A Children's Dentist Can Help Prevent Cavities

At our Green Brook Township childrens dentist office, we know how important it is to prevent cavities. Most children will suffer from them, and it has become such a significant issue that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that this is the most commonly occurring infectious disease among children. It has reached the point that it is impacting the number of days that children miss from school. Tooth decay can even impact young toddlers. Therefore, we focus on preventing it.

Childrens Dentist Office Exams and Cleanings

In our dental office, we recommend that children come in for a teeth cleaning and exam as young as one year of age. This way we can inspect their teeth and make sure that they are growing in properly. When they get professional teeth cleaning it goes a long way in helping to prevent cavities. No matter how good one is at brushing his or her teeth, there are some places in the mouth that are difficult to reach without a trip to the dentist. We can remove the plaque and bacteria from these areas to reduce the risk of cavities. The best routine involves brushing and flossing twice a day and visiting our office for a professional cleaning twice a year.

Fluoride Treatment

Upon visiting our childrens dentist office, there are additional steps that we can take to prevent cavities such as completing a fluoride treatment. Fluoride is a mineral that we can brush directly onto the teeth. It serves to strengthen teeth, which is significant, considering how many children get cavities. Simultaneously, a fluoride treatment only takes a couple of minutes to complete, and it is entirely non-invasive, so children do not experience any discomfort.

Dental Sealants

Another way that we can help is to place sealant on their teeth. If your child has deep ridges on the chewing surface of their teeth, it will be difficult to clean them all the way. Food particles, plaque, and bacteria can gather here and increase the likelihood that they will develop cavities in these spaces. At our childrens dentist office, we can brush a clear liquid onto their teeth. This sealant will harden and provide a protective barrier so that nothing can get into these deep ridges. As a result, we can significantly reduce the chance of your child developing cavities. Like fluoride, this is a non-invasive solution that only takes a few minutes per tooth.
Regardless of how old your child is or what their oral health has been, it is never too early or too late to focus on improving it. When you visit our dental office, we can take the steps necessary to improve the oral health of our patients. Our goal is to ensure that your child remains healthy as they age and that they will grow with a full set of natural teeth that have not been hindered by decay or gum disease. To schedule your appointment, give us a call.

Tips From a Children's Dentist For Getting Kids Excited to Brush

When you visit our children's dentist office, you are going to hear a lot about teeth brushing.  We can't help it – brushing teeth is that important!  Still, we understand that for parents the idea or concept of getting their kids to brush makes 100 percent sense.  Implementation, however, can be incredibly difficult, especially with a child that is absolutely uninterested.  Regardless of whether you have a toddler at home or a teen, brushing teeth will often take a backseat to playing, watching a show, running around, etc.  Our goal is to help you to change the tide and make brushing teeth a fun and interesting activity.

Yes – it is possible.

The first thing we suggest is to put away the old timers and stopwatches.  If you have been timing your kids while they brush, that is a good thing.  How you do it, however, can make the difference between teeth brushing being something to dread and a fun activity.  Instead of using a timer, start to have fun with it by playing their favorite song for two minutes at a time.  If you have several kids, let them take turns picking to change things up a bit.  This works really well in the morning if you play an upbeat song that they can sing and dance to.  This is not the time to play your personal favorites, but let them make the song selection.  The ultimate goal, after all, is for the to start having fun while brushing their teeth.

As a children's dentist office, we also suggest that you visit the American Dental Association website and use the tools that they have available for kids and parents.  They have a rewards chart that you can use to start encouraging your kids to brush.  This works really well for younger kids, but you can use the same concept without the chart.  For example, if your teen wants to go out with friends on Friday, make brushing their teeth twice a day, every day, the criteria for doing so.  It's simple, but it creates a positive association.  With your younger kids, you can offer a reward of staying up fifteen minutes later if they brush their teeth without being told.  Once again, you are offering a simple reward that costs nothing but will show them how healthy habits can positively influence their life.

The ADA also has a section on their website that features two minute videos.  These are popular cartoons like Adventure Time and sing-alongs for the younger kids.  Each video is only two minutes long so that you can grab your tablet and play it while they brush.  Once the video is over, they can stop brushing, and you will know that they did it for a long enough period of time to be successful at it.  If you have kids, that hate to brush teeth, letting them watch their favorite show is a simple and easy way to get them to change their mind.  When you visit our children's dentist office, we will reinforce what you are doing at home and further encourage them to keep up with their good, healthy habits.

