Pediatric Dentistry

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Our approach to Children's Dentistry

With more than 34 years of experience, we know maintaining your oral health for life begins with good dental habits as a child. As with all diseases, prevention and early detection and treatment of disease is crucial for maintaining a healthy smile for life. Let’s develop good oral hygiene habits in our children and incorporate preventive strategies to minimize the risk of tooth decay. Treating significant dental decay is the number one reason why children undergo general anesthesia. New parents often ask us what is the ideal age to bring their child into the office for their first dental visit. The ideal age is around their first birthday or 6 months after their first tooth has erupted into their mouth. I know that may seem very young to you but let us explain the rationale for this recommendation.

With good oral care, all children can grow up cavity-free. The habits you help them develop now will last them their whole time. Seeing your child at the age of 1 serves a few different purposes:

You are developing a dental home for your child. Going for regular dental visits will become a natural part of your child’s life. We do everything we can to make this a very positive and fun appointment for your child so that both you and your child leave with a positive experience.
It gives us an opportunity to check your child’s mouth to make sure the teeth that may have already erupted are cavity-free and to check the rest of the mouth to make sure that everything is healthy.
It gives us an opportunity to discuss proper dental care specific to your child and your child’s dental age. The requirements of taking care of 1 tooth will be a lot less than taking care of 6 or more teeth.
We can discuss the caries process and we can help you minimize the risks of your child developing cavities.
We can discuss the inherent risks of your baby falling and perhaps bumping their teeth, and we can talk about how to manage falls.
If your child sucks their thumb, we can talk about how to manage this habit.
We have a keen interest in airway disorders and management of airways so it gives us an opportunity to specifically take note of your child’s breathing and to monitor the airway with each successive appointment.

Common Pediatric Dental Problems

How to prepare your child for their first visit

Read books, and watch videos of some of your children’s favorite characters going for a dental visit.
Parents should practice good oral hygiene.
Make the experience positive by making it fun to lower stress levels.
Schedule their appointment at a time of day that the child is least tired.