The key to a smile that’s healthy for a lifetime is building good oral habits when you’re young, and that’s exactly what we aim to do for children who visit us. Dental education not only helps familiarize them with what we do here at Sweet Smiles, but it also helps them understand the importance of caring for their teeth and gums into adulthood. We also offer several preventive services to keep their smiles cavity-free and ensure that they’re developing properly. To learn more about children’s dentistry in our Marana, AZ dental office, read below.
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Children are at a high risk of developing cavities due to the fact that they’re still learning how to properly care for their pearly whites. To help make brushing more effective, we can place dental sealants overt the biting surface of your little one’s teeth to protect them. It’s a clear liquid that we harden using a UV light. Once completed, the sealants can help keep food debris and bacteria from collecting in the grooves and pits of their teeth for years without needing to be replaced.
Silver diamine fluoride is an FDA-approved treatment method that we use to not only treat decay in children, but also prevent future cavities from forming in the same tooth. Before applying the liquid, we’ll remove any decayed dental structure and completely dry the area. We’ll then use a small brush to apply the solution and cure the tooth. This process is completely non-invasive and can be conducted during your little one’s routine checkup and cleaning.
It’s not uncommon for infants and toddlers to suck their thumbs. In fact, it’s a completely healthy coping mechanism to make them feel safer. However, once they reach a certain age, it can begin to affect the development of their mouth, teeth, and jawbone. If your child is still sucking their thumb by the time their temporary teeth begin falling out, Dr. Fitzgerald can help counsel you on non-nutritive habits to make sure that thumb-sucking doesn’t increase the risk of their permanent teeth growing in misaligned.
Is your child complaining of a toothache that seemed to appear out of nowhere? It could be a sign of an infection that has developed due to an untreated cavity. To help ease their pain and restore the health of their tooth, we can conduct pulp therapy. During this treatment, we’ll remove the infected portion of their pulp, which is a collection of soft tissue and nerves in the inner chamber of their tooth. We’ll then top it off with a customized dental crown for added protection and strength.
