How To Find The Best Dentist For Kids – A Guide For Parents
Are you wondering how to find the best pediatric dentist? Taking your child to the dentist for the first time can be overwhelming. And choosing the best dentist for kids is no easy task, but these tips will help you find a children’s dentist that you trust and your kids love!
Family admin can feel relentless at times. There always seems to be something you need to organize and be aware of. One of the things that can get overlooked or even forgotten about times is your family’s dental health.
Finding the best dentist for kids that they will feel comfortable with is important, and choosing a pediatric dentist that you can see regularly that is close by will also be important.
I seriously found another office for my kids when their dentist moved 25 minutes away!
But there are concerns and questions to consider, including how to choose a pediatric dentist or more specifically how to find a pediatric dentist near me that accepts Medicaid?
Hopefully, these questions and concerns will be put to rest with the help of this article on finding the best dentist for kids and all that you need to consider as a parent.
Is a pediatric dentist necessary?
While a family dentist is more than capable of caring for your child’s teeth so they avoid problems such as cavities, they can’t offer specialized care.
In addition, pediatric dentists often have fun offices and sometimes additional tools to help make working with fearful kiddos easier.
Plus, a pediatric dentist has extra training, enabling them to specialize in treating children.
Why It’s Important To Choose A Pediatric Dentist
Since a pediatric dentist has extra training when it comes to treating children and taking care of their dental health, it means they have more experience with kids and some of the problems they may face.
They often use smaller tools and have a more kid-friendly environment. That makes it easier for your child to feel comfortable in their surroundings during the appointment, and with the dentist themselves.
A child can feel overwhelmed at a dentist appointment, so having someone who is used to handle a child’s anxieties and worries can make the whole situation easier to handle.
When should your child start seeing a pediatric dentist?
According to NatruSmile, nearly 1 in 5 kids have untreated cavities. Yikes!
That’s why you should start taking your kiddos to a pediatric dentist when they get their first tooth – or at least by the time they’re around 2 years old. This helps to develop good habits as well as ensure that you keep those teeth healthy.
It also helps them get used to the process of seeing a dentist.
How often should a child see a dentist?
The best dentist for kids will recommend that your child sees them every six months for a full check-up.
This helps to prevent cavities and recognize any other issues your child might be having. However, a pediatric dentist may advise different periods between appointments depending on your child’s specific dental health.
What’s the difference between a family dentist and a pediatric dentist?
You may be wondering why there is a difference between a family dentist and a pediatric dentist. aren’t they one of the same thing?
The truth is there are some differences between a family dentist and a pediatric dentist that are worth noting.
For starters, a pediatric dentist has extra training specializing in children’s dental health. They also only deal with children. This means that the pediatric dentist will have greater experience dedicated to children than a family dentist would, given that they will spend at least half their time treating adults as well.
Advantages of choosing a pediatric dentist
So what are the main advantages of choosing a pediatric dentist? Here are some of the ones to be aware of:
- Only treat children so will understand the anxieties and worries a child may have about a dentist appointment.
- Use small and kid-friendly tools. This helps for some treatments to feel less overwhelming.
- A pediatric dentist office will be designed with kids in mind. You will find that they will be colorful and fun environments, again helping to put a child at ease.
- They have extensive knowledge when it comes to preventive care for children.
- They are better equipped to help children with special needs.
You can learn more at the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists website.
How To Choose The Best Dentist For Kids
Now that you have a couple of possibilities for a pediatric dentist in your area, you may be wondering how you make a choice. Here are a few things to consider when trying to choose the best dentist for kids.
Read Practice Reviews
The website will often have testimonials from previous patients and these are great to read, however, be mindful that they are also biased. You can find reviews on Google or social media when it comes to real insight and opinion. Reading practice reviews will help you to get a greater understanding as to whether that pediatric dentist is right for your children.
Talk To Other Moms
If you have found a pediatric dentist why not talk to other moms about your findings? Maybe they know someone who has used them before or have recommendations themselves.
Compare Policies And Procedures For Each Dentists Office
Many pediatric offices will have different policies and procedures in place, most of which can be found on their website or upon request. Make sure you access the information and compare it to see which one you prefer.
Make An Appointment And Watch How Staff Work And Interact With Children
Another great tip is to make an appointment and see how the staff interacts with children and what the general environment feels like. You will get a good or bad feeling based on this and be able to make a decision based on this.
Go With How You Feel And Your Gut Instinct
Last of all, make sure you go with any gut instinct you have. You will be able to tell a lot by how you feel or what other people say, after all, you can make a judgment on other things to do with your children and this should and will be no different. Your mother’s intuition will often be right in this situation.
Why don’t all children’s dentists accept Medicaid?
Unfortunately, not all children dentists accept Medicaid. There are a number of reasons that have been provided in response to various surveys in the past.
The main concern dentists have when treating Medicaid patients is that Medicaid only tends to cover about half of the cost of what private insurance will cover for the same treatment.
Some dentists also state that Medicaid doesn’t cover enough dental services.
How can I find a pediatric dentist near me that accepts Medicaid?
If you are in the position where you need to find a pediatric dentist that will accept Medicaid then you may need to think outside of the box to try and give yourself some choices.
With that in mind, here are some of the things that you could try.
Call Your Child’s Medicaid Number
One of the first things you should do would be to call your child’s Medicaid number. They will be in the best position to identify if and where there is a pediatric dentist that will accept Medicaid.
Take To Facebook And Ask In A Local Moms’ Group
Facebook is a great tool to use when it comes to finding information out. You might likely be part of local moms’ Facebook groups and if so you could post a “discussion post” or a “seeking recommendations” post in them to see if anyone can suggest or recommend a pediatric dentist who could help.
Ask Google To Find The “best dentist for kids near me”
If you don’t use social media or are not aware of any local groups you could turn to then searching on Google can often give you great results. Getting a list of possibilities means you can check their websites or call them directly to ask if they accept Medicaid.
Speak To Moms From School – Ask For Recommendations For The Best Dentist For Kids
You may be chatty with other moms at school and if so, why not ask them the next time you see them if they have any suggestions or recommendations? Often getting a good “word of mouth” recommendation is all you need.
If I Can’t Find A Kid’s Dentist That Takes Medicaid What Should I Do?
If you can’t find a dentist that takes Medicaid then you will have to pay for those appointments yourself. After all, your child’s dental health is a huge priority.
However, it is always worth being mindful that many dentists have in-house discount plans that could help to bring the overall cost down. This could be extremely useful if you are struggling with the overall cost, especially if there is a lot of specialized treatment needed.
How Much Does A Pediatric Dental Visit Cost On Average?
You may find that a pediatric dentist appointment and any services they cover will be a little more expensive than a general family dentist might charge.
But you are paying for the extra experience that a dentist for kids creates and the other advantages that we have mentioned.
However, if you want a rough idea of how much a pediatric dental visit costs on average, here’s what you can expect.
The price may differ depending on your area and what is needed to be done during the appointment, but the average cost is around $50-$100 for a general check-up and typical services including cleaning and fluoride application.
Any other services such as filling cavities, etc would cost extra. I recommend calling your local offices for more detailed and accurate information.
The Best Dentist For Kids Isn’t Far Away!
Selecting the Best Dentist for your children may seem like a daunting task. But once you find one you and your kids love, it will be WORTH IT. And because this field is growing by leaps and bounds, he or she probably isn’t far away!
Hopefully, this has given you some confidence so you can choose the best dentist for kids.
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