Maintaining your child’s healthy teeth and gums is just as important as keeping their whole body healthy. And while brushing and flossing twice a day is great, regular dental cleanings and exams are key to making sure their smiles are healthy for decades to come. Not only that, but the American Dental Association recommends that kids see a dentist every six months for optimal oral health.
During a pediatric dental exam, our pediatric dentist will exam your child’s gums and each tooth for signs of decay, gum disease, and other health concerns. Low exposure digital x-rays may be taken at this time to uncover what is happening beyond the naked eye. Digital imaging allows our dentist to discover potential problems and treat them early.
Dental cleanings are performed by a hygienist who begins by inspecting teeth surfaces and looking for cavities. A dental hygienist will also perform a periodontal checkup to assess your child’s gum health.
Pediatric teeth cleanings are done with a variety of tools to remove plaque and tartar buildup. During this visit, your child’s teeth will also be flossed, polished, and a professional fluoride treatment may be applied. If your child suffers from dental anxiety, sedation dentistry can be provided to ensure a comfortable experience.
Primary teeth can become discolored easily for a variety of reasons. Sometimes enamel defects occur because of a specific type of medicine a mother may have taken when she was pregnant. Whereas some kids have enamel hypoplasia, a genetic condition that affects the formation of their enamel. Brown or white tooth stains are often caused by excessive fluoride use (fluorosis). And newborns stricken with jaundice may have baby teeth with a greenish tinge. Not to mention, some early childhood illnesses can lead to tooth discoloration, too. Oftentimes, yellow teeth in kids are caused by poor oral hygiene or diet. For example, the acids in fruit juices and sodas can erode tooth enamel. We offer professional tooth whitening services for our littlest patients in all of our locations in Plantation, Pembroke Pines, and Margate.
There are many ways to treat enamel defects and tooth discolorations. The exact approach depends on the origin of the stain and the age of the child. Some discoloration can be easily removed with routine teeth cleaning. In other cases, the affected tooth will eventually need to be covered with a crown, bonding, or a veneer. For older children, professional whitening treatment may be an option.
Before professional whitening can be considered, all the adult teeth must have erupted. It is very important not to bleach your child’s teeth too early. That’s why we recommend treatment for some enamel defects be put on hold until your child reaches their teen years, or later. By this time, all of their permanent teeth will be present, and the pulp fully formed. This will reduce the risk of unpleasant side effects such as increased tooth sensitivity.
If your child has a cavity and you need to find caries treatment quickly, call the professionals at Jacaranda Smiles at our Plantation, FL, Pembroke Pines, FL or Margate, FL locations. Whether a baby tooth or an adult tooth is decayed, it is important to act fast and seek cavity treatment. Untreated dental caries can cause pain and tooth sensitivity. Over time, this condition can lead to more serious health problems.
Once the dentist has diagnosed a cavity, your child will likely need a dental filling. The two most commonly used fillings in children are:
Tooth-Colored Plastic: This white filling material matches the natural tooth color. It blends in better than a silver amalgam tooth filling.
Silver Amalgam: Metal fillings have been used by dentists for many decades. Cavity treatment with silver amalgam remains a trusted method of tooth repair.
Your dentist can help you decide which filling material is best for your child. However, if the affected tooth has a large cavity, we may suggest a porcelain crown or endodontic therapy.
A lack of proper dental care is only one reason why kids need caries treatment. While having good oral hygiene habits and regular dental visits can stop cavities in their tracks, genetics and diet also have an impact.
Jacaranda Smiles’ dental offices in Plantation, Pembroke Pines, and Margate, Florida are built to meet the needs of children. Our highly trained staff of dental professionals will recommend the most effective cavity treatment for your children. We will also provide patient education to ensure that your kids remain healthy and work to avoid further cavities.
Until early adolescence, baby teeth aid in chewing and speaking and help to guide the underlying adult teeth into their proper position. The primary set of teeth serve as space holders for the permanent teeth that will push them out as the child develops.
Sometimes, due to disease or injury, a baby tooth is lost too soon. As a result, the adult teeth can erupt out of place or the permanent teeth will be blocked from emerging or surface in the wrong position. This may cause a crooked smile or crowding.
If your child has lost a baby tooth prematurely, a space maintainer can hold the gap open, so the permanent tooth can erupt properly. Space maintainers are either fixed or removable devices, made of metal or plastic. All custom-made space maintainers are designed to help your child develop a healthy bite.
A fixed space maintainer is cemented to abutment teeth. The dental device may have a band that surrounds a tooth and a wire that extends out to keep the space open. Other fixed space maintainers feature a tooth crown with an attached loop that is secured onto an adjacent tooth. This type of space maintainer is often the best choice for young kids who may lack the maturity to carefully manage a removable appliance.
Much like a retainer, a removable space maintainer can be taken out. The device may have a prosthetic tooth that holds the space open. Older kids are usually better able to handle the responsibility of caring for and wearing a removable space maintainer.
Space maintainers also work well when one or more of their adult teeth has never formed. For these patients, implants or dentures will be needed, but not until the child is fully grown. A space maintainer with a replacement tooth can be worn until the jaw has completely matured. At that time a dental implant can be placed.
Oral habits such as finger/thumb sucking and tongue thrusting can interfere with the natural growth pattern of facial bones. This problem can lead to crowding teeth and an abnormal facial structure. Oral habit management allows us to give guidance on the proper development and eruption of primary and permanent teeth. This is an integral part of the comprehensive dental care we provide at Jacaranda Smiles Children’s Dentistry & Orthodontics.
Bad oral habits are very common in infants and young kids. Early visits to Jacaranda Smiles Children’s Dentistry & Orthodontics will help stop damaging habits by age 3 or younger. In our dental offices, we provide a basket for binkies where kids can drop off their last pacifier and retrieve a prize.
Teeth grinding in young children typically do not continue into adulthood. Our pediatric dentist will evaluate signs of wear on teeth and provide oral habit management when needed.
Tongue thrusting and/or abnormal tongue position can be assessed by our pediatric dentist, and the appropriate action and oral habit management will be provided. Parent education is also an important component that we don’t overlook here either.
If you have any concerns about your child’s oral habits, mention them to our pediatric dentist. During your visit, our dentist will encourage your child to break the habit and will talk to your child about the impact of their growing jaws and teeth if they don’t stop. Appliance therapy may be offered to help stop destructive oral habits.
Laughing gas is the common term for nitrous oxide. This is a safe and mild method of sedation used during dental procedures. Because this type of sedation dentistry has a short-lived, gentle effect, it is often used with kids.
Laughing gas exits the body soon after the gas is no longer being inhaled. Laughing gas sedation puts patients at ease so they can remain relaxed during their dental procedure. The combination of gases is delivered through a facial mask. The treatment is administered as the patient inhales and exhales normally. Once breathing begins, the laughing gas starts to take effect, and the child becomes more comfortable and less anxious.
Our dental care providers at Jacaranda Smiles Children’s Dentistry & Orthodontics are also parents, so we understand your concern for your child’s safety. Laughing gas is very safe to use during dental treatments.
As a parent, we know you’re concerned about the safety of your child. Laughing gas is safe to use during treatment and is eliminated from the body quickly after the gas is turned off. Your pediatric dentist will review your child’s medical history, anxiety level, and treatment needs to determine if laughing gas is a good option for your child. If your child is not a good candidate for sedation dentistry with laughing gas, we can offer other calming methods.
Monday 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Wednesday 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Friday 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday By Appointment Only
