Arnold, MD Pediatric Dentist

At Chesapeake Dental Arts, we enjoy treating children and love to see them smile! We carefully explain and show every step of their treatment to them in a relaxed, fun environment that teaches and encourages them to take care of their teeth for a lifetime.

What is a Pediatric Dentist?

A pediatric dentist is a licensed specialist who has received an additional two years of post-graduate education following dental school. He or she is trained to meet the special dental needs of children, including children with developmental issues, special disabilities, or rare medical conditions. While Dr. Yap-Encomienda and Dr. Esposito are not pediatric specialists, they were trained in dental school to meet all the basic dental needs of children, and were given clinical experience in the pediatric clinic at school. Should they discover that your child has a special dental need, they will be happy to refer you to a pediatric dentistry specialist.

Dr. Yap-Encomienda having three children of her own, especially enjoys treating children. She enjoys interacting with them and understands their needs.

Preparing Your Child for Their First Dental Visit

We would like to first see your child around age three. We find it best not to telegraph parent anxiety about this visit by trying too hard to prepare your child for the dental visit. Treat it as a routine event—no big deal, and leave it to us to make it a fun visit for them.

It’s best if this first visit can be a low-stress, fun visit for your child. We are hopeful that, at this first visit, your child won’t need anything more than an easy dental cleaning. This will help develop a healthy attitude toward routine dental visits as an adult. You don’t want your child’s first dental experience to be an emergency. That could start them on a path of associating pain and anxiety with a trip to the dentist.

Child Dental Care

Here at Chesapeake Dental Arts, we focus a lot on preventive dental care for children.

Fluoride treatments are important for your child, and we provide those for children up to the age of 19. When teeth have recently erupted, fluoride treatments help incorporate a layer of fluoride-rich enamel on the surface, which has long-lasting  effects on the tooth’s ability to resist decay.

We recommend dental sealants for teeth susceptible to decay on the chewing surfaces. When teeth have pits and fissures, those pits and fissures can provide hiding places for bacteria and microscopic food particles, and so they are the most vulnerable surfaces to decay. Sealants are very effective at preventing that.

For fillings, we provide tooth-colored, mercury-free composite.

If you would like to schedule your child for a dental visit, just call us at the phone number at the bottom of the page, or request an appointment using our online form, and we will call you.