Children have a set of 20 baby teeth. Adults have 32.
First, our Las Vegas pediatric dentist will need to perform a comprehensive visual exam. X-rays will be taken and used to assess your child’s oral health and determine the extent of the issue.
Once an accurate diagnosis is made, your child’s dentist will recommend a treatment plan to address the issues.
Your child’s dentist may provide a few options for treatment, discuss the pros and cons of each, and explain their top choice to resolve the issue.
The doctor will discuss sedation options for your child if they feel sedation is necessary, or if it will make the child more comfortable during their treatment. These treatments can help your child feel a lot less nervous and anxious about their appointment, and get the restorative care they need.
After you and the dentist have decided on the right treatment for your child, you’ll schedule a follow-up. In some cases, treatment may begin immediately, but you’ll usually have to schedule a separate appointment for restorative care unless your child has a serious dental emergency.
Composite fillings are made of a dental resin and are matched to the color of your child’s tooth. Unlike metal fillings, they do not contain any mercury. In addition, composite fillings require the removal of less enamel during tooth preparation and have a very tight hold, so they help keep your child’s tooth healthy and strong.
Pediatric dental crowns are typically recommended for kids who have large cavities, or who have a tooth that has been damaged or broken by dental trauma. Your dentist will clean and prepare their tooth, and then choose a pre-fitted dental crown that can be placed directly over the damaged tooth structure to cover and protect it, restoring your child’s smile and bite.
If your child loses a baby tooth before they’re supposed to, their dentist may recommend a “space maintainer.” This dental prosthetic fits in the gap where the tooth used to be, preventing the other teeth from shifting and ensuring your child’s permanent or adult tooth erupts properly.
Frenectomies are used to treat Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTs) such as tongue ties and lip ties. TOTs occur when the “frenulum,” a band of connective tissue, is overdeveloped and impairs the natural movement of the lips, tongue, or both. During a frenectomy procedure, this band of tissue is snipped in order to restore your child’s ability to move their lips or tongue properly.
Extractions are typically a last-resort option for pediatric dentists. But occasionally, a tooth may simply be too damaged to save, and extraction may be the best way for your child to get relief from pain and discomfort. Using special tools and sedation, your child’s dentist can extract troublesome teeth quickly and without pain or discomfort.
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) sedation is often recommended for kids who may be nervous about a dental appointment. Oral conscious sedation is another option which is taken in a liquid form or as a pill. IV sedation is a method of deep sedation that’s delivered directly to the vein to ensure that they can sleep through their appointment.
Tooth enamel is the hardest structure in the human body; even harder than the femur bone!
Restorative dentistry is used to treat damaged or decayed teeth. This includes cavities and infections, as well as teeth that have been chipped, broken, loosened, or knocked-out prematurely due to oral trauma. Restorative treatments can also help prevent oral development issues after tooth loss, and resolve other oral health problems like tongue and lip ties.
Baby teeth are essential to your child’s ability to eat and chew properly as they grow up. And, even though they do fall out naturally as your child ages, premature baby tooth loss can cause oral development issues. This is because your child’s adult teeth follow the “paths” provided by their baby teeth when they begin to erupt. If your child loses one or more baby teeth too early, their permanent teeth may not emerge properly, leading to developmental issues that may require orthodontic intervention in the future.
Our dentists are experts in working with kids of all ages, and use a patient, kind, and informative approach to children’s dentistry that will help keep your child feeling safe and calm throughout their appointments. Beyond this, we also offer a variety of sedation methods that can help your child feel more comfortable during their treatment.
In most cases, treatments for children like pulpotomies, extractions, crowns, and fillings are covered in some capacity by insurance. However, each plan is different and has different coverage, deductibles, and yearly maximums. Consult with your insurer and your dentist to learn more and ensure that your child’s procedures are covered.
You should start bringing your child to the dentist once they receive their first tooth or by the time they turn one year old. Every child develops differently and girls tend to develop their teeth faster than boys.
Most children begin teething at around 6 months but this may happen as early as 3 months or as late as one year. The important thing is to prepare your child by wiping their gums clean with a gauze or an infant toothbrush to remove bacteria from their mouth and get them used to the feeling of brushing.
Keep an eye on their tooth development and once they go to their first appointment, you will learn all about their teething schedule, how to care for their teeth, and how often you should bring them for regular appointments.
The first dental appointment is important for making a positive impression on your child’s association with the dentist. This helps to prevent dental anxiety and phobias.
You should be cleaning your child’s mouth before they even have any teeth. Using damp gauze, wipe around their gums. Once their first tooth comes in, you will need to start toothbrushing with a soft bristle infant toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste the size of a grain of rice.
This can increase to a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste by the time they turn 3. Once your child has teeth that are close together, you will need to floss their teeth. Their teeth should be brushed twice a day for about 2 minutes and they should floss once a day.
Children lack the dexterity to clean their teeth on their own until they are about 6 or 7. Until this time, you will need to help and guide them by showing them the proper way to brush and floss. Encourage your child to try to do it themselves and even when they can brush on their own, you should watch them and make sure they are brushing long enough and not rushing.
Yes, modern-day x-rays are fully digital and emit 80% less radiation than traditional film x-rays. X-rays are not only perfectly safe when used in moderation, but they’re also highly beneficial to maintaining good oral health because they are a useful prevention tool.
We can only see so much with the naked eye. This is why we need x-rays to show us what’s going on beneath the surface. We understand the importance of moderation and this is why we use x-rays conservatively, only when they are necessary.
Current ADA guidelines say that we only need to take routine x-rays every 3 years in the absence of some oral health problem that we are treating.
X-rays can reveal cavities between the teeth, tooth infections, gum disease, bone loss, and help us plan oral surgery and orthodontic treatment. We will also always take precautions such as using protective gear like lead aprons to limit the amount of radiation that you are exposed to.
Most baby or primary teeth will have fallen out by the age of 12.
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