Dental sealants are plastic coatings placed on the chewing surfaces of the teeth to prevent tooth decay. Sealants protect the pre-molars (which come in around age 6) and the molars (which come in around age 12), as these are the teeth used the most for chewing. When food gets stuck in the grooves of the teeth, it causes plaque, which in turn causes cavities. Sealants prevent this from happening by “sealing out” food and bacteria.

Sealants are often a good idea for children, who are more at risk for cavities on the surface of the teeth. This is because small children have trouble properly brushing their teeth, and might not notice when a piece of food gets stuck in their teeth. Eating a lot of sugary foods is an additional risk factor for cavities in kids. Drinking a lot of juice or eating gummy vitamins, for example, causes plaque buildup due to all the sugar and stickiness that coats the teeth. Sealants can protect children’s teeth during the most cavity-prone years, between the ages of 6 and 14, so that they’re ready to enter adolescence with great dental health.

Studies show that children with sealants have significantly less plaque after a few years than children who simply brush and floss regularly. Sealants are a safe and smart choice to prevent cavities, and so at Children’s Dental World, we use sealants as part of our preventative care to keep your child’s teeth healthy. Sealants are a very affordable dental procedure, especially when considered against the cost of filling several cavities. Sealants are a good idea if your child has deeper grooves on the surface of her teeth or has a lot of plaque buildup. We can discuss together whether sealants would be a good choice for your child in order to prevent cavities.

If we do decide that your child should have sealants placed, we’ll take care of it in just one appointment. The process for placing sealants is quick, simple, and painless, so you won’t have to worry about your child’s comfort. First, we clean the teeth that we’re going to seal, making sure there is no food or plaque left in the grooves of the teeth. Next, we prepare the tooth’s surface with an etching gel so that the sealant, a liquid plastic, can easily bond to it. When the sealant goes on, it fits perfectly into the tooth’s grooves and looks very natural. Finally, we set and dry the sealant. Each step is painless for your child, and all in all the process should take only about five minutes for each tooth we seal.

Sealants last for several years, protecting your child through the phases when they are most at risk for cavities. They look natural and require no extra care. However, sealants are only one part of a healthy smile–you still need to make sure that your child practices good dental hygiene with regular brushing and flossing!

Regular teeth cleanings are extremely important to your child’s dental health. In the first decade of life, children are at high-risk for cavities. Cleanings remove plaque from the teeth, prevent cavities, and identify any cavities that have already formed. Without regular teeth cleanings, cavities can spread and worsen, causing more serious problems. Regular teeth cleanings are the best way to keep your child’s smile beautiful and healthy and prevent lengthier, more anxiety-inducing visits to the dentist for fillings.

You’re used to brushing your child’s teeth and teaching him to do a great job of brushing his own, but unfortunately, regular brushing isn’t enough to keep teeth clean. Toothbrushes can’t reach all the grooves in the teeth, and it’s difficult to reach certain angles in the mouth. Even daily flossing doesn’t always catch all of the residue that becomes lodged between the teeth and the gums. It’s important to come in for regular cleanings so that your child gets the “deep clean” necessary to prevent plaque buildup and cavities.

Some people assume that regular cleanings aren’t important for kids when they still have their baby teeth, but this is not true. Healthy baby teeth allow your child to chew comfortably, aid in speech development, save space in the jaw for permanent teeth, and keep the gums healthy.

Children need just as many dental cleanings as adults–one every six months, beginning at age two. However, it’s best to bring your child in even before this. Her first dentist visit should be around her first birthday, so we can check on the healthy development of her teeth. If your child becomes accustomed to coming to the dentist from a young age, she will be less likely to experience fear or anxiety about the visits.

Parents sometimes worry about the frequency of professional teeth cleanings if their young child is afraid of the dentist or doesn’t understand what’s happening. However, regular visits to the dentist are necessary to helping your child understand that we’re here to help keep his teeth healthy. We want to make the experience as comfortable and relaxing as possible for your child, and we’ll explain to him what we’re doing during these cleanings and why. Not skipping visits communicates to your child the importance of good dental hygiene. If your child is especially anxious about the dentist or has trouble sitting still for the duration of a cleaning, we can use laughing gas (nitrous oxide) to make the experience more relaxing and pleasant for him.

When you think of a visit to the dentist for your child, you might just think of a checkup and cleaning. However, a thorough appointment will sometimes involve taking an x-ray of your child’s teeth. Dental x-rays are used for the purpose of taking images of the teeth and bones, but they can seem foreign and a little scary, especially to children. Fortunately, dental x-rays–and digital x-rays especially–are not only safe, they have important benefits.

An x-ray can seem like a scary thing, especially for a child. However, x-rays are an important part of dental health, and periodically necessary to your child’s checkup. Dental x-rays are used to take pictures of the teeth, gums, and bones. An x-ray is necessary for us to see the tooth in a way that we can’t through simple visual inspection. They help us find cavities, check on gum health, and make sure that your child’s teeth and jaws are developing normally. For this reason, x-rays are crucial for dealing with dental health issues early on. Childhood is an extremely important time for the development of your child’s teeth, gums, and bones, and it can actually set the precedent for their dental health as adults. That’s why it’s important to diagnose and correct any issues as soon as they arise.

