tooth

Losing baby teeth is a normal process and it is an exciting part of growing up! But because this is a new process, it can also be a little scary for children. They may worry about the tooth falling out and causing them discomfort, or worried about losing their teeth forever. As a parent, you can help make the experience less scary and more fun for your child!

One way to make losing baby teeth less scary is by explaining the process to your child in a way that they can understand. You can show them pictures of the process to help them understand what's happening. You can also explain that losing baby teeth is a sign that their adult teeth are growing in and a part of growing up!

Another way to make the experience less scary is by creating a fun and positive atmosphere around the event. You can make a big deal out of your child's tooth falling out, celebrating with a special treat or even throwing a "tooth-loss party." You can also involve your child in the tooth fairy tradition by letting them put their tooth under the pillow and leaving a small gift or note in return.

It's also important to remind your child that losing baby teeth is not painful, and if there is any discomfort, it is usually mild and short-lived. You can also remind them that their dentist is always available to help if they have any concerns.

Additionally, you can help your child by teaching them good oral hygiene habits, such as brushing and flossing, to keep their teeth and gums healthy, preventing any discomfort or infection that could happen when a baby tooth comes out.

And as always, we are always available to help with any concerns you may have!

A lot of parents often wonder how cavities start? A lot of factors can go into why a child may get cavities, but here's a simple overview of how a cavity is formed.

1. All of the foods and beverages we eat and drink contain sugar. This sugar sticks to our teeth until we brush them.
2. We all have bacteria living in our mouths that love sugar. The sugar becomes a food source for the bacteria that allows them to make acid. This acid causes our teeth to break down!
3. Over time, the breakdown of the tooth continues and a hole forms. This is a cavity!

So how do we prevent cavities?

1. Brushing at least 2x/day for a minimum of 2 minutes each time. Also don't forget to floss!
2. Limiting the amount of sugary foods and beverages that we eat and drink.
3. Visiting the dentist at least 2x/year for regular check ups!

Let's all work together to help our teeth by cavity-free!

Parents often wonder whether or not use of a pacifier is good or not - "will this affect my child's teeth?", "will this affect their jaws?" Early use of pacifiers is considered normal! Only prolonged use of the pacifier can cause changes in the position of your child's teeth and jaws. How often your child has the pacifier in their mouth, how long they keep it in their mouth each time, and how hard they are sucking on the pacifier are all factors that can contribute to how your child's teeth may be affected.

At ages younger than 3, pacifier use is considered normal because this is part of your child's coping mechanism and comfort system. As your child gets older, they gain more skills in order to help comfort themselves without the need of a pacifier. Our goal is to wean your child's pacifier habit by age 4 years in order to prevent any changes in your child's teeth. There is a possibility that changes may happen earlier than age 4 years, and your child's dentist will look out for these changes at each dental visit.

We all know how hard it is to break a habit, so here are some things your child's dentist may recommend to help with stopping your child's pacifier habit:

1. Sticker charts - This is a reward system where your child can get a sticker for every day that they do not use their pacifier. After a certain amount of stickers collected, your child can receive a prize (that you decide together as parent and child)!
2. Alternative comfort object - Since your child is using their pacifier for comfort, you can help them choose another object that may bring them comfort that they can trade out their pacifier for. They may choose a teddy bear or a toy that they can have with them whenever they need the comfort!
3. Pacifier fairy - For children who are older, you can tell them about the pacifier fairy. The pacifier fairy collects pacifiers when children are ready to give it up - these pacifiers will be collected to be given to children who are in need of pacifiers. (Of course - this is all make-believe and you as the parent will be hiding away the pacifier, but this will allow your child to feel happy about giving their pacifier away for someone else!).

The biggest thing we must remember when trying to stop habits is that we don't want to punish your child for the habit. We want to encourage them to stop the habit on their own, not give them any consequences for its use. The stopping of a habit relies on your child's want and ability to stop the habit on their own!

Your child's dentist will work with you as a team to make sure pacifier use doesn't affect your child's teeth to give them their best smiles!

In honor of National Children's Dental Health Month, we wanted to talk about a really important topic to us. We often hear "but they're just baby teeth, do they really need to be fixed? Aren't they going to fall out anyways?" Although it is true that baby teeth do fall out and new adult teeth come in, not treating baby teeth can cause a lot more harm than we think!

What happens when we don't treat cavities in baby teeth?
- Cavities can grow really big and affect the nerve inside the tooth. When this happens, your child may start feeling discomfort and pain on that tooth. This pain affects children when they're eating and sometimes even at night when they're trying to sleep.
- After cavities start affecting the nerve of a tooth, the bacteria from the cavity may start causing an infection to form inside the bone underneath the tooth. You may see a pimple with pus on your child's gums next to the tooth with the cavity.
- If infections are left untreated, this can be really painful and potentially dangerous for your child. Infections can cause large swellings in the face and neck, and if the swellings are large enough, it can cause your child to have difficulty breathing. This becomes a really urgent emergency!
- Over time, if the infections stay in the bone around the tooth, this infection may affect the adult teeth that are developing underneath. The adult teeth may not develop normally - they sometimes become a different shape or a different color from what is normal.
- And lastly, not all baby teeth fall out at once! Most children do not lose their last baby tooth until they are 12 years old!

All of these things that can cause discomfort for your child are extremely preventable! When we treat baby teeth, we try to treat them as early as possible so that we take care of the cavities when they are still small. Our goal is to protect and save as many baby teeth as we can, because we want every child to have a beautiful and healthy smile!