Pediatric Dentistry

Regular dental exams play a critical role in your child’s oral health and help set your child up for a lifetime of healthy smiles.

How Often Should My Child
Visit The Dentist?

Children should visit the dentist to undergo an exam and cleaning every six months once they get their first tooth. This typically occurs around your child’s first birthday. If your child is at risk of developing gum disease or tooth decay, your dentist may recommend that they visit more often.

What To Expect
During Your Child’s Visit

If your child is nervous about visiting the dentist, our team will take extra care and attention to ease any anxiety they are experiencing. While we conduct the exam and cleaning, we will do our best to make the experience fun, engaging, and stress-free.

During your child’s exam, your dentist and dental hygienist will clean your child’s teeth and look for signs of gum disease and tooth decay. Your dentist may also have x-rays taken of your child’s jaw and teeth, and perform other diagnostic procedures.

Your dentist may also treat your child’s teeth with fluoride, and apply a sealant. Fluoride strengthens your child’s tooth enamel, and sealant helps protect your child’s teeth from decay by bonding to the grooves and depressions in each tooth, forming a protective barrier that shields the enamel from bacteria and plaque.

During your child’s visit, the dentist and dental hygienist may also discuss your child’s diet and oral hygiene habits with you, and review proper brushing and flossing techniques with your child to ensure their teeth remain clean and healthy.

Protecting Your Child’s
Gums & Baby Teeth

Though baby teeth are only temporary, it is still vital that they remain healthy and free of decay. Infections of any kind, including gum disease and tooth abscesses, can compromise your child’s immune system.

If left untreated, cavities in babies and small children can worsen to the point where the only way to treat them is with major surgery.

Here are a few things that you can do to help protect your child’s gums and baby teeth.

Infants

Most children get their first tooth between the ages of six months and nine months and have all of their baby teeth by the time they are about three years old. Teething is tough, but applying a cool spoon, or letting your child chew on a teething ring that has been placed in the fridge, can offer your child relief from teething pain.

Clean your child’s gums: After your child is finished feeding you should wipe their gums with a soft, damp washcloth to remove any milk or pureed food residue.
Brush your child’s teeth: Once your child gets their first tooth, it is important for you to begin brushing their teeth regularly. Make sure you clean the top and all four sides of each tooth. If your child has teeth that touch each other, you will need to floss for them as well.
No milk or juice after bedtime: Milk and juice both contain sugar, which is hard on our teeth and cause significant damage if it isn’t washed away. If your child goes to bed with a bottle or sippy cup you should fill it with water instead of milk or juice.
Feeding time is not sleeping time: If your child begins to doze while you are feeding them you may be tempted to let them sleep. However, both breast milk and formula contain sugar, which can damage your child’s tooth enamel if it is left to sit. Avoid letting your child sleep after feeding time until after you have cleaned their gums and teeth.

Toddlers and Preschoolers

Early childhood is a great time to lay the foundation of lifelong oral hygiene by teaching your child good habits. To help ensure your child’s teeth and gums stay happy and healthy, you should:

Floss your child’s teeth: If your child’s teeth are touching you should be flossing their teeth at least once per day.
Limit sugary drinks: You should only allow your child to consume sugary drinks, such as juice and milk, at mealtimes. Letting your child continuously sip on sugary drinks allows the sugar to stay on their teeth, causing tooth decay and gum disease. If your child is thirsty between meals, you should offer them water.
Brush your child’s teeth after they eat sugary or sticky foods: After your child eats something sugary or sticky you should brush their teeth and rinse their mouth out with water.
Change your child’s toothbrush: Your child’s toothbrush needs to be replaced every one to three months. However, you should also replace your child’s toothbrush immediately after they have been sick. Never allow your child to share a toothbrush with anyone.
Set a good example: Children love to imitate the people around them, so set a good example and let your child watch you brush your teeth. This will encourage them to brush their own teeth. Children under the age of three should have their teeth brushed for them, and should only use toothpaste if their dentist recommends it. Children between the ages of three and six can brush on their own with adult supervision, and only require a pea-sized amount of toothpaste. When your child is finished, they should spit out the toothpaste, not swallow it.

My Child’s Permanent Teeth
Are Coming In Behind Their Baby Teeth

This is very common, particularly when your child is getting their permanent lower incisors (the narrow-edged, biting teeth at the front of your mouth). In most cases your child’s baby incisors should fall out on their own. However, in some cases your child may need to undergo a painless tooth removal.

When your child’s permanent teeth come in before their baby teeth have fallen out it may indicate that they will experience future crowding. This spacing issue can be fixed with orthodontics.

For more information about our children’s dental health, or to book your child’s next exam and cleaning, please contact us.

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