Visiting the dentist from an early age helps to give your child the best chances of enjoying good oral health for life. At Harley Street Dental Practice we have a dedicated children’s dentistry team, headed up by Professor Ramn Bedi, a leading expert in paediatric dentistry.
Professor Bedi is the chairman of the Global Child Dental Fund and co-chair of a global expert committee on caries prevention and management. He runs a specialist children’s dental team here at our Harley Street clinic.
By taking the time to form a relationship of trust with young patients, talking to them and explaining their treatment as well as talking to their parents, Professor Bedi and his team help children to learn that visiting the dentist is nothing to be afraid of; they will soon come to see it as a positive experience, and the dentist as a friendly face they look forward to seeing at check-ups.
Why early years dental visits are vital
Children in the UK still have an unacceptably high level of tooth decay, and whilst this is starting to improve there is still much work to be done. Tooth decay can be painful and unpleasant for patients of all ages, and the need for more invasive treatment such as extraction of badly decayed teeth can be a traumatic experience for young patients who are not used to visiting the dental practice.
A bad experience in childhood is one of the leading cause of dental phobia in adults. Regular visits to the dentist not only help to prevent tooth decay and other problems from arising in the first place, but – with a skilled children’s practitioner such as the team at our Harley Street clinic – also help to make more invasive procedures more bearable should they be needed. Knowing that the dentist cares and that treatment will be pain-free helps young patients relax.