Oral Hygiene Instruction

One of three (3) things that cause dental disease (cavities) is how clean teeth are kept. We provide the building blocks for families to develop and use at home to keep their child’s teeth free of disease.

Nutritional Counseling

The second of three (3) things that cause dental disease (cavities) is what we eat. We provide education about what foods cause cavities, as well as ways to modify your child’s diet to minimize the risk of getting cavities.

Anticipatory Guidance

This is a fancy term for what parents can expect as their child grows and develops emotionally and physically. We provide education about how the mouth and face grow and develop as a child gets older, as well as things parents can do, and things to watch out for that might affect their child’s teeth, mouth, and face.

Cavity Risk Assessment

This is a way of determining how likely your child is to get cavities. It includes several factors we record including oral hygiene, diet, family history, cultural/ethnic background, and living situation. Every child in our practice will be evaluated and scored from low, moderate, high, to very high. This will determine how we plan your child’s treatment needs and follow-up care.

Fluoride

While there is very strong scientific evidence backing the effectiveness of fluoride to prevent tooth decay, we understand that there are many that do not agree with this. We believe it is the right of each parent to decide whether it is in the best interest of their child.

Sealants

The majority of cavities in permanent teeth happen on the chewing part of molars (the big teeth in the back of the mouth). Sealants are a very effective treatment method for preventing tooth decay in these areas of a child’s permanent molars. We strongly recommend this treatment for nearly all children and feel they are an excellent way to keep our patients cavity-free!

Space Maintainers

These are metal retainers used to prevent the loss of space between teeth when a baby tooth has been lost before it would normally fall out. They are also sometimes used to prevent the need for braces in children who have some minor crowding of the teeth.