Has it been a while since your child was last seen by a dentist? If your little one is behind on their cleanings and examinations, this can be a great time of year to help them find their way back to a positive schedule of prevention. Before they start to dig into those Halloween treats, bring them to the dentist for their first visit of the fall. Dental checkups are important for us all, but they take on extra significance in young smiles.

With our team of pediatric dental experts in Shirley, NY, you have a dedicated guide to help your child understand their oral health. Schedule their next appointment for a semiannual checkup to ensure that they have the tools that they need to keep their smile safe as they grow. These visits are a vital part of their development, and dental habits start at an early age. Give them the care that they need with a cleaning and examination from a trusted pediatric dentist! (more…)

Do you have a child that snores? As parents and caregivers, it is crucial to be aware of the signs that may indicate an airway issue in children. At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we understand the connection between airway issues and dental problems and can take early action to promote proper oral health. In this blog, we will explore the signs of airway issues in children and how they can lead to dental problems.

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It is quite upsetting when your child has a toothache. The extreme pain can bring their day to a complete halt. Concentrating on school or play becomes nearly impossible with the throbbing pain ceasing to end. If this condition lasts more than a day, call your local dentist for an emergency appointment right away. Chronic toothaches are a common symptom of dangerous infections that without treatment, could enter other portions of the body through the bloodstream. This can happen when a tooth injury breaks the protective seal of your child’s enamel. Fortunately, modern dentistry provides techniques for preserving a tooth when it experiences an infection. This can preserve the inner pulp and prevent the need for an untimely extraction. Because your child’s jaw is still forming, we must maintain all of their baby teeth until the natural time for them to fall out arrives. Called pulpotomy, this endodontic therapy removes infected material while resealing the top portion of the tooth.

At your Shirley, NY, pediatric dentist and orthodontist, we are standing by to provide comfort whenever children experience dental pain. That means seeing your little one as soon as we can when you request an emergency visit. After performing your child’s pulpotomy, we will review their oral health to determine areas that could use improvement. By paying close attention to their hygiene, we can help preserve your child’s smile as they grow into adolescence!

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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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When 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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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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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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The 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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