Pediatric Dentistry

What are the common issues of dental health in children?

Many of a kid’s dental problems are the same ones affecting adults, but as children’s teeth are still developing, untreated dental conditions can cause poor and misaligned tooth development, leading to a more serious problem as a child grows up.

Some of the most common issues with children are:

• Tooth decay
• Bad breath
• Sensitive teeth
• Thumb-sucking
• Gum disease
• Teeth grinding
• Canker sores
• Baby teeth-loss
• Over-retained primary teeth
• Dental Anxiety

How should I care for my baby's teeth?

Caring for your baby’s teeth is important and should begin as soon as the first tooth appears. We recommend taking your child for a dental checkup by their first birthday. From then on, Regular six-month checkups will help ensure your child’s dental health is on track. During these checkups, we can monitor your child for dental problems and provide preventive coaching tailored to their needs.

As a parent, there are some early steps you can take to help protect your child’s teeth from decay, even before their first dental visit:

• Always rinse your baby’s mouth with water or wipe their teeth with a damp cloth after feeding, especially before they fall asleep. Milk or formula residue left in the mouth can promote decay even in the youngest patients. Untreated cavities can eventually lead to pain and infection.
• Try to wean your child off breastfeeding or bottled milk by the age of one year. This effort helps avoid decay and minimizes the chance of jaw growth problems from excessive sucking.
• Begin brushing your child’s teeth when the first tooth appears. Even a small piece of tooth showing can develop a cavity. Start by brushing with a soft-bristled brush and water, and ask your dentist when it’s ok to use a small amount of toothpaste.
• Once your child is old enough to brush their teeth on their own, please continue to monitor their brushing, returning to clean any areas they may have missed.
• Don’t give bottles of sugary drinks or milk before bedtime.
• Use a straw with sugary beverages to give the teeth less contact with the liquid.
• Limit your child’s overall consumption of sugary foods and drinks.

These simple steps can help ensure your child’s teeth stay healthy and strong for years.

What is pulp therapy?

If your child complains about tooth sensitivity or pain, or if the tissue around a tooth is swollen and painful, it may be caused by pulp damage. The pulp is the living part of the tooth, and it can get damaged due to trauma, decay, or infection.

If the pulp is damaged, keeping as much of the living pulp intact as possible while treating the infection or removing any damaged sections is crucial. One way to do this is with a pulpotomy. A pulpotomy is performed if the pulp root is unaffected and only the pulp tip is damaged. We remove the decay and place material over the remaining pulp to protect it. Finally, we place a crown. Saving the pulp increases the chances of producing a healthy adult tooth.

If the damage has extended into the tooth root, a pulpectomy is performed. We remove the living material and fill the space like an adult root canal. When the adult tooth is ready, we place a crown to help with spacing.