Ask the Pediatric Dentist...

Pediatric dentists are the pediatricians of dentistry. A pediatric dentist has two to three years specialty training following dental school and limits his/her practice to treating children only. Pediatric dentists are primary and specialty oral care providers for infants and children through adolescence, including those with special health needs.

In order to prevent dental problems, your child should see a pediatric dentist when the first tooth appears, or no later than his/her first birthday.

Schedule the appointment at a time of day when he or she is well rested and most likely to cooperate. Let your child know the dentist will use special tools to keep his teeth healthy. Avoid sharing any negative words or experiences with your child.

Primary, or “baby,” teeth are important for many reasons. Not only do they help children speak clearly and chew naturally, they also aid in forming a path that permanent teeth can follow when they are ready to erupt.

Think of teeth as having three sides: the outer (cheek and lip side), the inner (tongue and palate side) and the biting surface. Brush with gentle circles across the gums and tooth on the outer and inner surfaces and then use a back and forth motion on the biting surface.

Starting at birth, clean your child’s gums with a soft infant toothbrush or cloth and water. A toothbrush is usually best to remove plaque bacteria that can lead to cavities. Any soft-bristled toothbrush with a small head, preferably one designed specifically for infants, should be used at least once a day at bedtime.

Brushing at least once a day, at bedtime, will remove plaque bacteria that can lead to decay.

Typically when the spaces between your child’s teeth have closed. When this happens, the bristles of a brush can’t reach between the teeth. Any contact between teeth is vulnerable to decay. Initially, many parents find floss picks easier than traditional flossing.

Fluoride is the most crucial ingredient in toothpaste. As long as the toothpaste contains fluoride, the brand or type (paste, gel, or powder) generally does not matter. All fluoride toothpastes work effectively to fight plaque and cavities, and to clean and polish tooth enamel.

Parents should use a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste to brush baby teeth twice daily as soon as they erupt and a soft, age-appropriate sized toothbrush. Once children are 3 to 6 years old, then the amount should be increased to a pea-size dollop and perform or assist your child’s toothbrushing.

Children don’t usually have the manual dexterity to brush their teeth until around the time they can tie their own shoelaces, which is usually around 6 years old.

Typically, a toddlers gums will bleed if they are just emerging or if there has been plaque present along the gum line for a while. This bacterial plaque has irritated the gums causing gingivitis. In this case, you cannot harm your child by brushing more thoroughly. Usually, with proper oral hygiene, the bleeding upon brushing will stop in a few days.

Routine dental cleanings are essential for preventive care. In general, we recommend cleanings twice a year for all pediatric patients in our care. Some children need more frequent dental visits because of increased risk of tooth decay, unusual growth patterns, or poor oral hygiene. Your pediatric dentist will let you know the best appointment schedule for your child.

Parents should take their children to the dentist regularly, beginning with the eruption of the first tooth. Then, the dentist can recommend a specific program of brushing, flossing, and other treatments for parents to supervise and teach to their children. These home treatments, when added to regular dental visits and a balanced diet, will help establish a lifetime of healthy habits for your child.

After an extraction, it is most important to stop the bleeding. The most effective recommendation is positive pressure. This can be accomplished by having the child bite tightly on a piece of cotton gauze for 15-30 minutes. If your child is too young to do this, hold the gauze tightly against the extraction site with your finger for the same length of time.
Normally, only slight discomfort will be experienced after an extraction unless the child bites the tongue or cheek while numb. If pain is present, we recommend analgesics in the appropriate dose for the child.

Avoid straws and any sucking action on the first day. Crunchy foods should be avoided for the first day or two. Warm salt water rinses, 3 to 4 times a day, are encouraged to help healing on the first day after the extraction.

A mouth guard should be a top priority on your child’s list of sports equipment. Athletic mouth protectors, or mouth guards, are made of soft plastic and fit comfortably to the shape of the upper teeth. They protect a child’s teeth, lips, cheeks and gums from sports-related injuries. A custom-fitted mouth guard fitted by our dentist is your child’s best protection against sports-related injuries.

To comfort your child, rinse his/her mouth with warm salt water, and apply a cold compress or ice wrapped in a cloth on your child’s face if it is swollen. Do not put heat or aspirin on the sore area, but you may give the child analgesics for pain. Please visit us as soon as possible.

Thumb and pacifier sucking habits that go on for a long period of time can create crowded, crooked teeth or bite problems. If children are still sucking their thumbs or fingers when their permanent teeth erupt, a mouth appliance may be recommended by your pediatric dentist. Most children stop these habits on their own.

When teeth erupt, sore gums are part of the normal eruption process. The discomfort is eased for some children by use of a teething biscuit, a piece of toast or a frozen teething ring. The pharmacy have medications that can be rubbed on the gums to alleviate the discomfort.

Baby bottle tooth decay is a pattern of rapid decay associated with prolonged nursing. It happens when a child goes to sleep while breast-feeding and/or bottle-feeding. During sleep, the flow of saliva is reduced, and the natural self-cleansing action of the mouth is diminished. Avoid nursing children to sleep or putting anything other than water in their bedtime bottle.

Pain, infection of the gums and jaws, impairment of general health and premature loss of teeth are just a few of the problems that can happen when baby teeth are neglected.  Proper care of baby teeth is instrumental in enhancing the health of your child.

At The Dental Land Clinic we use white (Tooth colored) fillings for our children. It match the natural color of the other teeth, and no one can tell that a filling is even there.

If done correctly, the white filling is less sensitive to hot and cold, making it a better filling for children. It also release fluoride to decrease the risk for future caries.

First of all, remain calm. If possible, find the tooth and hold it by the crown (top) rather than the root. Replace the tooth in the socket, and hold it there with clean gauze or a washcloth. If you can’t put the tooth back in the socket, place the tooth in a clean container with milk or water, and take your child and the glass immediately to us. Time is essential, so the faster you act, the better your chances of saving the tooth.

A broken/chipped/fractured tooth, painful toothache, or other dental issue that causes your child pain is considered an emergency. If your child faces a dental emergency, contact us immediately. We are here to assist.