Pediatric Dentistry
Brushing, flossing, balanced nutrition, limited snacking, and regular dental checkups are key ingredients in preventing cavities.
We are a dual specialty pediatric dental and orthodontic practice providing care to toddlers, children, teens and young adults. Our highest priority is that our patients feel relaxed during their appointments. We are kind, patient, and gentle when it comes to providing care. Starting dental appointments at a young age promotes healthy habits, and better long-term oral health. We make sure that all of our patients grow up to have beautiful smiles.
A child’s first dental visit should be six months after the first tooth comes in or by age one. This first visit is a fun one. Your child will be first exposed to the dental office by walking around our brightly decorated consultation room filled with toys to play with and movies to watch. Most of the first visit involves discussion with you about topics such as oral hygiene, nutrition, non-nutritive sucking habits, teething and trauma. We will address topics of common concerns such as fluoride safety, bottle and pacifier weening, and healthy snack choices. We will also welcome any specific concerns or questions you might have.
Next, we will examine your child in a style we call the lap exam. You will sit knee to knee with the doctor and your child will lay back into a comfortable pillow facing you. We try to keep this exam short as to cause unwanted stress to your child. We will also clean your child’s teeth. A dental cleaning can range from a toothbrush cleaning to a scaling. Whatever we need to do will be determined by your child’s dental needs and will be explained to you first.
Since every child is unique, the need for dental x-rays varies from child to child. Variables such as medical history, cavity rate, age of the patient and plaque index all come into play when deciding to do and x-ray examination. We use x-rays as a diagnostic tool only when a visual examination does not give us enough information to make a proper diagnosis.
We are very careful to minimize the amount of radiation our patients are exposed to. We therefore do not routinely take x-rays at each visit. While the amount of radiation received during a dental x-ray is small, we safeguard our patients by using digital radiography, and lead apron with a thyroid protection collar.
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has issued and evidence-based guideline that recommends use of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) to treat active dental decay in primary teeth in pediatric and special-needs patients.
SDF is a safe and effective way to stop a cavity dead in its tracks. The procedure is easy and involves no drilling. It acts as an antimicrobial which eliminates the bacteria, and strengthens the affected enamel through the use of fluoride. Typically two applications are all that is needed.
SDF is not appropriate for use on everyone. Since each one of our patients is unique, we will exam your child and discuss with you if SDF is an option for your child.
Tooth decay (cavities or caries) is a progressive disease which often begins in very young children. An important part of our job is to educate our families on preventive home care. And yet, kids still get cavities! Our practice offers an array of filling choices to repair primary and permanent teeth that have been infected with dental carries.
Fillings range from both tooth colored to metal. The material we choose is determined by the amount of decay that is present and the amount of tooth structure eliminated during the treatment process.
White fillings are typically the most common filling type. However if the decay has gone beyond the second layer of the tooth, a metal filling such as stainless steel crowns or amalgam is still the optimal choice.
Again, we treat each one of our patients as a unique individual. We customize all treatment plans keeping each of your child’s best interest in mind. After a thorough exam, treatment options will be presented to you. At that time, a mutually agreed upon treatment plan will be customized for your child.