Dr. Ammar Idlibi - The Father of Modern Dentistry

One of the things that Dr. Ammar Idlibi finds particularly fascinating is the history of modern dentistry. While dental practices were being carried out as early as 7000 BC, modern developments would not turn dentistry into a legitimate discipline and profession until the late 17th century. The man who led this cultivation was French surgeon, Pierre Fauchard.

Fauchard today is known as the father of modern dentistry. That is because he alone is responsible for many of the advancements the discipline needed to turn it into the profession it is today. Fauchard not only was the first to discover that sugar-derived acids were responsible for tooth decay, he also developed many modern dental tools adapted from other professions like jewel-making.

Not satisfied there, Fauchard was also a pioneer of dental prosthesis, as he figured out many creative ways to replace lost teeth. Replacement teeth were fashioned and carved from blocks of animal bone and ivory. Not only could Fauchard replace teeth, he could rearrange them as well. He would be the first to introduce dental braces. Though they were made of gold, an impractical metal, they still established the fact that teeth would follow the pattern of wires set against them.

Dr. Ammar Idlibi is a professional pediatric dentist with a passion for his field. Professional dentists look up to pioneers and role models like Fauchard because he personifies what it means to be a dedicated dentist. Idlibi even hopes to develop his own equipment and patents one day to make his own impact on the history of dentistry.

Dr. Ammar Idlibi - How To Tell If Your Child Might Benefit From Braces

While it is always recommended that you take your child for regular checkups with a pediatric dentist, like Dr. Ammar Idlibi, there are also a number of things parents can do to determine whether or not their child needs orthodontic care. There are a number of symptoms that you should keep an eye out for, so if you spot any of the following you should take your child to the dentist as quickly as possible.

Difficulty in Chewing or Biting
This is perhaps the most obvious sign that your child could benefit from orthodontics, as it is a direct indication that their teeth are not aligned in a way that makes eating food as comfortable as it should be. If you have noted that your child has difficulty chewing, especially once their baby teeth start falling out, you should consult a dentist to discuss your options.

Biting the Inside of the Mouth
This is often a difficult one for parents to spot, as they will often not be privy to what is going on in the inside of their child’s mouth. However, if you note that your child has a habit for biting the insides of their cheeks, you may want to consider having them checked to see if it is as a result of a problem with their teeth.

A ‘Clicking’ Jaw
Good orthodontic work doesn’t simply focus on the teeth. As Dr. Ammar Idlibi notes, children whose jaws are not positioned properly can also benefit from the work of a pediatric dentist. If you have noticed that your child’s jaw moves irregularly, or that it makes a clicking sound when they chew, you should schedule an appointment right away.
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Dr. Ammar Idlibi - Study Tips for Dental Students

The amount of things that you need to learn in order to become a qualified dentist is enormous, which is why it is important for students to make proper use of their time so that they can absorb the wealth of knowledge that is delivered to them. Dr. Ammar Idlibi mentors many students, in addition to presenting seminars, and he has created the following study tips for new dental students.

Create Study Plans

Don’t try to simply study as you go along, as this can lead to you having to cram before important exams and may even result in missed deadlines for coursework. Instead, dedicate a little bit of time each day to studying outside of classes and create a dedicated plan for each session that allows you to work on things you find difficult in addition to refreshing your knowledge where needed.

Create a Good Study Space

Your study space is going to play a large part in how effectively you absorb all of the information that you need to learn, so it is vital that you get it right. Keep it well-lit and clean, with as few distractions as possible. Don’t do things like turning on the TV or listening to the radio, as this will take your attention away from your work.

Take Regular Breaks

If you spend every waking hour studying, you will soon find that your brain starts failing to digest the information and you end up exhausting yourself. Dr. Ammar Idlibi recommends taking a 5 or 10 minute break for every hour of study, allowing you to walk away for a moment and clear your mind before you get back to the grind.

Dr. Ammar Idlibi - Tips for Attracting New Patients

One of the biggest challenges that new dental practices face is attracting patients, particularly if there are other practices in the area competing for the client base. Having successfully opened 3 dental practices in Connecticut, Dr. Ammar Idlibi is well-versed in what it takes to bring people in and offers the following advice to others.

Make Your Service Stand Out

You need to make offering the highest standard of care a part of the culture at your practice. This means only hiring people who are well-qualified for the job, dedicating yourself to researching ways to improve your service and creating a comprehensive training plan that lets employees know exactly what is expected of them. By building a reputation for offering good care, you will start attracting more customers through word of mouth.

Pay Attention to Your Website

Regardless of what they are looking for, most people use their web to find services. This means you need to pay attention to your website, ensuring that it is properly optimized so that it will perform well for relevant searches, in addition to creating interesting content that tells the story of the practice and lets people know what it can offer to them.

Use Incentives

People love to feel like they have gotten a good deal, so Dr. Ammar Idlibi recommends incorporating other products into your base service. You can do things like offer electric toothbrushes at a discounted price with every checkup, or provide mini tubes of toothpaste to children when they complete an appointment. This will leave customers feeling like they are getting more than the bog-standard service when they visit your practice while also giving you special offers that you can advertise to new patients.
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Dr. Ammar Idlibi - Tips for Parents When Taking Kids to the Dentist

Fear of the dentist is natural among young children. In most cases they won’t fully understand why a dentist is poking around in their mouths unless everything has been properly explained to them. While dental professionals, like Dr. Ammar Idlibi, do what they can to ease a child’s fears, there are a number of tips that parents would do well to keep in mind in order to allay their child’s worries.

Start Early
If you start bringing your child to a qualified pediatric dentist as early in their life as possible, you can establish that these visits are routine and not scary when the child is still at an age where they are more accepting of things that may be a little scary to them. After their first experience at the dentist, many children overcome their fears. However, by leaving it too late in their life, you may end up simply making those fears worst. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that a child’s first visit to the pediatric dentist should be on his or her first birthday.

Explain Everything
Before taking your child to the dentist, explain what the dentist actually does in terms that they will be able to understand. In many cases, children fear the unknown rather than fearing the dentist themselves, so if they have a little bit more knowledge they will often be able to approach the situation with confidence.

Don’t Contradict the Dentist
While it is only natural to want to ensure that your child gets the best dental treatment around, Dr. Ammar Idlibi notes that it can be counterproductive to ask questions of your pediatric dentist while they are performing treatment. Remember that you are the primary authority figure in your child’s life, so if you appear distrustful of your dentist, your child will pick up on this and act in a similar fashion.