Detecting Tooth Decay In Children’s Smiles

Shirley, NY, Tooth Decay

Teaching young children the importance of daily oral hygiene is key to helping them maintain a healthy smile! That means showing them how to brush and floss the entirety of their smile daily. Because children are still developing the dexterity necessary to reach every surface, they may be more likely to miss certain spots. When this happens, the risk of cavities can go up. By scheduling routine appointments for cleanings and exams, we offer a professional hand at removing plaque and identifying any active threats to their teeth and gums. If we notice a cavity in your little one’s smile, we suggest treating it right away to stop the spread of decay. If your son or daughter complains of a strong toothache in between visits, please schedule an appointment right away. This could be a symptom of an infection that requires our immediate attention.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we spend each day helping young children develop healthy smiles. This includes offering preventive services that prevent decay from taking hold of their teeth, and responding to cavities when they do appear. By maintaining a baby tooth until the natural time to fall out, we ensure that your child’s jaw develops properly to support their adult smile in adolescence.

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The Importance Of Regular Pediatric Dental Checkups

Shirley, NY, Dental CheckupsWhen was the last time your child visited the dentist for a teeth cleaning and exam? If it has been more than half a year, we encourage you to schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience. Children’s smiles are exposed to the same risks as their parents, but because kids sometimes lack healthy hygiene habits, they can receive even more benefits from scheduled care. At each visit, we can monitor the development of your little one’s grin and provide any necessary additional services to help them stay on course. We offer fluoride treatments and dental sealants to help kids maintain healthy teeth, resistant to decay, as they learn to fully brush, floss, and take care of their smile. By taking them to our office regularly, they learn the importance of routine care, a habit that will be ingrained through adulthood.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we provide services for every member of the family! That makes us a convenient one-stop shop for all of your oral care needs. When it comes to servicing little smiles, we look forward to watching your young ones grow into healthy adolescents. By protecting baby teeth until it is time for them to fall out, we ensure that your child’s jaw develops fully. This means we do not pull baby teeth early as an initial treatment for cavities or infections.

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Treatment For Children’s Cavities

Shirley, NY, Tooth Decay

Helping your children understand the importance of taking care of their smile begins with teaching daily oral hygiene practices. When your little one masters brushing and flossing each day, they prevent the buildup of plaque and tartar that can cause tooth decay and other oral problems. By complementing this behavior with regular dental checkups, we can help monitor the success of their habits. When taking X-rays at your child’s appointment, we can detect if any cavities are present and provide guidance on preserving their smile. Because a child’s jaw is still growing, protecting a baby tooth is vital to allow their permanent teeth to come in complete. This is why we recommend placing dental fillings for cavities in baby teeth instead of extracting the tooth. This preserves their smile while teaching your young one about the importance of fighting tooth decay!

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we understand that children are still mastering the skills necessary to prevent tooth decay. That is why we provide additional services such as dental sealants and fluoride treatments at their pediatric appointments. However, when such efforts fail to prevent cavities from taking hold, restoring your child’s tooth is necessary to preserve the healthy growth of their smile. When your little one attends cleanings and checkups twice per year, we can detect any active threats before they can grow out of hand.

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Improving Your Smile With Invisalign

Shirley, NY, Invisalign

If you have been thinking about correcting problems with the spacing of your teeth, Invisalign clear aligners provide an attractive alternative to traditional orthodontic braces. By discussing the differences between each solution with your dentist, we can help you move forward with desirable smile correction. This requires examining your smile to determine your level of misalignment.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we offer smile care for all ages. Whether you are looking for orthodontics for your teen or have issues you would like to correct yourself, we have you covered. In today’s blog, we explore how Invisalign best treats problems with dental misalignment.

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Preserving A Child’s Tooth When Treating Infection

Shirley, NY, Tooth Infection

It can break your heart to see your little one experience chronic tooth pain. When your child lets you know about an ache, call us right away. This common symptom often indicates an infection within the inner pulp of the tooth. Without treatment, a tooth infection could enter the bloodstream and spread to other parts of the body. But by relying upon modern imagining techniques, we can determine if any foreign material is present inside their tooth’s structure. We are often able to preserve the healthy portion of a child’s pulp with a procedure called pulpotomy. This alternative to traditional root canal therapy provides the same correction against bacterial infection with less lost material.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we pride ourselves on comforting young children in their time of need. This is why we provide emergency services outside of standard checkup schedules when threats like infection are present. Because a kid’s smile is still developing, preserving their baby tooth until it is the appropriate time to fall out is critical to promoting healthy jaw growth. This is why we do not recommend simply pulling a child’s infected tooth when other procedures are available.

