How often do the children need a routine check up?
Most children need to have their routine check up every six months. During this visit, a cleaning and fluoride treatment are provided, depending on the child’s needs. Also, a meticulous examination of the teeth and all the oral structures is done by the pediatric dentist during this routine check up. Children’s dentitions are developing and as such need continuous monitoring to prevent several dental and orthodontic anomalies. Dental decay is very frequent in children and can quickly develop from a tiny one in a large cavity close to the nerve of the tooth within 6 months. Also, children who had their teeth fixed still are in risk of having new caries. Therefore the 6 month check up is the standard of care even though patients in higher risk of dental decay or gingivitis are seen every 3 to 4 months.
Radiographic exam
For complete and precise dental examination the radiographic examination is equally important and necessary as the clinical exam. Therefore during the routine check up, x - rays are taken whenever the dentist considers this necessary. Many times teeth that look absolutely healthy can have cavities at the contacts with the adjacent teeth.
Actually, sometimes these cavities are deep close to the nerve of the tooth without being noticable in the clinical exam.
Frequency of fluoride treatment
The frequency of fluoride treatment is usually twice a year, but patients in higher risk may need fluoride treatments 4 times a year. Also orthodontic patients may need more frequent cleanings and fluoride treatments due to increased risk for caries or gingivitis during the orthodontic treatment.
