Features of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics

Interview with Dr. Martin Katz of Swiss Smile Clinic on the features of pediatric dentistry and orthodontics, tooth preservation, and oral hygiene.

What are the most common treatment methods performed by you and your team?

Martin Katz: The most common issue is still cavities. However, today, cavities can be detected at a very early stage in many cases.

What do you do when a child is brought to you?

Parents are fully responsible for cleaning the teeth of young children. Annual dental check-ups are mandatory. I engage in a dialogue with parents, explaining the importance of hygiene and dental care. The goal of these visits is to monitor the bite in preschoolers, and it's crucial not to delay visits as it can lead to alignment issues later.

How is oral hygiene for children and teenagers in general?

Overall, oral hygiene is at a very high level. However, sometimes young people neglect dental care.

How do you convince a teenager that brushing teeth is important?

For girls, I ask how they think they can impress boys if they don't brush their teeth. And for boys, I ask if they think they can kiss a girl with uncleaned teeth and bad breath. It works!

Let's talk about orthodontics: almost everyone wears braces in childhood. What about today?

Plates and braces are widely used today. However, technologies and materials have significantly improved in recent years.

For many families, teeth alignment systems are a significant expense. Can you suggest possible solutions in such cases?

Yes, our company, Swiss Smile, does that. For example, the cost of braces can be paid in installments. We take this step to give all children who need bite correction the opportunity to align their teeth. Teeth and the mouth form an important part of facial harmony.

Always relevant: how to alleviate the fears of young patients before visiting the dentist?

We welcome children and explain everything to them for a long time. But sometimes there's no alternative – if a child is uncooperative or needs extensive complex work, we perform the treatment under general anesthesia. The best moment for me is when a initially shy child comes back after treatment and tells me it wasn't painful or bad.