Shirley, NY, Tooth Decay

Learning proper oral hygiene habits helps set your child up for a lifetime of healthy smiles. That’s why we suggest bringing your little one to dental checkups on a routine basis. At each visit, we will clean your child’s smile and perform an examination that creates an ongoing dental record. By documenting the appearance of their oral structures, we can quickly identify when active threats arise that require immediate treatment. While daily brushing and flossing will help prevent cavities from forming in your child’s smile, they may still receive a cavity. By inspecting their grin, we can provide a more conservative treatment before the damage of decay destroys a significant amount of healthy tissue. Depending on the size of the cavity, we could place a filling or dental crown that restores the bite’s function and appearance. Maintaining a healthy bite is critical during this stage as your child’s jaw is still growing.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we look forward to taking care of your little one’s oral health. We encourage a preventive attitude toward oral hygiene that reduces the risk of tooth decay, gum disease, and other common issues. When prevention fails, regular examination of your child’s smile can lead to quick relief. In today’s blog, we explore the cause of tooth decay and the treatments we offer to fight it.

How Children Become Susceptible To Decay

When a tooth is healthy, it enjoys a protective layer of enamel that takes on hundreds of pounds of bite force. However, physical injuries and chemical wear and tear can break down this hardest material in the human body. That’s why we ask you to report any injuries that affect your child’s smile as soon as they occur. We can take an X-ray to determine if the protective seal of their enamel is broken and provide a restoration to prevent the opportunity for cavities or infections to take hold. As children are no strangers to candy and other sugary sweets, staying on top of routine dental cleanings will help remove layers of plaque that wear down their little smiles.

Your Child’s Dental Filling

When we discover a cavity at a checkup, we suggest removing it during the same visit. By placing a composite filling, your child will be able to resume eating and drinking directly after their appointment. After removing all decaying material, and placing the filling, we polish the tooth so that it takes on a natural look.

Speak With Your Shirley, NY, Orthodontist and Pediatric Dentist About Removing Your Child’s Cavity

Regular dental visits help prevent and catch tooth decay. We suggest bringing your little one to our practice on a semiannual basis. To find out more about how we remove cavities and restore your child’s smile, contact Shirley Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry in Shirley, NY, by calling (631) 399-1600.