amount recommended for internal consumption, and the child may get too much of a good thing.  Excess fluoride in the diet of children with developing teeth can cause fluorosis of the teeth.  This causes orange, brown and white spots in the enamel of the adult teeth which are forming at the time of the overdose.  We recommend that you supervise the use of fluoride containing toothpastes by young children, or that they use non fluoride containing toothpaste until they are old enough to understand that toothpaste is not candy.

When children come in for an exam and cleaning, it is routine for us to use a fluoride tray application which contains prescription strength fluoride for longer lasting protection, and in order to help stop decay already present.  Adults do not receive this service even though it would benefit them also. The reluctance of the profession to provide fluoride treatments to adults probably stems mostly from the perception by the general public that fluoride is only