Dentistry on kids

This week of school has been an internal pedo rotation for me. Doing dentistry on kids is surprisingly different than on adults. There are several reasons for this:

1. Most of kids' teeth aren't going to be around much longer, so fixes don't need to last 30 years. This means the strategies to repair teeth include less-permanent solutions. This draws some people to this specialty, because people don't come back in 10 years complaining, cuz they already lost that tooth.

2. Kids have littler mouths. It's tough enough getting instruments, mirrors, suction, and fingers in their without it being in a tighter volumetric distribution.

3. Behavior management is unexpected. Some kids are quiet and helpful and are little angel faces, and others are terrified and scream the whole time. This leads to a complicated situation for the dentist. Some times when it is essential for work to get done (infection, etc.) kids must be strapped to a papoose board. Yikes, you strap the head, arms and legs down. That really makes them stop crying (sarcasm). Some dentists don't like this as it may seem slightly inhumane or at least prevent kids from getting a good impression from the dentist (ya think?). However, occasionally it must be used for special needs patients or kids. Alternatives are heavy duty sedatives, which are also occasionally risky. 4. You have to deal with the kids' parents. This is often worse than dealing with any normal adult. Seriously, people, let the professionals do their job, and you wait out in the reception area until everything is done, and then we'll talk about it.

5. Kids sometimes bite stuff that's in their mouth. Ask my friend Randy about his middle finger...

6. You must be very careful with Novocaine on kids. It's distributed through the body by weight, so kids can only have a little bit for their procedures. The result of not being careful here can be tragic.

7. You have to speak like a 5 year-old all day, so that your patients feel comfortable and understand a little of what is going on. This makes for a difficult transition when you go back to talking to adults, who don't want you using Kindergartner tones with them.




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