When did your teen switch from their pediatric dentist to a regular dentist ?

[Anonymous]

17, we were late but they gently suggested we move on haha.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're going to have to kick out us out, because the wait lists where we live are 2+ YEARS.

Why? I truly don’t get it. What is so special about a pediatric dentist? Unless your child needs some place that makes specific accommodations for special needs children- I just don’t understand the demand. Almost all general dentists see kids of any age.

I had bad teeth as a kid. It was not due to a lack of dental hygiene or a bad diet. I just was unlucky. As a result, I had many dental visits that left me with severe dental anxiety. I didn’t want my kids to fear or dread the dentist so we started with the pediatric dentist. My kids did briefly switch to a “family” dentist and they didn’t like it so we switched back. I would see the pediatric dentist at 54 if I could.

But you still would have had just as many dental visits whether you were seeing a pediatric dentist or not. What isn’t to like at a family dentist? No dino chair?

It doesn’t sound to me like PP herself went to the pediatric dentist. But you assumed that so you could get in a nasty dig at her.

No, I didn’t assume that- my point was if she had bad teeth due to genetics she would have had to see the “pediatric” dentist just a frequently. The pediatric dentist and a regular dentist do the exact same things. The only difference is one might be more liberal in sedation offered.

It's very similar to the difference between a pediatrician and a regular GP. A regular GP has the training to work with kids, but sees fewer of them and specializes less in their issues and in coping with kid behavior.

My son cracked two baby teeth at age 4 and we had not taken him to a dentist yet. Our dentist handled the emergency by phone and saw him the next day. (There was nothing to put back in the mouth because of the damage, so we didn't need to go to an ER.) She handled the whole initial review but recommended to us that we see a pediatric dentist to handle case management and deciding whether to refer to an oral surgeon. She explained that she didn't have a lot of tiny instruments and wasn't really in the business of sedating small children/dealing with their fussing if they didn't like treatment. So we went to the pediatric dentist and that's how we found and stayed with that kind of provider.

As a child, I had only been to a pediatric dentist in the DMV during middle school. They are more common in affluent areas, because they need a certain size of patient base. During elementary school and high school when I lived in other places (SF Bay Area outskirts, Western PA), I went to a family dentist who handled my entire family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're going to have to kick out us out, because the wait lists where we live are 2+ YEARS.

Why? I truly don’t get it. What is so special about a pediatric dentist? Unless your child needs some place that makes specific accommodations for special needs children- I just don’t understand the demand. Almost all general dentists see kids of any age.

I had bad teeth as a kid. It was not due to a lack of dental hygiene or a bad diet. I just was unlucky. As a result, I had many dental visits that left me with severe dental anxiety. I didn’t want my kids to fear or dread the dentist so we started with the pediatric dentist. My kids did briefly switch to a “family” dentist and they didn’t like it so we switched back. I would see the pediatric dentist at 54 if I could.

But you still would have had just as many dental visits whether you were seeing a pediatric dentist or not. What isn’t to like at a family dentist? No dino chair?

It doesn’t sound to me like PP herself went to the pediatric dentist. But you assumed that so you could get in a nasty dig at her.

No, I didn’t assume that- my point was if she had bad teeth due to genetics she would have had to see the “pediatric” dentist just a frequently. The pediatric dentist and a regular dentist do the exact same things. The only difference is one might be more liberal in sedation offered.

I think the biggest difference is pediatric dentists decided to cater specifically to children. A family dentist might be great with kids or they might merely tolerate kids, without having a lot of patience with them or knowing how to talk to them. A pediatric dentist has way more experience with children.

[Anonymous]

17 - They didn't like feeling like they were in an elementary school when they would go in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're going to have to kick out us out, because the wait lists where we live are 2+ YEARS.

Mine got kicked out at 20! 😜

Cool, we have time.