Pediatric Dentistry
Tooth Brushing and Flossing Instructions.
Your Child's First Visit
"The first "regular" dental visit should be just after your child's third birthday."
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.
We will gently examine your child's teeth and gums. X-rays may be required (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
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 need fluoride
Teach you about cleaning your child's teeth and gums.
Suggest a schedule for regular dental visits.
What About Preventive Care? Cleaning, fluoride and sealants.
"Tooth decay and children no longer have to go hand-in-hand."
Prophylaxis (cleaning) involves scaling and polishing, including removal of calculus deposits, plaque, stains, and polishing tooth surfaces. All children should have dental cleaning. Flouride application helps prevent cavities by strengthening teeth. For more details click here .
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 protect the grooved and pitted surfaces of the teeth, especially the chewing surfaces of back teeth where most cavities in children are found. Made of clear or shaded composite, sealants are applied to the teeth to help keep them cavity-free. Sealants "seal out" food and plaque, thus reducing the risks of decay. This is just one of the ways we will set the foundation for your child's lifetime of good oral health. For more details click here .
Cavity Prevention
Most of the time cavities are due to a diet high in sugary foods and a lack of brushing. Limiting sugar intake and brushing regularly, of course, can help. The longer it takes your child to chew their foods the longer the residue stays on their teeth, the greater the chances of getting cavities.
Every time someone eats, an acid reaction occurs inside their mouth as the bacteria digests the sugars. This reaction lasts approximately 20 minutes. During this time the acid environment can destroy the tooth structure, eventually leading to cavities.
Consistency of a person's saliva also makes a difference. Thinner saliva breaks up and washes away food more quickly. When a person eats diets high in carbohydrates and sugars, they tend to have thicker saliva that allows more acid-producing bacteria that can cause cavities.
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 and the remainder of your baby's teeth will appear periodically. 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 important to chewing, biting, speech, and appearance. For this reason it is important to maintain a healthy diet and daily hygiene."
Common Paediatric Procedures
Bonded Fillings: Tooth-colored fillings which are used primarily to restore small to moderate-sized cavities. They bond to tooth structure and are esthetically more pleasing.
Bonded Crowns: Tooth-colored crowns which are used primarily to restore decayed anterior teeth.
Stainless Steel Crowns: Crowns which are used to restore primary molars when there is not enough tooth structure to hold a filling. They are mostly used on severely decayed teeth or after pulp therapy.
Pulpotomy (Baby-Root Canal): Pulp therapy used to remove infected nerve tissue and to maintain the vitality of the root tissue. Pulpotomies are used to preserve the jaw space and to allow the preservation of primary teeth. The tooth is medicated and completely covered with a crown.
Extractions: The removal of a tooth when the tooth is unrestorable by either severe caries or infection. Teeth may also be removed at the request of an orthodontist before starting braces.
Space Maintainers
Appliances which are used for holding molar position. It is usually indicated where there is premature loss of a primary molar.
What is a Space Maintainer? It is very often a small stainless steel wire and band joined together which is cemented on one of the teeth adjacent to a gap where a permanent tooth should be erupting. Occasionally a plastic plate may be used if more than one or two teeth are involved.
Why is a Space Maintainer needed? Usually when milk teeth are lost especially in the back of the mouth, the following adult teeth that are developing in the jaw are already near the surface and follow the lost teeth without any problem. But occasionally some of the milk teeth may be lost prematurely because of severe decay and unless the gap left by this tooth loss is kept open until the permanent teeth in the gum are ready to erupt, the teeth behind the space may drift forwards and the space lost. If this happens crowding of the teeth often occurs and the permanent teeth in question do not have enough room to come through in the correct position.
When will I need to wear it? If the Space maintainer is cemented onto one of the teeth, the appliance is worn 24 hours a day until the permanent tooth in question is erupting through the gum. If it is a removable plastic appliance, it should be worn almost all the time, except during playing sports. It must only be taken out for short periods, normally at least twice a day for cleaning.
How long will I need to wear it? This all depends on how long it takes for the tooth or teeth to erupt through the gum.
How do I clean it? Both removable and fixed appliances must be cleaned thoroughly. Use the same brush that you use for cleaning your teeth. You must be very thorough with a fixed appliance as it has little spaces where food can get trapped. If the appliance is removable do remember never to wrap them in tissues or paper handkerchiefs if you are not going to wear them immediately. They will get thrown out with the paper and the valuable appliance will need to be made again right from the beginning.
Tooth Brushing and Flossing Instructions.
Children's hands and mouths are different than adults. They need to use toothbrushes designed for children. Both adults and children should use brushes with soft, rounded bristles for gentle cleaning. Change to a new brush about every three months
Wipe infant's teeth gently with a moist, soft cloth or gauze square. As babies grow, use a child's toothbrush with a small, pea-sized dab of toothpaste. By age 2 or 3 begin to teach your child to brush. You will still need to brush where they miss. Dentists and hygienists often advise children to use a gentle, short, back and forth motion to remove plaque. When children are older they can switch to the following method:
Hold the brush at an angle (45 degrees) towards teeth and gums. Move brush back and forth with short strokes, about a half tooth wide.
Brush the inside and outside surfaces of each tooth, top and bottom.
Hold the brush flat on top of the teeth and brush the chewing surfaces.
Gently brush the tongue to remove debris.
Floss between teeth daily.
When to begin brushing
Once your child's teeth begin erupting, you can begin cleaning them by wiping them with a moist washcloth. As your child gets more teeth, you can begin to use a soft child's toothbrush. You should use just a pea-size amount of a fluoride toothpaste or a non-fluoride toothpaste (like Baby OraGel) until your child is able to spit it out (too much fluoride can stain their teeth).
For most toddlers, getting them to brush their teeth can be quite a challenge.
Some suggestions for making tooth brushing less of a battle can include:
letting him brush your teeth at the same time
letting him pick out a few toothbrushes with his favorite characters and giving him a choice of which one he wants to use each time (this will give him some feeling of control over the situation)
let him brush his own teeth first (you will likely have to "help out").
read some children's books about tooth brushing.
Or have everyone brush their teeth at the same time.
To help him understand the importance of brushing, it can be sometimes fun and helpful to let him eat or drink something that will 'stain' his teeth temporarily, and then let him brush them clean.
It can also be a good idea to create a "tooth brushing routine" And stick to the same routine each day.