Pediatric Dental Radiology with Kilgore International
A few weeks ago, I was temping at an office that was new to me. My regular office that I see patients in is close to a university campus, so the majority of my patients are college students, professors, employees, pretty much anyone over the age of 18. This office, however, was close to a community full of families and an elementary school so I was lucky enough to see several pediatric patients throughout the day. Honestly, when first looking at the schedule, it made me a bit nervous. Did I remember how to work with and treat pediatric patients, especially when it comes to taking radiographs? Well, lucky for us in the dental field and in education, Kilgore International has an amazing pediatric radiology mannikin that is the perfect solution to help either the clinicians in your office or your students feel comfortable with placing and taking radiographs, either if it’s their first time working on with a ped or if it has been a while, like I had experienced.
Our latest video, thanks to Kilgore International, focuses on pediatric radiology placement and exposure to make sure you have the best possible image in a sometimes small or tricky situation. A few things to think about to have a successful image.
Sensor size. If a patient does not have their 1st permanent molar, generally a regular size 2 sensor will be too large for their mouth. Unfortunately, I have sometimes tried to use a larger one since either that’s all the office has or that’s what I have handy, but trying to get something too large to fit doesn't work well with kids. Also, once I’ve caused some tenderness, their trust in me is out the window and taking a radiograph is pretty difficult with no trust.
Timing. What is the most important part of your visit for the day? Is it a good set of radiographs due to pain, caries concerns, etc? Is it placing varnish? Is it teaching good home care? Whatever is the most important thing, do that first (after the fun part of riding in the chair, catching up, finding out the cool thing in their grade, etc).
Making it fun. Of course, we as humans want to have fun, especially kids. Unfortunately, sometimes pediatric patients are told either by friends, family, or media that the dental office is a “scary” place. Coming in with that thought, of course doing any kind of radiograph or treatment will be tricky! Keep your appointments fun to keep patients engaged and happy, and hopefully rethink the scary thoughts.
We know you’ll love working with the mannikin like we have! Definitely check out this video to learn more and to become the best at your pediatric radiographs.
xoxo Melia Lewis, MEd, RDH