Why You Should Visit a Family Dentist For Your Children’s Care

In our family dentist office, we are focused on providing the highest quality of care for your family.  This means focusing on prevention and as a children's dentist we take that aspect of our job very seriously. We understand that if we can educate and empower our patients to make healthy decisions, regardless of how old they are, it will help them to maintain healthy teeth for a lifetime.  This is the power of family dentistry – the habits that you establish now will impact your children for the rest of their life.

What we can do for your child:

Educate.  As a family dentist, part of our job is to inform your children as to what they should and should not eat or drink to keep their teeth healthy.  For example, they should drink milk and eat a diet that contains lean protein, nuts, dairy and vegetables.  Simultaneously, they need to avoid drinking or eating anything that is overly acidic.  Everything has a pH level.  Water has a level of 7, meaning that it is neutral.  Battery acid has a pH level of zero and phosphoric acid has a level of 2.  Dentin begins to dissolve when anything below a 5.5 pH level comes in contact with the teeth.  With that in mind, we warn children to stay away from soda which can have a pH level of 2.5 or lower and juice which can have a pH level in the 3's.  Drinking water and milk, while simple, can make the difference between a life of strong and healthy teeth or a life full of brittle, decayed and damaged ones.

Cleanings.  Part of our children's dentist services is to clean teeth on a regular basis.  We recommend that children have their teeth cleaned twice a year so that we can remove the plaque and bacteria that has built up on them.  Even if your child brushes and flosses every day, there are some areas that are difficult to reach.  As a family dentist, we can use dental tools to reach these places and prevent cavities in the process.  These appointments can be completed fairly quickly and comfortably so that your child can actually enjoy receiving dental care.

Restorations.  As a family dentist, we know how common it is for a child to crack or chip a tooth.  It happens on the playground, when eating, wrestling with friends or playing sports.  While common, it is important to have the option of getting it restored quickly.  Our children's dentistry services include dental bonding since bonding material is a non-invasive and immediate way to restore a tooth.  As a result, it is a comfortable option for children that can restore their appearance and functionality.

Prevention.  We can provide your child with dental sealants to help prevent cavities.  By brushing the sealant onto their teeth, nothing can touch the chewing surfaces of them. This way, plaque cannot gather here and they will experience fewer cavities.

To learn more about our services as a family dentist, call and schedule an appointment.

Children's Dentist  >  Dental Implants

Visiting a Family Dentist Should be Part of Your Routine

As a family dentist, we want to be part of your annual routine. We understand how important your teeth are to your daily enjoyment of life.  While you may only think about them when you are brushing and flossing your teeth, they are part of your normal life, far more than it may seem.  For example, if you have dinner with your mother, you need your teeth to smile when you see her, chat about the family and to eat your steak salad.  Without your teeth, these basic activities would be difficult, if not impossible, to do. The challenge is that you only get one set of permanent teeth.  Taking care of them is critical to being able to live a full life, without restriction, as you age.

In our dental office, we want to see you twice a year so that we can clean your teeth and remove plaque and bacteria.  This way, your mouth can remain healthy, and the chance of you developing irreversible health conditions will be minimal. Simultaneously, if you develop a cavity or gum disease, we can treat the conditions right away before they cause you any discomfort.
Why you need a family dentist.

You never know when you or one of your children will have a dental emergency.  A toothache may develop, or someone may crack a tooth.  This is all possible during the course of normal life, and it is important that you have a dentist who can help you quickly.  We can, and we welcome your phone calls.  We offer restorative dentistry so regardless of what happens to your teeth, we have you covered.  Simultaneously, we hope that you visit our dental office for preventative care first so that we can prevent many of these oral health problems from developing in the first place.
The solutions we offer in our family dentist office.

The procedures we offer are as diverse as our patients' needs.  We begin by providing preventative care to keep your teeth healthy.  Next, we offer restorative solutions should your teeth become infected.  For example, we can perform a root canal in order to remove the infected area so that the tooth can be saved.  Once the infection has been removed, we may use a dental crown to protect the tooth and prevent any further damage.  This same solution, a dental crown, can also be used to save a tooth that has been cracked or chipped because it is a cap that surrounds it completely.  Since a crown can be created in a tooth-colored material, we can also use this solution to cover darks stains in your teeth and even change their overall shape or size.  Many of our solutions work exactly like this.  They can be used for restorative care and also as a cosmetic solution.

Some of the other procedures we perform include dental implants and dental bridges to replace teeth that have been lost and teeth whitening to improve the overall appearance of teeth.  Regardless of what your needs are, we can help.

