Cavities and Fillings
Dental fillings are used to treat different dental problems like cavities and broken teeth. Teeth are usually filled with a material called composite resin or glass ionomer, which is designed to look like natural teeth.
Composite resin takes a little longer, though most people still prefer it because it creates natural-looking teeth. It takes more than one layer, and a special light is used to harden the area around the filling.
Glass ionomer is made up of a mixture of acrylic and glass powder. Glass ionomer is used for baby teeth or cavities that are located close to the gums. A key advantage of glass ionomer is that it seals the tooth and slowly releases fluoride over time to prevent future cavities on the tooth.
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Emergency Dental Care
It is very important to be prepared in case your child has an emergency. Even though we wish that they wouldn’t, emergencies do happen. Being educated and knowing what to do in an emergency can be the difference between losing and saving a tooth. You also need to know your dentist’s phone number.
You need to contact us right away if you are having an emergency! If we are not open, go to the nearest emergency center.
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Oral Health Exams
We truly believe that regular dental examinations are important in order for your child to have good dental health and a smile of which he or she can be proud. We start by doing a professional cleaning, removing all of the bad tartar and other buildup on your child’s teeth.
We then do an examination, looking to catch and fix any problems before they become bigger ones. We examine each tooth, looking for any signs of decay, damage, or any other problems, such as signs of infection. We want to correct any problems your child may have before they get any worse.
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Preventative Dentistry
We recommend routine dental cleanings for several reasons. When we perform a professional cleaning, we remove the buildup of plaque and tartar. We also clean the parts of your child’s teeth that are hard to reach, such as underneath the gums.
After a cleaning, we will polish your child’s teeth so that they shine! We can also apply a fluoride treatment, if necessary, to help prevent tooth decay.
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Restorative Dentistry
We are usually able to fill in broken teeth to make them look like normal teeth. We even use a cement that is the color of your child’s teeth. If that does not work, we offer veneers and caps to cover up any broken teeth.
We can also fix missing teeth and have many options for how we do so. Typically, we like to place implants, which will act like the tooth’s replacement root. On top of the implants, we use crowns, which are artificial teeth, to restore your child’s mouth with normal-sized and shaped teeth.
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Sealants
Dental sealant is a plastic coating painted on your teeth. It attaches to your child’s teeth, smoothing the rough edges, depressions, and grooves that are typically found on teeth. It gives your child’s teeth a protective coating, helping to prevent tooth decay and cavities.
Sealants are usually done on the back teeth since they are hard to reach and very irregular. Even if your child brushes and flosses properly, he or she may miss some areas. For this reason, sealants are a good way to protect your child’s teeth.
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Sedation Dentistry
One of the most commonly used types of sedation is nitrous oxide, which is also known as laughing gas. This helps many children relax during their procedure.
Nitrous oxide is a combination of two different gases–-oxygen and nitrous oxide. We administer the gas through a small mask placed over your child’s nose. The gas will make your child relax without the full effect of anesthesia.
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Silver Diamine Fluoride
Silver Diamine Fluoride is a solution with 38% silver. The silver acts as an antimicrobial which helps to prevent the cavity from further growth. The fluoride content acts to remineralize the tooth structure. There is less fluoride content in the SDF than in typical fluoride varnish application. The advantages are that no drilling or anesthesia of any kind is necessary for its application.
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Extractions
An extraction is performed to remove a tooth, whether because of disease, crowding, or damage. When extractions are required, the area around the tooth will be numbed and your dentist will remove the tooth. A small amount of bleeding is normal, as your mouth will replace the removed tooth root by forming a blood clot in the area.
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No Sedation Dentistry
Depending on the child’s behavior, no sedation dentistry may be an option including for young children or those with special needs.
Some of the procedures performed are minimally invasive procedures such as silver diamine fluoride, smart fillings and hall crowns.
SMART fillings treat the tooth with SDF which will stop decay from growing and cover the stained tooth structure with the white filling/crown glass ionomer which will release fluoride as additional protection. These can also be used to treat cavities on front teeth (baby bottle decay).
Hall crowns are stainless steel crowns placed on cavities without drilling or a shot. These crowns are placed on teeth with large cavities that are not in the nerve and symptom-free.
Maintenance of no sedation dentistry requires proper oral hygiene and a diet low in sweet, sugary snacks, and 6 month check-up and cleaning of the dental work.