Children's Dentistry
As a children’s dentist, Chilliwack Family Dentistry provides services and procedures for your child’s dental health. Dentistry for kids is often a part of a family dentistry practice. We enjoy working with children and families and encourage you to contact us for an appointment.
Taking care of your child’s teeth means we need to take some specific actions: fluoride, dental sealant, diet, and the impact of sugar are some of those actions.
Orthodontics For Children
Considering braces for children? Many children do not want braces – they are self-conscious about their looks; they don’t want to look different than their friends; and they are concerned about whether braces will hurt and/or be uncomfortable. Yet the best results for orthodontics for children come during the early formative years.
Children want ‘perfect’ (or at least straight) teeth but they don’t like necessarily want to have apparatus in their mouth.
However, over the past couple of years, braces have almost become ornamental with a number of high profile celebrity singers and actors wearing braces that ‘shine’. Children and adolescents can look at some of their favorite stars and see how braces can look like another accessory, rather than an unpleasant dental appliance.
Braces for kids are more attractive now that they have become more of a popular item. It’s also important for children to understand that the placement of orthodontic braces is not painful, and that the end result will be a beautiful, straight smile.
In young children, some issues may be controlled and/or minimized by early correction techniques, such as a retainer. After the dental exam, our dentists will consult with families about the need for correction or straightening of the teeth and about the choices of orthodontics for children. If needed, we will also discuss the different types of braces available and the options for affordable braces.
Chilliwack Pediatric Dentistry
Our clinic is designed with children in mind. From the moment they step through our doors, we aim to make their dental visits comfortable and stress-free. With a welcoming atmosphere, specially themed treatment rooms, and a caring team, we strive to ensure that children feel at ease during their appointments. Experience dental care tailored to your child's needs at Chilliwack Family Dentistry.
Pediatric Dentistry: Caring for Your Child’s Teeth
Pediatric oral care has two main components: preventative care at our clinic and preventative care at home. We are committed to providing advanced family dentistry and will work with you and your children to improve dental care. Infant and toddler cavities and tooth decay have been on the increase in recent years; the result is poor dental health for years. Our goal is to assess and preserve your child’s healthy teeth; to ensure that goal is met your children need to visit our office every six months for preventative assessment.
In addition to brushing and flossing, good preventative care includes:
Diet – provide your children with a nourishing, well-balanced diet. Minimize sugary diets and continuous snacking. Provide healthy snacks like celery sticks, carrot sticks, and low-fat yogurt.
Oral habits – minimize pacifier use and thumb sucking since they can cause the teeth to misalign. If your child has a pacifier, choose an ‘orthodontic’ one. This minimizes the risk of developmental problems like narrow roof arches and crowding. As a pediatric dentist, we can recommend strategies to stop thumb sucking.
Oral hygiene – Wash toys and pacifiers regularly with warm water and soap to reduce bacteria and infections. Avoid spoon-sharing wherever possible.
Sippy cup use – Sippy cups are often used as a transitional aid for the baby bottle-to-drink glass period. However, some children like to keep sippy cups (filled with milk, breast milk, soda, juice, and sweetened water) at their mouths for long periods of time; resulting in continuous acid attacks on tooth enamel. Sippy cup use needs to be terminated between the ages of twelve and fourteen months – or when your child has the motor capabilities to hold a drink glass.
Brushing – Your child’s teeth need to be brushed a minimum of two times per day using a soft bristled brush and a small amount of toothpaste. You will need to help with the brushing process until your child reaches the age of seven and is capable of reaching all areas of the mouth (otherwise the teeth will not be adequately brushed). Use non-fluoridated toothpaste before the age of two and fluoridated toothpaste thereafter. For babies, clean the gums with a clean cotton cloth after each feeding.
Flossing – Tooth decay and cavities form most easily between teeth. Ask us to demonstrate the correct child head positioning during flossing and ensure that teeth are properly cleaned between adjacent teeth
Fluoride – Used to prevent mineral loss and promote re-mineralization of tooth enamel. Too much fluoride can result in fluorosis, a condition where white specks appear on the permanent teeth, and too little can result in tooth decay. We can assess how much your child is currently receiving and prescribe necessary supplements.
Check-up procedures:
- Our dental staff will greet you and your child.
- Your infant’s and family’s health history will be reviewed (including questionnaires).
- We will address parental questions and concerns.
- More questions will be asked, generally pertaining to your child’s oral habits, pacifier use, general development, tooth alignment, tooth development, and diet.
- We will advise on good oral care, how to prevent oral injury, fluoride intake, and sippy cup use.
- Your infant’s teeth will be examined and we will provide good brushing and flossing techniques and demonstrations.
- We will describe our assessment in detail and make specific recommendations. We will also provide information on which teeth are expected to appear in the following months.
We will provide an appointment schedule and describe what will happen during the next appointment.
