Pediatric Dentistry procedures

Out of paediatric dental procedures, the Dental Clinic at St. Wojciech’s Hospital in Poznan offers:

The first appointment at the dentist’s, during which the Young Patient may become familiar with the office, the dentist, and assisting staff. At the same time, the parents receive information concerning proper oral hygiene regimen, dietary habits, or mistakes made while performing oral care.

Clinical oral examination, evaluation of teeth concerning caries, occlusion assessment in order to diagnose possible malocclusion, caries risk assessment, oral hygiene efficacy evaluation. Oral hygiene instructions using a typodont and with the use of a manual and/or electric toothbrush.

This is a procedure in which all teeth are cleaned of debris using toothbrush and paste. Then, using a brush, the teeth are “painted” using a varnish with high concentration of fluoride in order to protect the teeth from caries. The procedure is indicated 2-4 times a year, both in children and in adults. At the IMED Medical Centre we perform is as one of the first minimally invasive procedures that prepare the patient for treating teeth.

Also called as “dentin impregnation” – the procedure comprises protecting only carious dental surfaces with the use of silver nitrate – a substance that makes the external surface of teeth hard and inhibits caries. Discoloration appear in the areas affected by silver nitrate.

This is a prophylactic procedure performed in primary and permanent teeth. It involves covering the pits, grooves and fissures in with a fissure sealant. These areas, due to their anatomical shape, are prone to food retention. It is also difficult to clean these areas, particularly for children.

Thanks to the use of fissure sealant, caries development may be eliminated in places that are difficult to reach. Risk of caries development may be diminished by almost 90%. Smooth surface of the sealant makes it easier to perform oral hygiene. The procedure is completely painless. The teeth that are highly prone to caries, e.g. the first permanent molars and primary molars, should be sealed at the beginning. Fissure sealant may be applied to healthy teeth.

In teeth affected by incipient caries, a protective resin restoration is placed. In primary teeth, we indicate covering the fissures with coloured sealants (colour fissure sealing) – this is a great “fun” option for smaller children.

Treating superficial caries lesions that are detected early is totally painless, and if the cavity is bigger – we use local anaesthesia. That is why regular check-ups are mandatory. After the tooth is cleaned, our young Patients may choose (together with their Parents) if they want a white restoration (just like the tooth) or a restoration in a different colour. They can choose between 7 colours: pink, violet, blue, green, yellow, golden, orange, silver. At the end of the appointment, the “new” tooth after treatment is shown to the Patient using intra-oral camera

Treating carious teeth is invariably associated with drilling. However, there is one material that makes it possible to fight incipient caries without the use of dental burs.

Incipient caries is easy to diagnose in teeth, as it shows as white or yellowish spots. When removing them by drilling, healthy tooth structure is also partially removed. That is unnecessary. The use of ICON protects both healthy tissues, and tissues affected by incipient caries. Treatment with ICON is also referred to as infiltration.

The use of ICON makes it possible to protect dental hard tissues that would be damaged during conventional preparation. Before ICON is applied, a special gel is applied to the tooth, the surface of the tooth is dried with alcohol, and at the end – ICON is applied. The resin penetrates dental tissues and hardens, and that is why it protects the areas in which demineralization due to bacterial acids has already occurred. Affected teeth can be treated within one appointment in a painless way without damaging healthy tissues, and the method can be used in both primary and permanent teeth.

If our young Patient reports with severe pain or if caries is so deep that it reaches the nerve, called the pulp, we perform a kind of endodontic treatment in our Young patients. The treatment is not the same as for permanent teeth, however – it also requires several appointments. During the first appointment, according to the original state, the tooth is “devitalized” or opened. The following appointments comprise tooth disinfection, dressings, and – at the end – permanent restoration, white or coloured (you can choose).

Endodontic treatment in primary teeth is reasonable if the clinician decides that there are indications for it.

It seems reasonable to report to the dentist’s in order to evaluate the indications and contraindications for endodontic treatment and to make correct decision on the basis of the interview and clinical examination, supported by supplementary tests, e.g. x-ray.

Sometimes, the primary tooth is severely damaged by caries and cannot be treated endodontically – then we have to extract it. Because primary teeth “keep place” for permanent teeth, if they are extracted too early, we recommend that a matrix retainer should be made. It protects the first permanent molars from moving towards the space made by the missing tooth. All procedures concerning extraction are performed in anaesthesia.

Matrix retainer keeps the place for the permanent tooth after primary tooth has been extracted. That is why we can protect the patient from crowding in future.

By using nitric oxide – in anxious young Patients, we use a safe gas (nitric oxide) that relieves the stress and makes it possible to perform successful treatment During treatment, the clinician induces daydreaming in the Patient, which makes the child move in its mind to some imagined places. A flavourless gas mixture is applied through a special, fruit-scented face mask (the scent can be chosen). Nitric oxide relieves the stress in the child and makes it conform to the dentists’ commands more eagerly.
The use of nitric oxide is not reserved for youngest patients only. Nitric oxide, which makes the treatment stress-free and painless, can be used successfully in treatment of older children and adults, who associate dental appointments with high stress levels. Adult patients treated with the use of nitric oxide confirm that it lowers stress levels during the procedure.