Paediatric dentist in Białystok: what they do at each age, what the NFZ covers and how they help a child who is afraid

What does a paediatric dentist, or pedodontist, do?

A paediatric dentist, sometimes called a pedodontist, is a dentist who looks after the teeth and mouths of children and teenagers, from the first tooth to adulthood. The work consists above all of preventing decay, treating milk teeth and young permanent teeth, caring for children after injuries and running visits in a way that allows the child to cooperate.

Paediatric dentistry is one of 9 dental specialties on the Minister of Health’s list (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 975). A dentist obtains the specialist title after specialty training and the State Specialisation Examination (Państwowy Egzamin Specjalizacyjny), and any dentist with an NFZ contract may treat children on the NFZ. Some services are restricted: on the NFZ, root canal treatment of a tooth with an incompletely formed root using an MTA-type material is carried out by a specialist in paediatric dentistry or in conservative dentistry with endodontics, or by a dentist training in one of these specialties.

You can check a particular dentist’s specialty in the Central Register of Physicians and Dentists (Centralny Rejestr Lekarzy i Lekarzy Dentystów) kept by the Supreme Medical Chamber (Naczelna Izba Lekarska), by searching for their name or licence number. The register shows the status of the licence to practise and the specialties obtained.

From what age, and how often, should a child see a dentist?

The first visit to the dentist should take place within 6 months of the first milk tooth erupting, and no later than 12 months of age. This is the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and the Polish Society of Paediatric Dentistry (Polskie Towarzystwo Stomatologii Dziecięcej, PTSD). How such an adaptation visit runs and how to prepare the child is described in a separate article on a child’s first visit to the dentist.

Check-ups then usually follow every 6 months. In its recommendations on the periodicity of examinations (updated in 2022), the AAPD adds that children at higher risk of decay or gum disease benefit from more frequent visits, for example every 3 months. The dentist sets the interval to the next check-up after each visit, based on an assessment of risk.

What does a dental visit focus on at each stage of a child’s life?

A visit to a paediatric dentist looks different for a one-year-old than for a teenager, because the teeth change, and so do the things that threaten them. The table combines the AAPD recommendations for successive age groups with the schedule of preventive visits that the NFZ funds for children and young people up to the age of 19 (the regulation on dental services, Annex 10).

At every visit the dentist also assesses oral hygiene and gives advice on brushing at home suited to the child’s age. With the youngest children the instruction is aimed at the parent, because the parent is the one who brushes the child’s teeth.

What is a child entitled to at the dentist on the NFZ?

Up to the age of 18, the NFZ funds a wider range of dental treatment for a child than for adults, including root canal treatment of all teeth and sealing of the permanent molars. The list comes from the Minister of Health’s regulation on guaranteed dental services (consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 615), legal status as of 24 October 2026. No referral is needed to see a dentist on the NFZ.

According to the Podlaskie regional branch of the NFZ, since 1 July 2025 general dental services for children and young people in Podlaskie province have been provided at 40 locations, and treatment under general anaesthesia at 5 (as of 24 October 2026). You can find a practice with a contract in Białystok using the NFZ search tool “Gdzie się leczyć” (Where to get treatment) or by calling the free NFZ patient helpline (Telefoniczna Informacja Pacjenta) on 800 190 590. A full overview for all groups of patients is given in the article on what the NFZ covers at the dentist.

• An adaptation visit at a child’s first visit before the age of 6, not combined with treatment.
• Fissure sealing of the first permanent molars once up to the age of 8, and of the second molars once up to the age of 14.
• Fluoride varnish on milk and permanent teeth, no more often than once a quarter.
• Dentine impregnation and fillings in milk teeth, and in incisors and canines also light-cured composite.
• Pulp treatment and root canal treatment of all teeth, including permanent molars.
• An examination after a dental injury and up to 3 follow-up examinations within the first 6 months after the injury.
• Up to 5 intraoral X-rays a year and, from the age of 5 to 18, a panoramic X-ray once every 3 years when justified.

How does a paediatric dentist help a child who is afraid of the dentist?

A paediatric dentist helps a frightened child step by step: starting with conversation and familiarisation, and turning to medication only when that is not enough. Fear is common: a 2021 meta-analysis (Grisolia et al.) puts it at 23.9% of children and adolescents, and at 36.5% among preschool children.

