My daughter needs to see a dentist. I called the dentist that we have on our insurance and they do see children age 7 and older but they do not have a pediatric dentist. My question is do I take her to the dentist on my insurance who is not a pediatric dentist or should I take her to a pediatric dentist? What is the difference between a pediatric dentist and a Dentist?
Any advice or ideas would be great.
Thanks
Thank you all........my daughter is 7 years old and has high anxiety. Took her to a Orthodotist for a free evaluation and it took over 45 mins just to get her pictures and x-rays done. Then they told me that she needs a Frontectomy.........Which is $400 this is why I was looking into the insuance route. I also wanted a second opinion about needing the frontectomy. So far from what if sounds I will need to take her to a pediatric dentist and pay out of pocket.........I was leaning towards that anyway. And so far none of the pediatric dentists on my plan (which I need a refal to see anyway) would even be able to do a frontectomy and would send me out anyway.
I went to a pediatric dentist up until i was about 9 or 10.. then when i switched to the family dentist when i was 11 because by the time i was 13 i was seeing the orthodontist for my braces!
Hey D., I saw your question about taking your child to the dentist. I actually have a lot of experience on this topic. My first questions is has she been to the dentist before and if so how was her experience? If she has not yet been to the dentist it might be better to take her to the pediatric dentist because they cater more toward children. Their offices are usually decorated in fun characters and the instruments they use in the mouth are smaller for smaller mouths. Their chairs are also smaller so the child fits better and the pediatric dentist can work better on the patient. Plus the pediatric dentists are use to dealing with the fears of children and know how to calm them down and work with them. My daughter is almost 7 and I know she enjoys going to the pediatric dentist and I probably won't start taking her to the regular dentist until she is about 10 or 12.
As for the pediatric dentist not being covered by insurance, I know that feeling all to well. But there are programs available that can help you save on the cost that are not insurance programs. If you have any other questions or need help with finding those programs just let me know.
Good luck with the visit and I am sure she will be fine. Just reassure her that she will be fine and that you will be right there with her.
L. B.
My daughters are 22 and 24 and have perfect teeth. Our insurance did not cover a pediatric dentist so they went to a regular dentist. He was great. Couldn't ask for anyone better. I honestly think the only thing that matters is how he relates to your child. They are all have the same schooling.
Our pediatric dentist is awesome and I would pay out of pocket if I had to! They are specialists with children and their teeth/mouth issues. Our office is almost like Nickelodeon/Disney meets the dentist. The girls are comfortable there and really like to go. Worth it, definitely!
Pediatric dentists have extra training in growth and development of the jaw, patterns, behavior, etc. It's nice but not necessary if your child really doesn't have any major problems. Pick a family dentist that friends have been to and comes highly recommended is the most important thing.
When I was a child a family dentist saw ANY age... well now that is a different story. The biggest difference is that pediatric dentist work with children and young adults and focus on them and their changing mouths. I have also found that pediatric dentist are quicker and gather more information then the family dentist. A pediatric dentist seems to keep a closer watch on how the baby and adult teeth fall out/come in as well as they noted overbite/under bites right away so they can best help the child get the best care for their mouth.
My daughter is 3 years old, we had her first visit in March with our family dentist (who is covered under our insurance, the nearest pediatric dentist was 2 hours away under our insurance provider). The dentist got frustrated quickly because my daughter does not like others touching her mouth or loud sounds (which both happen at the dentist of course). Our family dentist said she would recommend us go to a pediatric dentist due to behavior and the dentist worked with our insurance provider to find a pediatric dentist in our area. Since the dentist told us to go to a pediatric and our insurance agreed to cover the one that the family dentist recommended.
Oh I hate this dilemma! I am in the same situation, my insurance actually has a big thing about how dental checkups should start at age one, but we also don't have a pediatric dentist on our plan and ours won't see kids under three.
My suggestion would be to go down you insurance list and call every office and ask at what age they would see your child.
Generally a pediatric dentist is preferable, because they are more experienced and specially trained to work with children - on the other side there are some wonderful general and family dentists out there that do a great job with kids as well.
Once you have narrowed down your search, ask around for opinions on the ones that are an option....
Good luck!
I think the bottom line is how much do you trust your dentist?
my dentist is NOT a pediatric dentist, but I LOVE her, & she is good with my daughter. We drive a long way to see. I trust her in the fact that if something comes up with my daughter's dental care, that she doesn't feel comfortable doing, she will tell me & refer me/my daughter if necessary.
D. - we needed a peads dentist when my middle daughter was 3, insurance would not cover it either! We paid $2,000.00 out of our own money. (different problem). A peads dentist has to go to school for like 3 more years than adult dentists. I asked my own dentist where he took HIS children and he told me who to see. It was about 50 miles away from where we lived but we went. My children are now 13, 11 & 10 and to date have NO cavities! I insist on regular checkups and they started going from the age of 1.5. Then they are de-sensitized to the whole process by the time problems start to set in.
M. F
Taking her to a pediatric dentist is better, I am sure you can find someone who will accept your insurance. There is a reason pediatric dentistry is considered a specialty and why pediatric dentists go to school 2-3 yrs long then just a general practioner dentist.
My kids all went to a pediatric dentist. The difference is typically if the your little one needs any extensive dental work they are trained in the use of different anesthesias for children and everything is sized for kids which makes it much more comfortable. Not sure how old your daughter is? I prefer the pediatric dentist since it's much more kid friendly. Maybe you can find one in your area that will work out payments since your insurance doesn't mesh? Good luck!
Do you mean a frenectomy? If so, my daughter's dentist did hers with a soft tissue laser. One shot and about 20 minutes was all it took - she was 9 at the time. The other option was a dental surgeon who would have cut the frenulum out which would have required greater anesthesia, stiches and about a 7-10 day healing period. My daughter didn't need any pain meds after her procedure and was out playing soccer the next day. I strongly suggest you look for a dentist experienced in using soft tissue lasers if you decide to do this procedure. My daughter had a 1/4 inch gap between her front teeth which completely closed within a year by itself.
Good luck.
How old is your daughter? If it is just a routine check-up/cleaning I say you could go to a regular dentist per your insurance. The younger ones usually need a ped. dentist because they specialize in dealing with scared little ones, all of their equipment is for smaller mouths, flavored tooth polishes, etc and they just are able to cater to little ones better.
