February is National Children’s Dental Health Month

The February 2021 National Children’s Dental Health Month is brought to you by the ADA. This month-long national health observance brings together thousands of dedicated professionals, healthcare providers, and educators to promote the benefits of good oral health to children, their caregivers, teachers and many others.

NCDHM raises awareness of how important it is for children to develop good oral habits at an early age to ensure a lifetime of healthy smiles. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) regularly recommends that children receive their first dental exam no later than one year of age to head off potential early dental problems.

What happens during a routine dental check up?

•  Routine Checkups -your dentist will check all of your child’s existing teeth for decay, examine your child’s bite, and look for any potential problems with the gums, jaw, and oral tissues.
•  Nutrition and Diet Guidance – your dentist will advise parents on children’s diet, exercise, and disease preventive measures for good oral health.
•  Advice and Tips for Parents – offer children and their parents’ instruction on cleaning and flossing teeth
•  Basic child dentistry procedures (if need be) – Such as X-Rays, Fillings, Sealants, Fluoride Treatments, and Braces.

Here are some of the dental tips for parents.

•  Visiting the dental clinic during pregnancy is safe -This ensures that you as the carrier is healthy orally and if needed follow up care will be administered
•  Never share your toothbrush with another person -This is to avoid the spreading of cavities and diseases. It is also important to replace your toothbrush regularly.
• Bleeding gums are not caused by brushing rather by gum disease therefore protect against gum disease by brushing with a soft-bristle toothbrush, flossing, and visiting the dentist regularly.
• Fluoridated water is safe for it keeps the teeth strong so don’t be afraid to drink or give your kids fluoridated water.

What Happens at the First Dental Visit?

We recommend taking your child for a dental visit within 6 months of the first tooth coming in (erupting), or by about 12 months at the latest. At this time, the dentist can give you information on:

• Baby bottle tooth decay
•  Infant feeding practices
• Mouth cleaning
• Teething
• Pacifier habits
• Finger-sucking habit

The first visit is usually a short visit lasting between 30 to 45 minutes. During the visit, your dentist will do the routine check on your child. If need be, the dentist or hygienist will clean any teeth and assess the need for fluoride.

This includes polishing teeth and removing any plaque, tartar, and stains. The dentist may show you and your child proper home cleaning such as flossing, and advise you on the need for fluoride. The dentist may also recommend X-rays to diagnose decay, depending on your child’s age. X-rays are also used to see if the root of a jammed baby tooth may be affecting an adult tooth. In general, it is best that young children not have dental X-rays unless needed. Lastly, they will educate the parents about oral health care basics for children and discuss dental developmental issues and answer any questions.

 Tips to Protect your children’s teeth at home

Here are some tips to protect your children’s teeth:

• Before teeth come in, clean gums with a clean, damp cloth.
• Start brushing with a small, soft-bristled toothbrush and a very small amount of toothpaste (the size of a grain of rice) when your child’s first tooth appears. Use a pea-sized dab of fluoridated toothpaste after 3 years of age. This is when the child is old enough to spit out the toothpaste after brushing.
•  Prevent baby bottle tooth decay. Don’t give children a bottle of milk, juice, or sweetened liquid at bedtime or when put down to nap.
• Limit the time your child has a bottle. Your child should empty a bottle in 5 to 6 minutes or less.
• Help your child brush his or her teeth until age 7 or 8. Have the child watch you brush, and follow the same brushing pattern to reduce missed spots.
• Limit foods and treats that increase tooth decay. This includes hard or sticky candies, fruit leather,sweetened drinks and juice. Offer fruit rather than juice. This is because the fiber in fruit tends to scrape the teeth clean unlike juice which just exposes the teeth to sugar.

What Are Braces?

Teeth Braces / Dental Braces are dental tools that help correct; crowding, crooked, or misaligned teeth. Most people get braces in their teenage years, but adults can get braces too. Braces slowly straighten and align your teeth.

If you have crooked teeth or a misaligned bite ( underbite or overbite), there are a variety of treatments that can help straighten your smile, including braces and retainers,custom-made, removable or fixed tools that cover the outside of your teeth and help keep them in position.

You might only need a removable retainer. If you have an extreme overbite or underbite, you could need surgery. But most people need braces.

Types of Braces

At Dental smiles General Dentistry for Kids/ Parents we strive to offer the widest possible variety of treatments to our clients. You can be confident that you’ll find a treatment option here that fits your dental needs, your preferences, and your lifestyle. These are the different types of braces that are available to you:

Traditional metal braces

Even though traditional metal braces have been around for a long time, they are far from outdated; in fact, they are more comfortable and effective than ever before. Metal braces use stainless-steel, brackets and wires to apply pressure to each individual tooth, gradually coaxing your teeth into a healthy alignment and giving you a perfect,bold and beautiful smile. In addition, rubber elastics connecting the upper and lower braces help correct the alignment of your jaws. If you want a personalized touch, the elastics can be switched out to give your smile a dash of color.

Self-ligating braces

Self-ligating braces are very similar to traditional braces in both design and function. The major difference between traditional and self-ligating braces is that self-ligating braces do not use elastics. Instead of elastics, self-ligating braces use special clips to maintain alignment. Since elastics require frequent replacement and adjustment, choosing self-ligating braces will mean less maintenance, fewer check-ups, and shorter visits to the dentist.

