Pediatric Dentistry

Pediactric Dentistry

It is the number one goal here at Dental Arts and Implants to stop creating another dental phobic.  This is why we love to take our time with kids.  Dr. Hargett studied for a year with the graduate program during his senior year at UTHSCSA.  

Children aren’t just smaller adults and therefore need to be treated differently.  The good news is that most kids will get adult teeth that replace their “baby” teeth.  However that doesn’t mean they don’t matter.  Just the opposite.  Deciduous teeth, also called “baby” teeth have other very important functions beyond chewing.  One big example is maintaining proper space for the proper eruption of their adult teeth.  This has the potential to minimize the the need for future orthodontic treatment, or even prevent it altogether.   

Sometimes children’s teeth get large deep cavities requiring restorative options other than fillings.  Decay involving the nerve of the tooth can require nerve treatment and usually restored with a stainless-steel crown when esthetics aren’t a major concern.  Its always important to restore “baby teeth” any time its possible to save space for those adult teeth later in life.  

Sometimes, it is not possible to save a “baby tooth”.  In those cases, maintaining that space is very important to minimize future crowding of adult teeth.  Appliances such as space maintainers can be used to hold space for adult teeth.  In more complicated cases, some orthodontic options can help recover space that may have been previously lost.

Most importantly, we want our young patients to be as comfortable as possible.  With younger patients, “happy visits” help a great deal.  Depending on the child, it may be needed to bring them in and have a visit where no actual dental work is performed.  However they get exposed to the environment and see all the new sights and sounds of a working dental office.  

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