Don’t worry– we take measures to make sure that a dental x-ray is completely safe and comfortable for your child. Here at our office, we use digital x-rays, which are a great new alternative to traditional film x-rays. There are two major benefits of digital x-rays: firstly, they use less radiation than traditional film x-rays, and secondly, they provide high-quality images that we can easily edit and save.

Every parent worries about the safety of their child during procedures like x-rays, but dental x-rays are actually extremely safe. Traditional x-rays have been shown in studies to produce only a tiny amount of radiation, and digital x-rays are even safer, exposing the patient to 90% less radiation. We also use lead aprons during imaging to protect your child’s body from any radiation at all. Taking the x-rays does not take long, and we make sure your child is comfortable and feels safe.

Traditional x-rays use film to capture images of the teeth, and have the same shortcomings of film cameras. The image takes longer to develop, is not always high-quality, and must be scanned into a computer. Digital x-rays have all the technological benefits of a digital camera. They instantly produce high-quality digital images of your child’s teeth that we can manipulate in our computer system. Immediately, the images are available on the screen, and we can zoom in or change the exposure to reveal even the smallest problem. Another added bonus is that we can easily save the images to your electronic patient file. With digital technology, there is no risk of losing your child’s dental records.

When your child comes in for his digital x-ray, we’ll explain everything that we’re doing in kid-friendly terms. They might even enjoy seeing the pictures of their teeth up on the screen!

Why do I need to take my child to a pediatric dentist?

Many parents wonder why they can’t take their child to their own dentist. In many cases, adult dentists do care for children as well. However, pediatric dentists are distinct from adult dentists in several important ways. In fact, pediatric dentists attend dental school for an additional two years in order to learn how to properly care for the developing oral health of children and adolescents. They are also specially trained to work with children with cognitive, emotional, or physical disabilities.

Children get their first tooth around six months, and lose their baby teeth by age six or seven. In that time, proper dental care is crucial to prevent decay and disease that will affect their adult dental health. Pediatric dentists are trained to keep baby teeth healthy and prevent any problems. As children become responsible for their own dental hygiene, pediatric dentists are also trained in helping children understand why taking care of their teeth is so important. As they enter adolescence, it becomes necessary to evaluate the teeth and jaws for proper alignment to see whether orthodontics will be necessary. Your child’s pediatric dentist will make sure that their smile is as straight and healthy as can be.

Often, children have trouble sitting patiently and cooperatively through a dental visit. Pediatric dentists are trained to make the experience as pleasant and quick as possible for kids, and pediatric dental offices also have special, kid-friendly equipment on hand that adult offices don’t use as frequently.

A pediatric dentist can also provide you with counseling to make sure that you know how to help your child practice good dental hygiene and avoid the need for braces. For instance, we’ll go over what foods are best for dental health, and suggest ways to wean your child off sucking habits that cause poor alignment of the jaw, such as thumb-sucking and pacifiers.

The dentist’s office can be a scary place for kids. As pediatric dentists, we work hard to create an environment for your child that is fun, comfortable, and educational. Your child’s perception of the dentist begins with his first appointment, and we want to create a positive impression so that your child enjoys his visits and doesn’t develop anxiety regarding dental visits as an adult. When we see your child regularly, we can focus on preventative care rather than correcting problems that develop as a result of neglecting regular visits. Call our team to schedule an appointment today!

Good dental health starts early in life. Regular brushing, flossing, and a healthy diet are key strategies for ensuring that your child’s teeth and gums are as healthy as they can be. The food we eat is closely related to our dental health because certain foods cause plaque buildup and cavities–while other foods keep teeth healthy and strong. Teaching your child about the importance of healthy foods for keeping their teeth white and strong helps them practice good dental habits that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Foods that are bad for your child’s teeth include many foods that we typically consider to be “kid-friendly,” such as dried fruit, gummy candies or vitamins, and soft cookies. That’s because these foods have a lot of sugar and are sticky enough to get stuck in the grooves of the teeth. In general, try to avoid foods high in carbohydrates and sugar, as these cause more plaque, which leads to cavities.

The best foods for your child’s teeth are foods high in calcium and fiber. Fruits and vegetables are great because they are low in carbohydrates, high in fiber, and have a high water content, which helps to wash away food residue and bacteria that accumulates in the mouth. Higher-water veggies like cucumbers and bell peppers are particularly good. Broccoli is an especially good food for your child’s teeth because it’s very fibrous and also high in calcium. Other high-calcium foods that keep teeth strong include cheese, low-sugar yogurt, and milk. Try to avoid situations where your child is snacking throughout the day, and instead have designated snack times with low-sugar, low-carbohydrate foods.

What else is good for your child’s teeth? Water. Drinking water frequently helps wash away food, prevents bacteria from gathering in the mouth, and cleans the teeth. In addition, it keeps your child hydrated! We recommend giving your child water instead of juice. Even though juice may have a lot of vitamins, it also has a lot of sugar and acid so, over time, it can wreak havoc on the teeth. For vitamins, choose a high-fiber real fruit option, like orange slices or strawberries.

Of course, we all enjoy treats that aren’t great for the teeth, like candy and cookies, now and then. Just make sure that when your child enjoys this kind of food, she brushes her teeth thoroughly afterwards.