Ceramic braces

If you would prefer your braces to be less prominent, ceramics might be a great option for you. The use of ceramic material allows the brackets to be clear or matched to the natural color of your teeth. Ceramic braces are larger and more brittle than their metal counterparts, however, they may not be a great choice for very young patients. For teens and adults, on the other hand, they deliver excellent results.

Clear aligners

For those who want a truly invisible solution, clear aligners are the way to go. Removable plastic trays are placed on both rows of your teeth to straighten your smile. The trays are removed for eating, brushing, and flossing, meaning that they will not impact your daily activities as deeply as braces do.  

How Do Braces Work?

Braces work by putting pressure on your teeth over a period of time to slowly move them in a specific direction. The jaw bone changes shape, too.

Braces are made up of these things:

• Brackets are the small squares that go on the front of each tooth. The dentist uses a special bonding agent or attaches them with orthodontic bands. Brackets act like handles, holding the arch wires that move your teeth. There are several types of brackets, including stainless steel and tooth-colored ceramic or plastic. Dentists use these a lot because they’re harder to see. Sometimes the dentist will cement brackets to the backs of your teeth, in order to hide them from view.
• Orthodontic bands are stainless steel, clear, or tooth-colored materials cemented to your teeth. They wrap around each tooth to provide an anchor for the brackets. The clear or tooth-colored bands look better, but they also cost more than stainless steel. Not everyone gets bands. Some people have only brackets and no bands.
• Spacers fit between your teeth to create a small space for the orthodontic bands.
• Arch wires attach to the brackets and act as tracks to guide the movement of your teeth. Some arch wires are made of metal. Others are clear or tooth-colored.
• Ties are small rubber rings or fine wires that fasten the arch wire to the brackets. They can be clear, metal, or colored.
• A buccal tube on the band of the last tooth holds the end of the arch wire securely in place.
• Tiny elastic rubber bands, called ligatures, hold the arch wires to the brackets.
• The orthodontist may place springs on the arch wires between brackets to push, pull, open, or close the spaces between your teeth.
• Elastics or rubber bands attach to hooks on the brackets. They go between your upper and lower teeth in various ways. They apply pressure to move your upper teeth against the lower teeth to achieve a perfect fit.

Another method of straightening teeth uses removable plastic retainers. This may also work if your teeth aren’t too crowded. Your orthodontist will discuss the various types of braces with you and figure out which option is best.

What is tooth decay / Cavities?

Cavities are permanently damaged areas in the hard surface of your teeth that develop into tiny openings or holes. Cavities, also called tooth decay or caries, are caused by a combination of factors, including bacteria in your mouth, frequent snacking, sipping sugary drinks, and not cleaning your teeth well.

Cavities and tooth decay are among the world’s most common health problems. They’re especially common in children, teenagers, and older adults. But anyone who has teeth can get cavities, including infants. If cavities aren’t treated, they get larger and affect deeper layers of your teeth. They can lead to severe toothache, infection, and tooth loss. 

What are the symptoms of tooth decay?

The most common symptom of tooth decay is tooth pain. But pain isn’t always present when tooth decay is. Other possible indicators of tooth decay include:

• Gum swelling in the vicinity of a particular tooth.
• Chronic bad breath.
• Tooth discoloration; in particular, brown or black spots on the teeth.

What causes tooth decay?

Tooth decay is mainly caused by plaque, which is a sticky film that is constantly forming over the teeth. Bacteria is abundant in plaque. When you eat– and particularly when you indulge in sugary foods– the bacteria in plaque feed on the sugars producing acids, which then eats away at the tooth’s enamel. Some people are more likely to have cavities than other people. Risk factors for tooth decay include:

• Poor oral hygiene. Plaque is constantly forming on the teeth, good oral hygiene is crucial to preventing tooth decay. If you neglect to brush twice a day or regular flossing, you’re much more likely to develop cavities.
• Overindulgence in sugary foods. The bacteria in plaque feed on sugars. Eating sugary food and drinks put you at a greater risk of developing tooth decay.
• Dry mouth. It might seem odd that a dry mouth can lead to tooth decay, but saliva plays a major role in cavity prevention. Why? Saliva, the mouth’s natural lubricant, washes away remnant food particles. People with dry mouth don’t produce an adequate amount of saliva, which results in food particles and sugars being left behind on the teeth surface. Dry mouth can be caused by side effects of medications or by certain medical conditions.
• Lack of fluoride. Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral. Fluoride strengthens the tooth’s enamel, helping to protect it from decay-causing acids. Use fluoride-based toothpaste and drink plenty of water due to its rich fluoride presence. 
• Smoking. It’s no secret that smoking is harmful to your oral health. Besides causing staining and putting you at an increased risk of developing gum disease, smoking causes plaque and tartar to build upon the teeth– thereby also increasing the risk of tooth decay.

Are you concerned that you might have a cavity? Don’t postpone a visit to your dentist any longer. The earlier you seek treatment, the less likely it is that your cavity will progress into a more serious oral health concern.