Pediatric Dentistry

Pediatric dentistry is the special branch of dentistry that is geared towards children and adolescents. It is recommended that children go for their first dental visit within 6 months of having their first tooth emerge. This is not only a good preventative measure, but can also serve to provide parents with resources to help maintain their children’s primary teeth.

Children’s primary teeth play an important role in speech development and development of good eating habits, therefore, oral care and preventative maintenance including regular dental checkups is an important investment in the overall health of the child. Speak to your dentist if you have any questions regarding your child’s oral health.

Pediatric dentistry provides various oral health services that include and are not limited to;

• Habit counseling
• Correction orthodontics, as well as straightening teeth, which requires early assessment and treatment
• Infant oral health checkups, that include assessment for oral disease carriers in both the mother and the child
• Repair of dental cavities and other defects
• Treatment of gum infections and diseases like mucoceles, granular, and ulcers
• Care services for dental injuries like teeth displacement, fractures, and knocked-out teeth
• Identifying oral conditions that may be associated with diseases like asthma, heart problems, diabetes, hay fever, and hyperactivity disorders

It is clear that routine dental check-ups are required as children grow, to limit the risk of suffering dental complications. Ideal checkups with your child's dentist ensure that you keep your child's teeth healthy always. If you have questions about these or other services offered by our general dentists, contact our office today!

Even when brushing and flossing daily, your teeth can be negatively impacted by the food that you eat. We all know that sugar causes cavities but many of us don’t consider that while plaque bacteria feeds on simple sugars like candy, carbohydrates can be just as damaging. Eating lots of breads and other carbs like potato chips makes it easy for bacteria to grow between meals. This happens as food debris left in the mouth and between teeth are broken down by plaque bacteria which then excretes an acidic byproduct all over the enamel. Your pediatric dentist can provide education and recommendations around your child’s nutritional profile to help parents make decisions about when and what the family eats.

Infants get their first teeth within the first six months of their life, and by the ages of six or nine they are supposed to shed their baby teeth. The lost teeth get replaced by another set of secondary teeth that are recognized as permanent teeth. Unfortunately, some are still under the impression that baby teeth don’t need to be managed because they will fall out anyway, but the opposite is true. Your child’s baby teeth can significantly impact the health of their adult teeth later on. Primary teeth (baby teeth) play a big part in guiding adult teeth into place as they erupt from the gum line. Without nice strong roots on the adjacent teeth, the risk of poorly aligned adult teeth is increased.

We should consider the impact of plaque, tartar and decay on the soft tissues of the mouth. While baby teeth may fall out, gingivitis or gum disease don’t stop when the tooth drops. Poor hygiene in both children and adults can lead to swelling of the gums, bleeding from the gums and in some cases can progress to periodontal disease.

Periodontal disease is difficult to treat and manage, since the disease causes the gum tissue to pull away from the tooth and can travel down the shaft of the tooth, eventually causing infection and loss of teeth. In order to remedy the disease, a combination of antibiotics and root planing could be necessary, and in advanced cases, surgery may be required. In order to give adult teeth their best chance at a healthy eruption, we need to ensure that the bacterial count in the mouth is kept to a modest level. We do this by brushing a child’s teeth a minimum of twice daily and flossing between any teeth that are touching a minimum of once daily.

Consistent cleaning of children’s teeth is also important because primary teeth are more susceptible to decay than adult teeth. The reason for this is that children’s teeth have a thinner covering of enamel over their teeth than adults. Enamel is responsible for protecting the teeth against the effects of acidity in the mouth. When teeth are exposed to acids over a long period of time, the acid depletes the efficacy of enamel and cavities can form. For this reason, your dentist will likely recommend that your child be seen for checkups every 6 months or sooner if they are monitoring the onset of dental concerns in your child’s mouth.