Kid's dentistry

Dentistry for Children

Children should visit the dentist by their first birthday. Not only will this help them get used to the dental office environment, it will give us a chance to educate you on proper oral hygiene habits specific to children right from the beginning.

We have created a fun environment for children with movies to help distract them and we also like to get them involved in the work that we are doing (this often helps alleviate the fear of the unknown).

For very anxious children, we offer nitrous oxide sedation (laughing gas) to help relax the child and make the appointment time seem shorter.

Infant Dental Care

Traditionally, children were not seen by the dentist until the age of three years. However, now it is believed that in order to prevent dental problems, the first dental visit should be when the first primary teeth emerge into the mouth, which is at 6-12 months of age.

A first infant dental appointment at King East Dental consists of brief extra and intra oral examination to assess the oral health, identify anomalies and the assess oral hygiene level. This is followed by a counseling session with the parents.

Some notes for parents:

Nursing Bottle Syndrome

A child must never be put to bed with a bottle unless it contains pure water.
If a child is put to bed with a bottle of milk or juice every night, cavities will develop. This is due to food being present all night for the bacteria and decreased salivary flow and oral clearance while the child is asleep.

Oral Hygiene

The following should be performed before bedtime and first thing in the morning:

• Initially, as soon as teeth emerge into the mouth, wipe teeth with gauze, cloth or
  soft tooth brush to remove food and plaque.
• As more teeth emerge, start brushing teeth, dry at first.
• Toothpaste should gradually be introduced as the flavor may be too strong for the child.
• Introduce toothpaste at 12-24 months of age, no more than the size of a pea and always supervise brushing.

Teething

Occurs when the first tooth erupts into the mouth: usually around 6 months of age.

Signs and Symptoms: irritability, drooling, loose stool, low grade fever, sore gums, disruption of eating and sleeping patterns.

Management

• Chilled teething ring or cool cloth to chew on.
• Fluids.
• Acetaminophen product for pain/fever.
• If high fever, please consult MD.
• TOPICAL TEETHING GELS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED.

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