Dental Treatments
At Wilmington Pediatric Dentistry, we provide a wide range of dental treatment procedures for your child. Our emphasis is on total preventive care for our patients. Total care begins with regular hygiene visits, regular checkups and continued home oral health routines.
We provide many preventative measures to keep your child’s teeth clean and healthy, including sealants and fluoride treatments. We also educate the parents in early detection of some common problems children may face, including thumb sucking, bruxism and baby bottle tooth decay.
Our primary goal for your child’s dental development is to achieve and maintain optimum oral health through advances in techniques, technologies and by maintaining their scheduled dental exams.
Dental Treatment Procedures
Behavior Management Techniques
We are pleased to offer the expertise of our pediatric dentists and staff in a fun and friendly environment. During your visit, we will use several behavior management techniques to help your child feel more relaxed.
These techniques include:
Tell, Show, Do
This is the most important tool for teaching the child. The child is told in simple terms what is going to be done. They are then shown what is to be done and then the procedure is performed.
Imagery
We tell your child in very simple terms what is going to be done. For example, a dental exam becomes “a look at your teeth” and a dental cleaning becomes “brush your teeth.” We encourage you to use these terms when talking to your child about their dental experience.
Distraction
Sometimes it is necessary to distract the child from an unpleasant sensation by focusing his/her attention on something other than what is being done. For instance, we have televisions with video games connected to them for the children to play during restorative treatment.
During your child’s visit, we will explore the options that are best for him or her.
Treatment with Sedation
Light Sedation
This is used if we have decided that your child has some mild anxiety and could use a little help to make the experience a positive one.
Please click on the links below to learn more from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry:
Hospital Dentistry
Hospital Dentistry is a management technique that uses medication to have your child become unconscious and asleep during the dental treatment. This enables us to complete all of your child’s dental treatment in one visit. This is usually recommended factoring in your child’s age, anxiety level, amount of treatment needed, and emotional well-being.

We treat our children at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) ambulatory surgery unit. The treatment usually takes one to two hours, with the post-operative period taking about an hour. Prior to the treatment, your child will be given some oral medicine that will make him/her feel funny, silly, and maybe a little sleepy. Your child should have no or very little memory of the entire procedure.
For more information about the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, please visit www.nhrmc.org.