According to a CDC report carried out in 2017, 84.9% of children visit dentists annually, a figure that is estimated to keep rising as time goes by. This means that whether your patients need a simple oral check or a kids makeover experience, cosmetic dentistry will likely top their list of oral examinations before attaining adulthood. With this comes the question of what kind of services they will receive and how dentists can make their experience a little less frightening. Below, we discuss children’s cosmetic dentistry services, tips for enjoyable kids makeover experience, and practices to help your practice succeed.
Types of Cosmetic Services
Children are aware of their surroundings and will often have questions when exposed to new experiences. During dental sessions, a QandA can help them familiarize themselves with the procedures to be performed. Dentists should make sure they discuss the benefits of each procedure and the likely repercussion of failed dental visits. During this time, make it a point to let patients familiarize themselves with the dental objects to be utilized for each procedure based on the underlying issue.
Crown Installations
Crown installations are among the most common services children get and will often come in handy when teeth are chipped, damaged, or cracked. During their installation, crowns are cemented onto the underlying tooth structure, covering its entirety and often reaching the gum line. Crowns help strengthen the structure of teeth while providing a long-lasting kids makeover experience that lasts for years.
Installation of Fillings
When children’s teeth suffer from tooth decay, a dentist may suggest the installation of fillings. This comes after the decayed teeth are removed and cleaned, after which composite or white feelings are installed. The fillings are applied in layers, allowing the teeth to be adequately protected from elements such as food and drinks. The dentist then shapes and polishes the outer layer of filings to ensure it matches the color of the teeth.
Veneers
Veneers are not just for adults but also work well with children’s teeth. It especially comes in handy when children have underdeveloped teeth, with an example being peg laterals. For this dental service, a dental expert applies custom-made composite resin to the front surface of the teeth. This is then followed by bonding which utilizes adhesives for a finish. Teeth that are misaligned, abnormally spaced, and chipped have been found to benefit from veneers, allowing patients to get an improved appearance. In addition to this, children with discolored, worn down, and uneven teeth also benefit from veneers.
Bonding
Bonding works well with missing teeth structures and instances where children’s teeth have minor defects like discoloration chipped parts or irregular spacing. Like numerous materials used in kids makeover experience, bonding also utilizes tooth-colored composite resin. After tooth preparation and clean-up, the resin is applied and bonded to the tooth’s surface with the help of a blue light dental tool. This helps the resin adhere properly to the tooth, limiting any incidences of material chipping away or falling off.
Teeth Whitening
As the name suggests, teeth whitening entails improving the color of teeth affected by tartar and plaque. Before a child’s teeth are whitened, they are first cleaned to remove any debris that could hinder this process.
Dental Flipper
Dental flippers act as a replacement to dental implants since the latter is often not recommended to children below 18 years. Dental flippers come in handy when children experience tooth decay or trauma and often act as teeth mimics. This helps replace damaged or missing teeth, ensuring your child gets to enjoy their formative years without experiencing any confidence issues due to teeth problems.
Braces
Braces installation is another essential cosmetic procedure that comes in handy as a kids makeover experience. Getting local affordable braces acts as a solution when children experience an orofacial appearance in their teeth. This can mean crowded teeth, crooked teeth, or when they get overlapped teeth. Braces can help correct these issues with teeth straightening, with braces acting as guides to help teeth adhere to the proper alignment. The end result is an easier cleaning time, helping eliminate any risk of gum disease and tooth decay.
Pediatric Dental Services
With teeth decay treatments comprising a significant portion of children’s cosmetic services, preventing this problem at an early stage is crucial in reducing the need for invasive procedures later on. A few family dentistry services to help with this include:
Oral Hygiene Counseling and Cleaning
Oral hygiene counseling goes a long way in reducing tooth decay, acting as a preventive mechanism for educating children and caregivers on the appropriate measures to use in their everyday oral healthcare routine. Examples include brushing techniques to use that comprise using the right toothpaste, proper brushing frequencies, and using the right toothbrush when taking care of children’s teeth. In addition to this, counseling can also include diet restrictions to watch out for, such as avoiding sugary foods before sleep. On the other hand, cleaning is done to remove plaque and tartar from teeth surfaces when tooth decay sets in.
Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are plastic coatings that help seal the pits and fissures of the back teeth. When applied to these chewing surfaces, they help prevent cavity formation and go a long way to ensure children get the right kids makeover experience for proper oral care. The result is the reduction of decay-causing bacteria in teeth crevices and the enamel.
Topical Fluoride
Fluoride has been found to strengthen teeth and increase tooth decay resistance, most notably when applied to the teeth’ enamel. While toothpaste provides a good amount of fluoride, children’s teeth can also benefit from external fluoride application, cutting out the need for additional tooth decay preventive mechanisms.
Application of Space Maintainers
When decay causes the extraction or permanent loss of baby teeth, space maintainers will be the most preferred option. They help in maintaining the space required for the succeeding teeth, helping prevent teeth misalignment from occurring.