The AAPD guideline on behaviour guidance (updated in 2024) divides methods into basic ones, used with every child, and advanced ones, such as sedation and general anaesthesia. According to the AAPD, basic methods are the foundation of guiding every child, and it is not known whether sedation and general anaesthesia remove the causes of fear. For a child in the 3rd year of life who is afraid of treatment, the NFZ provides for at least 2 adaptation visits.

General anaesthesia is a medical decision made after qualification, not a way of getting through an ordinary visit. Since 1 January 2026 the NFZ has funded it for, among others, children up to the age of 3 who do not cooperate despite adaptation visits and sedation and who have at least 8 carious cavities or need root canal treatment or extraction of at least 4 teeth. The other criteria are described in the article on dental treatment under general anaesthesia on the NFZ.

• Tell-show-do: the dentist explains the procedure in words suited to the child’s age, shows the instrument, its sound and its touch, and then does exactly what was announced.
• Praise for a specific behaviour, for example “thank you for sitting so still”, which the AAPD calls descriptive praise and recommends in place of a general “good job”.
• Distraction and gradual familiarisation, known as desensitisation: over successive visits the child gets to know, one by one, the elements that cause fear.
• Inhalation sedation with nitrous oxide, which the AAPD lists for, among others, anxious children and those with a strong gag reflex; it requires breathing through the nose, so a runny nose can be a contraindication.
• General anaesthesia, when treatment is necessary and cooperation in the chair is not possible, always after dental and anaesthesiology qualification.

What can parents do before and between visits?

What happens at home has a big influence on a child’s teeth: daily brushing, and eating and drinking between meals. Polish experts (2019 recommendations) advise that parents brush a child’s teeth up to the age of 8 and then supervise the brushing. The AAPD stresses that a parent gives the child support in the surgery, and that the rules for the parent’s presence are best agreed with the dentist in advance.

• Book the first visit before any pain appears, so that the child can get to know the surgery without hurry and without treatment.
• Brush your child’s teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste in an amount suited to their age, the last time before bed.
• Talk about the visit briefly and calmly; the AAPD describes looking at positive pictures of the surgery before the visit as one way of preparing.
• Bring information about your child’s illnesses, medicines and allergies, and test results if the child has recent ones.
• Ask about the treatment plan: what needs doing straight away, what can be monitored and when to come back for a check-up.

How much does private dental treatment for children cost?

The cost of a child’s dental treatment depends on the number and depth of cavities, the type of filling, whether pulp treatment is needed and whether the child requires sedation. Below are items from the DentalBlue price list; the final scope and cost are set by the dentist at the visit, and prices may change.

Private treatment does not replace the services a child is entitled to on the NFZ, and the two can be used independently. The choice belongs to the parent.

• In the clinic’s price list, “Wizyta Adaptacyjna” (adaptation visit) costs 250 zł and “Konsultacja stomatologiczna” (dental consultation) 300 zł.
• Sealing: “Lakowanie 1 ząb” (sealing, one tooth) 220 zł, “Lakowanie z poszerzeniem” (extended fissure sealing) 260 zł.
• Prevention: “Czyszczenie zębów z fluoryzacją” (tooth cleaning with fluoride) 250 zł.
• Fillings: “Wypełnienie w zębie mlecznym Kromoglass” (glass ionomer filling in a milk tooth) 250 zł, “Wypełnienie kompozyt ząb mleczny” (composite filling in a milk tooth) 270 zł.
• Pulp treatment and extraction: “Leczenie kanałowe zęba mlecznego” (root canal treatment of a milk tooth) 320 zł, “Usunięcie zęba mlecznego zresorbowanego” (extraction of a resorbed milk tooth) 250 zł.
• When the child does not allow an examination: “Nieefektywna wizyta dziecka” (unproductive child’s visit) 150 zł; sedation: “Podtlenek azotu” (nitrous oxide) 170 zł.

Paediatric dentistry at DentalBlue in Białystok

Paediatric dentistry is one of DentalBlue’s five teams at ul. Kazimierza Pułaskiego 35 in Białystok. Children are treated at their own pace, from an adaptation visit to the treatment of milk and permanent teeth, and prevention includes professional cleaning, sealing and fluoride treatment. The clinic offers inhalation sedation with nitrous oxide, and X-rays are taken in its own radiology unit. When cooperation in the chair is not possible, treatment can take place under general anaesthesia in the clinic’s own anaesthesiology department, after a joint dental and anaesthesiology consultation; entitlement to NFZ funding is checked at qualification. The clinic is open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 20:00 and on Saturdays from 8:00 to 16:00. A consultation can be booked by phone: 85 748 00 50.