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Helping Children Enjoy Healthy Smiles

Shirley, NY, Healthy SmilesThe habits we learn at a young age can set us up for success in adulthood. When it comes to healthy smiles, introducing your little one to regular dental care establishes the importance of daily brushing and flossing. Kids who know they have upcoming dental visits know they need to take care of their smiles. That is why we recommend bringing your children to cleanings and exams with the same frequency we recommend for adults. Biannual visits combine professional cleaning services with examinations that identify active concerns and track the development of your child’s smile. This means detecting problems with tooth decay or gum disease when conservative options are available for treatment. To give kids an additional level of support, we provide services such as fluoride treatments and dental sealants that fight plaque accumulation while children are still learning to take care of themselves.

At your Shirley, NY pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we take pride in teaching children oral care habits that result in healthy smiles. We foster a welcoming environment that puts your child at ease when they attend their first visits. We believe when children enjoy their time at the dentist’s office, it increases their commitment to caring for their smile. This results in a win for parent, child, and dentist alike!

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Identifying And Treating Tooth Decay

emotion, childhood and people concept: Portrait of cheerful smiling little girl on yellow background

A primary concern for children’s smiles is preventing or treating tooth decay before it can significantly harm them. By preserving their baby teeth until it is the appropriate time to fall out, your child’s jaw grows appropriately. However, decay that leads to early extractions or damaged teeth can greatly affect their development. By spotting the signs of a cavity early, we can provide treatment and let your little one know the areas that require more attention when brushing and flossing. If your little one complains of a sudden toothache, call our office for an emergency appointment. We can investigate whether an interventive treatment is necessary to prevent the spread of decay or infection and help relieve their pain.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we can help your young child enjoy a healthy smile when they attend routine checkups and cleanings. These appointments provide regular examinations to ensure their smile is cavity-free. When we do notice the signs of decay, we can place fillings on the same day and have our little one out the door in no time!

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Your Child’s Next Dental Checkup

thumbs up toddlerDo you stay on top of your little one’s dental examination schedule? By bringing them to the dentist every six months, we can clean your child’s teeth and monitor the development of their smile. Because children are learning the healthy habits that set them up for a lifetime of success, these visits are critical to see that they are performing as expected. At each appointment, we discuss appropriate brushing and flossing techniques and identify areas where they should concentrate. Digital imaging allows us to create a record that quickly identifies when any active concerns appear in your little one’s oral structures. We can immediately provide additional services to help get issues like tooth decay or gum infection under control.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, caring for children’s smiles is our number one priority. While we provide services to family members of all ages, helping young children develop healthy teeth is our specialty. When your little one receives high-quality care, you prevent the need for more involved restorative procedures at a later age. We can track the growth of their adult teeth and perform services to straighten their grins when necessary. At each checkup, we can discuss the need for further smile protection. By offering dental sealants and fluoride treatments, we go the distance to protect young enamel from oral bacteria.

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Removing A Child’s Cavity

The kid lost a tooth. Baby without a tooth. Portrait of a little girl no tooth. High quality photo

Teaching young children the importance of maintaining healthy smiles is a cornerstone of their development. This is why regular cleanings and checkups from an early age help them adopt daily oral hygiene practices like brushing and flossing their teeth. When they discuss their practices at the end of their dental checkup, they know which parts of their smile to focus on in the coming months. While a preventive attitude is key to preventing active threats like tooth decay and gum infection, sometimes your child may still experience one of these problems. If we discover a cavity during their checkup, we will recommend removing it immediately to help preserve as much natural material as possible. It is important to maintain even baby teeth until it is the appropriate time for them to fall out, as the proper growth of their jaw depends on this spacing.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we offer our services to every member of your family. When serving our little patients, we take extra time to instill lessons that help them make healthy decisions when they are outside of our office. By seeing them at least twice per year, we can protect against any oral harm and provide immediate treatment early when they appear. If your child develops tooth decay or a gum problem, routine checkups make it possible to repair these problems quickly.

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When Younger Children Need Orthodontics

Dental Blue Removable Brace or Retainer for Teeth in the Boys Mouth, Orthodontic concept

If your child develops problems with improper dental alignment, we can begin orthodontic treatment as early as age seven. By identifying the need for interventive correction at this stage in your child’s growth, we help them develop a straighter, healthier smile in adolescence and adulthood.

In today’s blog, your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist discusses the methods we use to improve the spacing of your child’s teeth. Known as phased orthodontics, this earlier approach sets the stage for a lifetime of beautiful smiles!

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