Examinations and X-Rays
Dental examinations seek to review children’s medical histories, conditions, and allergies that could impact future dental health. These examinations will come in two categories, with an extra-oral examination being the first consisting of a head and neck review. The second is an intra-oral exam that helps dentists determine the state of children’s gums, teeth, and jaw alignment, helping uncover any underlying issues. In addition to these examinations, x-rays can also help diagnose problems related to the teeth and support oral structures such as the bone that are difficult to view with the bare eyes.
Fillings
As previously discussed, filings help in sealing decayed surfaces that could cause an increase in bacteria growth. To get the suitable material for filing, a dentist will first determine how severe the decay is and its location. Based on these factors, patients can then get their filings from materials such as resin in white filing, an amalgam that is often silver fillings, and a glass ionomer consisting of white filings with fluoride.
Silver Diamine Fluoride
Silver diamine fluoride can also be applied to children’s teeth, acting as another protectant when they experience cavities. Unlike topical fluoride, silver diamine fluoride provides antibacterial properties when traditional methods of tooth decay treatment are not an option.
Teeth Extractions
Teeth extractions may be needed when children experience severe tooth decay or suffer traumatic incidences. In addition to this, children who have alignment issues may need extractions along with those whose teeth are over-retained.
Nerve Therapy (Pulpotomy/Pulpectomy)
Nerve therapy is utilized when the nerves of a tooth experience severe decay or trauma. Depending on the underlying issue of damage, children will receive nerve therapy, but this will often be limited to the tooth’s crown, unlike adults. It comes in handy in reducing lengthy procedures for developing gums and teeth, ensuring that children recover with ease.
How to Provide an Enjoyable Kids Makeover Experience
Start With a QA Session
Role Play
Role-play can also help calm children’s nerves before dental procedures begin. For this, dentists can play the child’s role and help introduce basic steps that the child can follow during their check-up. It can be as simple as sitting comfortably on the patient chairs to show them just how easy of an experience it will be.
Let Them Carry Their Favorite Toys
Another comforting mechanism that children can benefit from during their dental kids makeover experience is carrying their favorite toys during their treatment. Toys are essential points of joy for children, acting as a much-needed coping mechanism for their dental visit. Ensure that parents understand this and encourage them to have these on hand. Objects such as their favorite hair scrunchies or those belonging to siblings or parents work just as well.
Make Use of Nitrous Oxide Analgesia
This is among the most commonly used tips for children who experience anxiety during their kids makeover experience. Nitrous oxide is also called the laughing gas, and its use can also help reduce pain and tension during dental treatments.
Offer Presents
There is nothing that excites children like presents, especially when offered by their favorite dentist. This is another way to ease the tension during treatments and helps children look forward to their visits rather than shying away from them. Rewards such as toothbrushes can help with simple procedures, after which you can scale up to sugar-free gum and dental floss for complicated exams. Key chains, calendars, and stationery can also come in handy for older children, allowing them to use these during their everyday home and school routine.
Tips to Help Your Cosmetic Dentistry Succeed
If you are looking to set yourself up for success, these tips will come in handy in helping you stand out from the crowd:
Get the Right Branding
Your dental clinic needs to be different from other practitioners, which means getting the proper branding, especially when buying a dental practice. Identify a name that highlights your expertise and one that your clients can remember with ease. After this, get a logo that reflects your name and imagery that highlights your clinic’s theme. Designers can help with this and will help you pick choices that fit well with your target patients. These aspects will also guide the type of decor to use in your premises, helping you shape patient perception from the minute they walk into your facility.
Work With the Right Financing Partner
Some patients may not have the necessary resources to pay for their costs upfront, an area that requires the right financing partner. For this, you can use a medical billing company that keeps track of your patient’s payments, helping you cut out labor needed for administrative work. This also comes with the guarantee of increased income, eliminating the number of default clients that could jeopardize your practice.
Advertise Your Practice
No matter how much exposure your word-of-mouth referrals pull in, having a proper set of marketing guidelines is another way that will allow your practice to get improved success. For starters, identify the niche you would like to specialize in and set yourself apart as a premium clinic that provides a kids makeover experience. This can be through engaging social media posts or publishing articles in your area of work. In addition to this, provide testimonials from your clients and use easy navigation websites where clients can find information detailing your clinic’s services.
Charge Affordable Rates
Based on the treatments you offer, make it a point to get the correct pricing for each procedure. For this, consider the kind of market that you intend to work with, whether it is high-end patients, middle income or low-income patients. Whichever option you settle for, remember your quality will also be an essential part of your practice, so make it a point to offer the best care.
Work With Schedules
While some dental procedures generally do not require time to complete, some will often take hours, an aspect that could cause conflicts for other patients. Ensure your patients understand this and let your staff schedule treatments beforehand. For the best results, ensure that you have qualified dental practitioners to help out with both complex and straightforward procedures when required.
More dentists are called on to scale up their services for successful operations as more people turn to children’s cosmetic dentistry for everyday oral care practices and emergencies. This can be through offering better services for improved kids makeover experience or utilizing tips that ease discomfort during dental visits. Whichever option you prefer, the above guide will set you up with better dental strategies for your practice.