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Learn How to Avoid Needing Braces From a Children's Dentist

As a children's dentist, it is common for parents to ask us about braces and whether or not their child will need them.  We cannot guarantee whether or not they will because it depends on a variety of factors.  For example, genetics plays a role so if you or your spouse needed braces, there is a chance that your child will as well.  This can happen more often when your family is known to have small palates that simply aren’t large enough to hold a full set of adult teeth.  Fortunately, dental technology has improved so if your child does need braces, the treatment can be completed faster and with more comfort than it used to be. 

There are, however, things that you can do to help your child to stay healthy and prevent the need for them to wear braces at a later date.  It all starts with preventative care and keeping their baby teeth clean and strong.  You can do this by taking them in for a teeth cleaning at least twice a year.  At home, you should also brush their teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste to keep them strong and cavity free.  This is important because when teeth are unhealthy they are more likely to crack, chip, or get knocked out.  Healthy teeth are strong teeth so by staying focused on preventative care; you are setting them up for a lifetime of good oral health. 

As a children’s dentist, we understand how important this is for preventing the need for braces.  Baby teeth that are healthy will remain in place for longer. This is critical because if they fall out too early it creates overcrowding issues.  What happens is the baby tooth falls out, and the ones next to it start to move out of place as a result.  As those teeth encroach upon the spot that was reserved for the adult tooth, it has nowhere to go. When the tooth eventually comes in, it must do so crooked or go in front or behind another tooth.  This creates the overcrowding issues that children commonly suffer from. 

It is understandable why children have overcrowding issues when you consider how easy it is for a child to knock out a tooth while running on the playground.  A simple trip on the monkey bars can lead to a tooth falling out before its time and the remaining baby teeth shifting as a result.  You can reduce the likelihood of this happening on the sports field by having your child wear a mouth guard. 

In our children’s dentist office, we cannot eliminate the need for your child to get braces or wear an orthodontic appliance but we can reduce how many teeth are crooked. By simply preventing baby teeth from falling out too soon, we can make it so that more adult teeth come in straight and stay in the position that they are supposed to.  For more information or to schedule your appointment, call our office. 

As a children's dentist, it is common for parents to ask us about braces and whether or not their child will need them.  We cannot guarantee whether or not they will because it depends on a variety of factors.  For example, genetics plays a role so if you or your spouse needed braces, there is a chance that your child will as well.  This can happen more often when your family is known to have small pallets that simply aren’t large enough to hold a full set of adult teeth.  Fortunately, dental technology has improved so if your child does need braces, the treatment can be completed faster and with more comfort than it used to be. 

There are, however, things that you can do to help your child to stay healthy and prevent the need for them to wear braces at a later date.  It all starts with preventative care and keeping their baby teeth clean and strong.  You can do this by taking them in for a teeth cleaning at least twice a year.  At home, you should also brush their teeth at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste to keep them strong and cavity free.  This is important because when teeth are unhealthy they are more likely to crack, chip, or get knocked out.  Healthy teeth are strong teeth so by staying focused on preventative care; you are setting them up for a lifetime of good oral health. 

As a children’s dentist, we understand how important this is for preventing the need for braces.  Baby teeth that are healthy will remain in place for longer. This is critical because if they fall out too early it creates overcrowding issues.  What happens is the baby tooth falls out, and the ones next to it start to move out of place as a result.  As those teeth encroach upon the spot that was reserved for the adult tooth, the adult tooth has nowhere to go. When it does eventually come in, it must do so crooked or go in front or behind of another tooth.  This creates the overcrowding issues that children commonly suffer from. 

It is understandable why children have overcrowding issues when you consider how easy it is for a child to knock out a tooth while running on the playground.  A simple trip on the monkey bars can lead to a tooth falling out before its time and the remaining baby teeth shifting as a result.  You can reduce the likelihood of this happening on the sports field by having your child wear a mouth guard. 

In our children’s dentist office, we cannot eliminate the need for your child to get braces or wear an orthodontic appliance but we can reduce how many teeth are crooked. By simply preventing baby teeth from falling out too soon, we can make it so that more adult teeth come in straight and stay in the position that they are supposed to.  For more information or to schedule your appointment, call our office.