Children’s Dentistry
Our office is very kid friendly, both for children who tag along with their parents, and who have their own dental visits! Babies will start getting their first teeth when they are about 6 months old. We encourage parents to bring their children in within 6 months of getting their new teeth. We do this to ensure that the teeth are healthy and that they are adjusting to a routine that will keep them healthy. This also helps your child to learn that trips to the dentist are fun! Once all of their baby teeth are in, children need them to be cleaned, just like grown ups. If a sneaky “sugar bug” does make a cavity, well then your child can help us “catch him” when he is small. Our goal is to make every visit to the dentist enjoyable and educational for your children. Since kids who come in are always so good, they get a trip to the toy basket at the end of their visit, where they can choose a toy to take home as a reward for their helpfulness!
Cavity Free Club
We are very proud of our cavity-free kids! Our Cavity Free Club serves as a reward system to help our young patients develop and maintain good oral hygiene habits.
Every young patient has the opportunity to become a member of our Cavity Free Club! To do this, children should take good care of their teeth by brushing and flossing twice daily. Any time they come in for their cleaning and exam with no cavities, if mom or dad allows, the children can have their photos posted to our Cavity Free Club section of our Facebook page, so that they can become famous for their achievement as members of our Cavity Free Club! If mom or dad SHARES their success on Facebook to help encourage others to be cavity free, the Cavity Free Club members get entered into a drawing to receive prizes like toys, gift cards, movie passes, and much more!
See our Cavity Free Club members here.
You can check out some good ways to care for your teeth in our cavity prevention information.
So don’t forget kids… Try your very hardest to stay cavity-free until your next dentist visit! And if you do have a cavity, you will be able to rejoin the club if you do not have cavities at your next cleaning!
Sealants
A sealant is a thin tooth colored protective coating that is placed on a tooth. The sealant starts as a liquid that flows down into the tiny, difficult to clean, grooves of a tooth. When the sealant material is just where we want it, we use a curing light to harden the sealant. The now hard sealant is smooth, and much easier to clean, helping to protect the tooth from food collecting in the grooves causing decay.
Silver Diamine Fluoride Treatment
Silver Diamine Fluoride is composed of two primary components: silver and fluoride. Silver acts as an anti-microbial agent that simultaneously strengthens the underlying protective layer of your teeth called dentin. Fluoride is the active ingredient that puts a stop to tooth decay and helps prevent additional decay from appearing.
During your visit, it will be applied with a microbrush after your teeth are cleaned of debris and prepared for the treatment. Once the tooth has been treated, we advise our patients not to eat or drink or at least an hour to allow it to cure.
Sport Mouth Guards
Some research has indicated that over 34% of sports related injuries involve the face. Wearing a mouthguard is a proven way to drastically reduce the chance of injury, both to the teeth, and to the lips and cheeks. While it is true that if an adult tooth is knocked out it can potentially be replanted, it is important to also know that in most cases, if that tooth is saved, it will also need endodontic treatment, also known as a root canal, which can be a costly procedure. Also, if a tooth is knocked out or damaged, it is less likely to last a child for the entirety of their life because of the damage to the tooth, the surrounding bone, and the need to maintain the work that is done to repair the tooth. We recommend that children and adults wear mouth guards for team sports to protect the teeth that they work so hard to keep healthy!
Tooth Colored, Natural Looking Fillings
Our office strives to use the most up-to-date and scientifically proven technology. This includes using advanced restorative materials. When we find a “cavity” or tooth decay, if caught early enough, we can fill the cavity without even having to drill using an infiltrative tooth colored resin that permeates the spaces inside the cavity. Even if the cavity is bigger, our filling materials will still be tooth colored. Our goal is that when you look at your new restoration, all you will see is tooth!
Removal Of Unsightly White Spots
White, opaque spots are fairly common on teeth, and can they have a variety of causes. Patients often mention that they are self-conscious about them, and often don’t realize that they can often be fixed! White spots are due to a lack of mineralization of the enamel, meaning that the enamel isn’t dense enough in those areas. We can reduce or completely remove the appearance of white spots with a variety of treatments. The most popular, quick and painless way to do this is with Icon, a material that infiltrates the structure of the tooth, returning the enamel to its natural color.