Dental Care for Patients from Newborn to Teens
Ages 0-2
We love seeing little ones! We prefer to see kids as early as age 1 so that we can develop a trusting relationship with both you and your baby. Don’t wait until the age of 3 or 4 to bring in your child, because they may already have cavities by then. We will give you important information about your child’s teeth and development
* Habits: we will discuss when to wean off the bottle and tips for ditching the pacifier
* Brushing: we’ll show you how to best way to brush your child’s teeth
* Nutritional Choices: We will show you how to keep your baby’s teeth clean while nursing or using a bottle.
Emergencies: as babies grow and start to learn to walk this can often lead to accidents with coffee tables and siblings. We want to avoid this, but if it happens, give us a call!
Ages 2-5
By this age your child has grown tremendously, they have developed their funny personalities and have great imaginations. They also have developed preferences for certain foods, snacks, juices and maybe continue their thumb sucking habits. We are here for you!
At this age we will discuss how to best take care of your child’s teeth as their independence grows. We will discuss maintaining brushing and flossing routines while respecting their desire to do it themselves. We will discuss changing the fluoride toothpaste amount to pea size at this age. We will monitor their dental development and growth and discuss possible interventions if needed.
Ages 6+
This is an exciting time since this is the age where the tooth fairy will start to visit your child! We’ll discuss which teeth will fall out at which age, make sure that all permanent teeth are in the correct development and proper position to come in. We’ll also discuss possible future orthodontic need or address any immediate orthodontic issues at this stage. Age 6 is very important because your child will get their first set of permanent 6 year molars and now is the paramount time to make sure they’re taking excellent care of their teeth. Dental injuries become more common as children become more active and participate in sports and we’re here to offer mouthguard to our patients!
Read More for Ages 6-10Read More for Ages 10+Emergency Pediatric Dental Treatment
Toothache
Call us so that we can schedule an appointment as soon as possible to address the source of pain. However, in the meantime make sure to clean around the sore tooth meticulously, brushing and flossing to make sure there is no food trapped in the area exacerbating the discomfort. For temporary pain relief, use children’s Tylenol or Motrin as instructed until your appointment. Do NOT use Aspirin or Orajel™ as these medications are not safe for children.
Knocked out Permanent tooth
Don’t Panic, we will walk you through everything as soon as it happens, just give us a call! You should first recover the tooth, trying to hold it by the crown and not by the root. Do not clean the tooth. Place the tooth back into the socket and push it into position as much as you can. If you cannot place the tooth back into place then place the tooth into milk and see a dentist immediately. We can always be reached after hours through our emergency line.
Broken Tooth
Roughhousing, sports injuries, or accidents can sometimes cause teeth to break. If the tooth is broken, try to recover the broken piece and place it in milk. We can sometimes reattach the piece so we would love it if you’d try to recover it. Give us a call as soon as possible, oftentimes cracked teeth can be sensitive and we want to help protect them as soon as possible.
Dental Abscess
An abscessed tooth is an extremely painful infection that forms inside the tooth’s root. If an abscess is present, your child may suffer from swollen gums, fever, or a bad taste in his or her mouth. Call our children’s emergency dentist office immediately if you suspect a tooth abscess, as the infection can spread to other areas of your child’s body if left untreated.
Some Common Questions
Why are Baby Teeth Important?
Even though baby teeth do fall out, back baby molars can remain in your child’s mouth until the age of 12. During this time baby teeth will help your child talk, eat, and reserve the proper space needed for the incoming adult teeth. That is why its our job to help protect them! We also want to take the time to teach children the importance of developing a hygiene routine and a healthy diet so that we can set them up for success when their permanent adult teeth arrive. We are also here to help you with any questions or concerns you may have about habits, traumas or other conditions.
What is tooth decay?
When teeth are exposed to sugar, bacteria can use the sugar as fuel and cause tooth decay. Tooth decay can be small or large and its size will oftentimes determine the proper treatment needed. If left untreated tooth decay can cause your child pain when eating or sleeping, alter permanent dentition, and even cause greater systemic infections.
When should I bring my child in for their first appointment?
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry encourages parents and other care providers to help every child establish a dental home by 12 months of age. We like to see your child by the age of 1 so that we can provide you with proper guidance regarding your child’s dental development as well as preventative practices to help ensure your child’s dental health.
How often should my children come to the dentist?
We want to see your children every 6 months so that we can provide checkups, cleanings and other preventative treatments like X-rays, sealants, and fluoride to help keep their teeth clean and cavity free. We will also use this time to monitor their dental growth and development and help guide their future orthodontic needs. and give you all the tools and information you need for the future.
Pediatric Services
Fluoride
Fluorine is a natural chemical compound proven to be effective in reducing dental decay. Fluoride is an important ingredient in your toothpaste, mouthwash, and even tap water. Like everything else, too much of a thing can cause problems. That’s why our pediatric dentists will monitor your child’s fluoride intake throughout their childhood to insure that they have enough to prevent cavities but not too much to cause problems. We supply your child with twice annual applications of fluoride varnish in order to provide their teeth with necessary minerals that they may have lost during normal function such as eating or drinking. If your child is at high risk for cavities due to braces, low saliva levels, or past cavities, we may recommend different fluoride products or more frequent fluoride applications. To learn more about fluoride read the AAPD guidelines here.—https://www.aapd.org/globalassets/media/policies_guidelines/bp_fluoridetherapy.pdf
Sealants
Permanent teeth (like your child’s 6 year molars) have much deeper and many more grooves than baby teeth. These deep grooves often trap foods such as chips, crackers etc into areas which are then hard to reach even with toothbrush bristles. This is where sealants can be helpful! Sealants are a resin placed (“painted”) into the deep grooves thereby making it difficult for food or bacteria to get trapped in the hard to clean areas. By doing so, sealants are a great non-invasive and easy preventative tool that we can offer to help decrease your child’s risk of cavities on the chewing surface of his/her teeth. The procedure of placing sealants is very easy, we often times compare it to “painting your nails”. We keep the tooth dry, wash it clean, place the sealant with a brush on the grooves. and help it dry quickly with the use of our special light. It’s fast, simple, and an easy preventative tool! Ask us if your child is eligible to get sealants today!
Silver Diamine Fluoride
We are proud to offer this revolutionary treatment option for the management of dental decay for children. Children are often times scared, too young, or have medical challenges which makes traditional drill and fill treatment difficult. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is a medication that can be applied in a non-invasive and comfortable way for the patient and provides an antimicrobial treatment for dental decay. This treatment does not remove the decay but it can help delay the progression of the decay in order to buy time for traditional treatment. This is a great aid for patients that are young, fearful, special needs, or pre-cooperative patients who may need an alternative to traditional treatment. SDF can also greatly help with sensitivity for our adult patients.
Pros: SDF has low toxicity, quick and non-invasive, painless, affordable/cost-efficient, can help postpone traditional treatment.
Cons: SDF permanent stains cavities black, it does not remove the cavity, requires at least 2 applications for maximum efficiency, cannot be used if cavity is causing patient pain or if there’s already developing infection.