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Pedodontics is a professional group which tracks dental, maxillary and facial developments of children in 0-12 years of age for their  baby teeth, and 7-12 years of age for their baby and constant teeth treatments before their orthodontic treatment; which makes simple orthodontic treatments and locators until constant teeth arrive in early baby tooth take-outs and which prepares the patient for orthodontists in following years. There are many benefits of such applications when they are conducted by specialist and expert pedodontists in children dentistry.
Because specialists of pedodontics;
1- Know children psychology very well as they are the first dentist group they meet and prevent formation of a fear, which leads to bigger problems in later years of age during dental treatments.
2- Are specialist doctors in oral and dental care of children.
3- Track their oral and dental care development by periodical controls (examination, X-ray, comparisons of dental and maxillary moulds once in a year).
4- Experienced pedodontists realize their first doctor-patient relation together with their parents in appropriate environments and conditions for children. This application is the most important factor preventing a fear formation in children.
5- Pedodontists train both children and their parents together for right brushing starting in 3-4 years of age. Parents should be an example and make it continue in their houses for this application to be successful.
6- Especially baby teeth decays are prevented for children who get used to going to dentist regularly and having a doctor-patient relation in 3-4 years of age. Small operations are realized by dentists with games in early diagnosis.
7- Information about annual controls of panoramic hand-wrist X-rays and lower-upper maxillary models required for proper development of constant teeth is filed up and if needed, early applications and eating habits are suggested. Eating habits are very important.  Children fed by liquid and soft food till 3-4 years of age should abandon such tools as pacifiers and baby bottles etc. and they should get used to eating more solid food day by day because maxillary and facial muscles can only develop this way.
8- Pedodondists know about structure of baby teeth and their changing times, their liability to decay faster and what is needed to be done very well. Therefore, it is very beneficial to start children dental treatments by pedodontists.
9- Constant teeth formation lasts till 12 years of age changing between 6-12 age groups for baby teeth. In this period, one of the primary duties of pedodontists knows which baby tooth will be replaced by which constant teeth, and what protective locators are required for early baby tooth decay treatments.
10- In periodical controls, it is a condition to start treatments and inform children and their parents if children have bad habits (finger, lip, tongue sucking, baby bottle and pacifier use), and if they put pencils, rubbers or other materials into their teeth in school ages as they may negatively affect maxillary and facial development of children
11- In periodical controls, deficiencies on dental and facial areas must be detected early and informed to the orthodontists.
12- All constant teeth are protected without any decays till 12 years of age because of their negligence by applying decay protectors on all constant teeth which are replaced in 6 years of age and then.
Dr. Mehmet Ali Özer
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