The Dental Specialists Pediatric Dentistry provides preventative dental care for children of all ages in our Garland dental office. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that to prevent dental problems, your child should see a pediatric dentist when the first tooth appears or no later than his or her first birthday. It’s also recommended that your child gets a complete dental checkup every six months to prevent cavities and other dental problems. Having exams regularly allows us to catch any developing issues before they become bigger, and possibly more expensive, issues. Get in touch to schedule preventive dentistry for children in our Garland, TX pediatric dental office.
Starting with your child’s very first dental visit, our dental office will regularly check their teeth, gums, and tongue for any developing issues. At times, digital X-rays may be recommended to assist with the exam. If your child is under four years old, we’ll do a complete exam of your child’s teeth and gums, including a dental cleaning and fluoride treatment. If your child is four years old or older, we’ll do a complete exam of their teeth and gums, including a professional dental cleaning using flavored toothpaste, a fluoride treatment, and a set of digital X-rays.
Our dental office places sealants on children’s teeth to help prevent future cavities. Sealants act as a protective barrier against food and bacteria, which can get stuck in the grooves of your child’s teeth and cause decay. Placement of sealants is simple, relatively pain-free, and can last for many years. Sealants come in two colors, white or clear, and don’t change your child’s bite.
Non-nutritive habits include thumb sucking and tongue thrusting, two behaviors that can throw off the alignment of a child’s teeth over time and create a wide variety of orthodontic issues. Both can be difficult to break, but our team has helped countless children do it before using gentle, proven strategies. If we notice these habits or you bring them up to us, we’ll show you how to get your child to stop, which will help them avoid several dental problems in the future.
Our dental office highly recommends fluoride. Treatments are safe, quick, and easy. Fluoride is a way to ensure that your child’s teeth are strong, and it also helps protect against cavity-causing decay.
As your child’s teeth begin to erupt, we’ll also perform a cleaning at each regular dental visit. Cleanings remove built-up debris from your child’s teeth that could otherwise irritate their gums and cause decay. We’ll also go over your child’s brushing and flossing habits, demonstrating the proper way to brush and floss, as it leads to cleaner teeth, healthier gums, and happier patients and parents overall!
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Although many parents think that baby teeth are not important and are “just going to fall out eventually,” they’re actually an important factor in the eruption of the permanent teeth. While they’ll fall out eventually, it’s when they do that’s important. Baby teeth keep proper spacing in the mouth while permanent teeth develop and start to come in, ensuring that there’s an appropriate path for the eruption process. So, if your child loses a tooth early due to trauma or other oral issues, we may recommend a space maintainer to keep the spacing for the permanent tooth or teeth to come in.