Children

Your Child's First Visit

The first "regular" dental visit should be just after your child's third birthday. The first dental visit is usually short and involves very little treatment. We may ask the parent to sit in the dental chair and hold their child during the examination. The parent may also be asked to wait in the reception area during part of the visit so that a relationship can be built between your child and your dentist or hygienist.

We will gently examine your child's teeth and gums. X-rays may be taken (to reveal decay and check on the progress of your child's permanent teeth under the gums). We may clean your child's teeth and apply topical fluoride to help protect the teeth against decay. We will make sure your child is receiving adequate fluoride at home. Most important of all, we will review with you how to clean and care for your child's teeth.

What Should I Tell My Child About Their First Dental Visit?

We are asked this question many times. We suggest you prepare your child the same way that you would before their first haircut or trip to the shoe store. Your child's reaction to his first visit to the dentist may surprise you.

Some First Visit Tips

• Take your child for a "preview" or online tour of the office.
• Read books with them about going to the dentist.
• Review with them what the dentist will be doing at the time of the first visit.
• Speak positively about your own dental experiences
• Avoid using any negative terms even if you believe you are using them in a positive context (for example, if you say “The dentist won’t hurt you”, your child is more likely to remember the word “hurt” than the word “won’t”)

What Will Happen During The First Visit With Your Dentist?

• Examination of your child’s mouth, teeth, and gums.
• Evaluate adverse habits like thumb sucking.
• Check to see if your child could benefit from fluoride supplements.
• Teach you and your child about the proper cleaning of teeth and gums.
• Suggest a schedule for regular dental visits.

What About Preventive Care?

Tooth decay and children no longer have to go hand-in-hand. At our office, we are most concerned with all aspects of preventive care. We use the latest in sealant technology to protect your child's teeth. Sealants are space-age plastics that are bonded to the chewing surfaces of decay prone back teeth. This is just one of the ways we will set the foundation for your child's lifetime of good oral health.

Cavity Prevention

Most of the time, cavities are due to a diet high in sugary foods and a lack of adequate brushing and flossing. Limiting sugar intake and brushing regularly, of course, can help. The more frequent the use of high sugar foods, the more likely decay will result. Frequency, therefore, has a greater impact than quantity. A bag of M&M’s, for example, eaten a few at a time over a period of hours has a much more negative effect than the same bag eaten all at once.

Every time we eat, an acid reaction occurs inside the mouth as the bacteria digest the sugars. This reaction lasts approximately 20 minutes. During this time the acid environment can damage the tooth structure, eventually leading to cavities. This acid is potent enough to destroy the hardest substance in the human body: dental enamel.

Tips For Cavity Prevention

• Limit frequency of meals and snacks.
• Encourage brushing, flossing, and rinsing.
• Watch what you drink.
• Avoid sticky foods.
• Make treats part of meals.
• Choose nutritious snacks.

The first baby teeth that come into the mouth are the two bottom front teeth. You will notice this when your baby is about six to eight months old. Next to follow will be the four upper front teeth. The remainder of your baby's teeth will appear periodically over the next few years. They will usually appear in pairs along the sides of the jaw until the child is about 2-1/2 years old.

At around 2-1/2 years old, your child should have all 20 teeth. Between the ages of five and six, the first permanent teeth will begin to erupt. Some of the permanent teeth replace baby teeth and some don't. Don't worry if some teeth are a few months early or late. All children are different.

Baby teeth are important as they not only hold space for permanent teeth, but they are also important to chewing, biting, speech, and appearance. For this reason it is important to maintain a healthy diet and daily hygiene.

As a preventative measure, our dentists can flow a sealant material into these pits and fissures to help reduce the incidence of decay. Tooth Sealants are quick to apply, painless, and one of the best investments a parent can make for the long-term dental health of their child.

A tooth sealant is essentially a flowable plastic/resin material which settles into the tiny fissures and pits of a tooth, where cavities frequently arise. After the tooth is polished thoroughly, and the surface etched with a mild solution for adherence purposes, the tooth sealant material is allowed to flow into the grooves of the tooth. The sealant material is then light-cured until it becomes solid.

Although tooth sealants are incredibly durable, occasionally they must be reapplied. It is important for a child to avoid hard and sticky foods, and maintain regular checkups so the dental team can properly evaluate the status of your child’s sealants.