We enjoy working with all of our young patients and understand that they have different requirements when seeing the dentist. We try not to push children so they end up nervous about the dentist’s office. We want for their visit to to be as fun and comfortable as possible, and for them to nurture life-long relationships with the dentist’s office.
Children’s Dentistry
The Doctors encourage parents of small children to take them along to the parent’s scheduled dental visit so the little one can easily see what goes on during the visit, and become acquainted with our team and office.
We also suggest that the little one’s very first visit be between 24 months and 3 years of age. At that age we can begin to keep track of the growth and progression of their mouth and teeth.
Arrival Of New Teeth:
Your child’s very first tooth shows up between the ages of six to twelve months and the remainder of their twenty “baby” teeth ordinarily emerge by age three. When they go through this, their gums may ache, causing the child to feel surly. To help assuage their soreness, we advise that you soothe the gums by running a cool, wet cloth or a clean finger across them. You may even purchase a teething ring.
A child’s “baby” teeth are shed at various times throughout childhood, and their adult teeth begin erupting when they turn six and continue until they turn 21. The total number of permanent teeth found in an average adult is 28, or 32 if you include wisdom teeth.
Pre-School Exam
Our advice is that when that first tooth comes in, you ought to schedule your little one for an appointment to see Dr. Motaref! When you intervene early, you can help keep up dazzling and healthy smiles forever!
Pre-School Orthodontics Dental Checkup
Many young parents of today didn’t have braces when they were growing up. Actually, if they saw an orthodontist it was because their teeth were embarrassingly crooked and out of line. Some families did not have sufficient funds for braces. However, most of the time it was because their parents did not think that their teeth were bad enough for orthodontic treatment, and their dentist did not raise the issue unless the mom or dad inquired about braces. Back then, if your teeth were overcrowded dentists simply removed a few adult teeth. Of course, in hindsight, we figured out that doing so was a disaster in the making. Only within the last decade or so did we become aware of the chronic oral health effects of misaligned teeth . Orthodontic dentistry is not just for making a teenager’s teeth look perfectly aligned and pretty anymore. Now, they deal with so much more. Malocclusion or misalignment can induce full-blown migraines or major headaches. A misaligned bite may produce vertigo (dizziness). Teeth that seem to be totally healthy can start to crack and wear away, which produces a ragged-edged smile.
Starting orthodontic treatment brings about a variety of real benefits for children who are a lot younger. They typically won’t be forced to wear braces for too long during the awkward adolescent years. Besides, it is a lot easier to widen the palate and allow room for all of the adult teeth to be able to show up. In most of those cases, these children will not get braces. However, they will have their palates adjusted using an appliance. This will make their arches wider, providing space in their mouth for all of the child’s adult teeth to properly grow. Dr. Motaref has fostered relationships with a number of esteemed orthodontists in the area and can provide you and your child with a referral to an orthodontist should an exam reveal lopsided or crowded teeth, or problems involving the palate. We can guide you with choosing the best orthodontist that understands the requirements and disposition of your child.
Why Do Children Continue To Have Cavities?
Researchers in the 60’s found out that fluoride assisted in building a tougher wall against teeth’s attackers such as bacteria, acids from soda pop and sweeteners. And, yes, after Kansas City’s drinking water was supplemented with fluoride , the incidence of cavities dropped dramatically. Many dentists predicted at one time that a day might come when nobody would need dentists anymore. Sadly though, even the dental researchers didn’t have the ability to predict the advent of Gummy Worms , Mountain Dew and Energy Drinks. Not even mothers could have known that the average junior or senior high school student would eat their weight in sweeteners like corn syrup and refined sugar every year. After all, the teenagers of the 60’s “only” ate about 20 pounds of sugar per year. Fluoride, toothpaste and daily flossing didn’t have a fighting hope against corn syrup and sugar.
Tips For Your Family’s Oral Health:
- Dial back your frequency of snacks and mini-meals.
- Push brushing, flossing and rinsing.
- Be aware of what your kids drink. Push drinking good old H2O.
- Don’t give your little ones sticky treats.
- Make pastries an ending to well-planned meals.
- Choose nutritional snacks.
Proper dental hygiene in your own home is extremely important and really needs to begin at a rather young age. We take the time to instruct moms and dads and children on good brushing and flossing methods to enable them to enjoy excellent dental health for life.