Course Subjects and Learning Objectives
Faculty of Dentistry

Course Subjects and Learning Objectives

Paedodontics education and clinical practices include protection from cavities, restorative and root canal treatment of decayed primary and permanent teeth, approach to dental traumas, restorative and prosthetic treatments for teeth with developmental anomalies in children, and early treatment of malocclusions within the scope of preventive orthodontic treatment. 

What are the areas of interest of paedodontics? 

  • Preservation of dental and oral health and treatment of dental and oral disorders in infants, children and adolescents
  • Oral health education
  • Tooth brushing education
  • Informing the parents
  • Informing the individuals about nutrition for dental health
  • Treatment of decayed primary and permanent teeth
  • Root canal treatment in primary and permanent teeth
  • Tooth extraction
  • Space maintainer application after tooth extraction
  • Stainless steel crowning in teeth with extensive structural loss
  • Fissure sealant applications
  • Fluorine applications
  • Scaling
  • Preventive orthodontic treatment
  • Treatment of broken teeth due to trauma (accident injuries) 
  • Dental protection applications in sports 
  • Bite plate due to teeth grinding and clenching
  • Dental treatment in disabled children

When is the right time for children’s first dental examination?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) suggest that regular dentist check-ups should start after the eruption of the first tooth (generally from 6 to 12 months).

What happens in the first dental examination?

Your child’s dental problems may emerge at a very early age. In this period, it is possible to prevent the possible problems before they emerge by obtaining information about the infant’s nutrition, dental care, and nursing habits.

How to prepare my child for the first dental examination?

Obtaining information about the procedures to be carried out before taking your child to a dentist’s and explaining these procedures to the child correctly beforehand is a very effective method to persuade the child for dental treatment. Children are usually afraid of doctors and dentists. One of the biggest reasons for this is the parents saying to their children when they are naughty ‘if you aren’t a good boy/girl, I’ll take you to the doctor’s and he’ll give you an injection’. Another reason may be the child’s previous traumas relating to doctors. In this case it is highly normal for children to be afraid of doctors or dentists. Parents play very important roles in such cases. 

Before the first dental examination, it is crucially important for parents to:

  • motivate their children,
  • inform their children about the procedures to be carried out without much detail,
  • avoid using the word ‘injection’,
  • tell their children they are only going to be examined in the first dental examination,
  • allow only the dental examination, as they have promised earlier, when they take their  
  • children to the dental examination,
  • take their children to the dentist’s for dental examination before their teeth decay,
  • take precautions, and
  • have their children’s cavities filled before they get too far into the teeth.