Children's Dentist  >  Dental Office

Here’s Why We Use Fluoride in Our Family Dentist Office

In our family dentist office, our goal is to help our patients to stay in excellent oral health.  With that in mind, we are passionate about preventative care.  We encourage you to come to our office and have your teeth professionally cleaned at least twice a year so that we can remove plaque and bacteria before cavities and gum disease occur.  In addition, we may talk to you about fluoride or even recommend a fluoride treatment.  While most of our patients have heard of the substance, few are familiar with exactly how it works.  Here are some of the questions we are commonly asked in our dental office.

Where can I find fluoride?

Fluoride is derived from fluorine, a naturally occurring ion that can be found in the dirt, air, and even food.  In these quantities, it doesn't benefit your teeth, so it has been placed in public water.  Through a massive public health initiative, fluoride has been added to the water supply of over 10,000 communities across the United States.  Simultaneously, we apply fluoride treatments in our dental office by placing a varnish on the teeth. The varnish is virtually odorless and tasteless, so it doesn't bother young children.  Within four minutes, it will be fully absorbed, so the treatment is incredibly convenient.  If you want to use fluoride at home, we recommend brushing with toothpaste that contains it.  There are additional products you can buy like fluoridated milk, but the science is unclear as to how much it will help you.

Why is using fluoride important?

As a family dentist, we turn to what the Center for Disease Control said.  According to the CDC, tooth decay is the most commonly occurring infectious disease in children.  This is alarming and as a dentist, we do our part to help prevent tooth decay and cavities.  The use of fluoride can decrease the risk of tooth decay by thirty percent, making it an important tool for helping us to fight the problem. In essence, it can help to keep teeth strong in between dental visits so that there is less of a chance that a cavity will exist or become large by the time you come in for your next appointment.
Who should use fluoride?

We specifically recommend that children and teens have a fluoride treatment on an annual basis in order to reduce their risk for cavities.  Adults can also benefit from fluoride though most get it in their drinking water and by using a fluoride toothpaste. We recommend always brushing with a fluoride toothpaste since this is the easiest way to strengthen your teeth and fight tooth decay at home.
Is it safe?

As a family dentist, we are frequently asked this question, and the answer is yes.  Like all things, fluoride most be used in moderation, so the EPA regulates how much of it is put into drinking water.  In our office, we apply the correct dosage through the varnish and the toothpaste is also regulated, making it perfectly safe for your family.

Children's Dentist  >  Dentist

Your Family Dentist Can Prevent and Treat Children’s Tooth Decay

As a family dentist, we focus on preventative oral health care and work to keep our patients cavity free.  With kids, this is particularly important because a toothache is difficult to deal with, and no child wants to undergo a major dental procedure.  By protecting and strengthening teeth, we can prevent many oral infections so that children can live pain-free.

There are several ways to protect your children from getting tooth decay but first it is important to note that it can happen at any time.  Many parents make the mistake of thinking that babies and toddlers are not susceptible to tooth decay.  In reality, it is incredibly common for young ones to develop cavities.  When they do, it is commonly referred to as baby bottle tooth decay because the biggest risk factor is letting children take a bottle to bed with milk or juice in it.  As the sugar from the drinks sits on the teeth, it can lead to infection.

We recommend that parents start to take care of their kids' teeth before they ever start coming in.  With babies, you can use a washrag to wipe away sugar from the gums and as they get older, brushing and flossing should be a normal routine in both the morning and evening.  Whenever you brush your teeth – brush theirs.  This is an essential step in preventing tooth decay and as a family dentist we must stress the importance of creating a good oral health routine when your kids are young.

Other than brushing and flossing, make sure to feed your children a healthy diet that contains crunchy fruits and vegetables, nuts, dairy, lean protein and green leafy vegetables in order to strengthen their teeth.  Additionally, regular trips to the dentist are important for keeping teeth cavity free.  We can remove the plaque and bacteria that you can’t get to at home.  We can also apply a fluoride treatment that has been known to prevent cavities.

If, during one of these dental exams, we identify signs of tooth decay, we will let you know and discuss a treatment plan.  Depending on how old they are, we will make a recommendation to treat it immediately or wait a few months. At our office, Dr. Rado practices gentle and kind dentistry and can provide treatment in a way that is not scary or intimidating for children.  She can even provide various forms of pain relief or sedation.  This can be incredibly important when working with children since they have a difficult time sitting still and any discomfort would only make it worst.

After years of experience as a family dentist, Dr. Rado is an expert at providing dental care and treating children in a way that gets the job done while keeping them comfortable.  If your child is complaining of a toothache, call and schedule your appointment so that we can examine them right away and set a course for treatment.