Ephebodontics - A Review

Ephebodontics or adolescent dentistry is the science of dentistry that deals with the children who are in the process of growing up from childhood to manhood. Ephebos is a Greek noun which means youth entering manhood and is derived from the word ephebodontics. The word ephebodontics was first coined in Dental Clinics of North America, April 1969 issue. Adolescence is considered as an in between age in our society, which brings about lot of mental as well physical changes in the life of the individuals. The dental changes as well as the dental health needs of this age group are very important but are often neglected. Hence the role of dentists is very vital for understanding the requirements and the treatment needs of the adolescents. This review is based on the importance of adolescent dentistry and the ways in which dentists can have a vital role in treating adolescents.