Finding a good pediatric dentist in Aurora is a must among the pillars holding kids’ overall health. A pediatric dentistry dental visit examination is so important to protect baby teeth. Primary teeth matter. If Dr. Patterson is sure of one thing, it is the significance of oral health in children and having healthy teeth.
Something to remember as parents of young children is that everything about them is in development; their personalities, muscles, brains, and bones.
Your child will need medical attention even though they are super healthy and strong. Regular checkups with the pediatrist do more than find hiding diseases; they help prevent the development of health conditions and support you through the different phases of childhood.
Aurora Pediatric dentistry can help you and your child to ensure a bright smile without pain or trouble. Dr. Patterson is prepared to attend to your child in a way they won’t fear going to the dentist.
What Is Pediatric Dental Care for Children?
Aurora Dental care and oral hygiene may seem the same for adults and children, but that is a misconception. Baby teeth are not the same as permanent teeth; a toddler’s mouth could not be more different from a grown-up’s.
A dental clinic for children should not look like one for adults. So pediatric dentists in Aurora train and study to acquire the skills needed to understand a child and treat them with empathy and joy.
Yes, pediatric dental care performs many procedures used in adult dentistry, such as tooth extractions, dental examinations, and professional cleanings.
If a child loses a tooth due to cavities, we know they still have the chance to grow a permanent copy of that same tooth. However, the fact that baby teeth are not permanent does not mean decay is harmless. Damage in primary teeth has a direct effect on secondary teeth.
So, dentistry for children is specialized oral care for younger family members who cannot have the same treatment as adult patients.
When Should Children Visit the Dentist?
Nobody should wait until toothache, bad breath, or sore gums appear to visit a dentist, especially not kids. Preventive care is critical if you expect your kids to develop a healthy relationship with their dentist.
You can bring them to the dental practice if there are teeth in your child’s mouth. Around three years of age, a child s ready for more profound dental examinations.
Even two-year-olds can have tooth decay and spacing problems. However, you can save them from developing complex dental conditions by scheduling regular appointments with their pediatric dentist.
Why Are Most Little Kids Afraid of Dentists?
Dentistry scares even some of the toughest adults, so we understand kids who fear it. Going to the dentist and laying still while a stranger examinates your mouth with weird-looking tools can be intimidating, like the Halloween episode from your kid’s favorite TV show.
That is precisely why pediatric dentists do things differently. Their offices look fun and have many games and toys in the waiting room, and their tools do not look scary because they’re colorful. The doctor is patient and explains what they do in your kid’s mouth.
It’s harder for your child to fear their dentist if they get used from an early stage to dental checkups. Plus, if they have a healthy mouth, the examinations, and dental cleanings will stay at that.
Common Problems That a Pediatric Dentist Treats
Keep reading if you are still wondering how a pediatric dentist helps your family’s health. We will now review common dental issues in kids.
Poor Dental Hygiene and Tooth Decay
Children have a combination of two delicate factors. First, they love eating sweet foods, so following an adequate dental health, the routine can be challenging.
Parents should brush their kid’s teeth at least during their preschool period because they can’t hold the toothbrush properly and clean their mouths.
Children should wash their mouths twice a day just as adults and include very little toothpaste each time (the size of a rice grain). Since toothpaste usually has a nice flavor, they ask for more, but that’s not recommendable.
Gum Disease and Bleeding Gums
Poor oral hygiene can cause gum soreness and bleeding. Red gums indicate that your kid needs to visit their dentist because something is wrong.
Maybe the brushing process is too strong, or bacteria are starting to accumulate in their gums, causing disease.
Professional dental cleanings are paramount to avoid gum disease. So take your kid twice a year to their dentist.
Cavities
As parents, we might feel overwhelmed by the idea that our little children could have cavities in their baby teeth. It is somewhat normal to assume having a cavity is a grown-up thing, but unfortunately, it isn’t.
On the other hand, parents might also speculate cavities in baby teeth are harmless; their kids will eventually get their adult teeth anyway. Unfortunately, both misconceptions compromise your kid’s dental health.
The truth is that cavity damage on baby teeth has a negative impact on adult teeth. But what exactly are cavities? To address this question, we might have to talk about what produces cavities in the first place.
Bacteria is everywhere, even in your kid’s mouth. Like your kid, bacteria love sugar and starchy (carbohydrate) foods that remain in their mouths after meals. Bacteria transform these residues into nasty acids that cover teeth, corroding a fine protective layer named enamel.
As tooth enamel loses its protective properties, more and more bacteria penetrate further teeth layers accumulating these smelly residues inside a tooth. If left untreated, your little one might need a more invasive treatment to cure cavities.
Bruxism or Teeth Grinding
Since people often link bruxism to stress, but it’s not the only cause. Children can also suffer from bruxism, and the cause is unclear in every case.
It can negatively affect your child’s sleep and cause mandible pain. A pediatric dentist can help you out.
Prolonged Thumb-Sucking
Thumb-sucking, contrary to what many parents think, is unoffensive during the first two years of your child’s life. However, this habit can change the palate structure after three years old and cause mild to severe overbite.
Excessive Use of a Pacifier
The use of pacifiers is similar to thumb-sucking. They have a calming, soothing effect on your baby but can damage your kid’s smile in the future, creating the need for orthodontic treatment.
Extended use of pacifiers after your kid is three can have the same consequences as prolonged thumb-sucking.
How to Find the Best Kids’ Dentist in Aurora?
You can find the ideal Children’s Dentist in Aurora, CO. What makes a great pediatric dentist is the ability to treat children with fun and empathy. At Epic Dentistry for Kids, we know children like to have fun and play at all times, so we have adapted our office to this purpose.
We offer specialized dental care for children, including emergencies, orthodontics for kids, and everything they need.
How Can a Pediatric Dentist Help My Kids?
Parents who show an approachable interest in knowing about their toddlers, preschoolers, and kids nod on the importance of dentistry for children in Aurora proper follow-up and checkups.
But what kind of specialized help do they encounter? And also, in special cases, what are the treatments offered? Here we list some of the most important of them so you get a better idea of pediatric dental care.
Teach You and Your Toddler How to Brush
The first set of teeth will all come out at age three. However, even before your kid has them all, you can use a soft finger brush to clear any debris from milk or porridge.
Remember, your kid is observant and intuitive and will repeat what you teach. But we will direct you on how to prepare your kid to grasp the mechanics of it. Eventually, you will notice your kid will be ready to handle a toothbrush, so we recommend maintaining supervision all the time.
Encouraging Good Hygiene Habits on Your Kids and Family
Your kid will learn to brush their teeth and use dental floss, but this doesn’t guarantee they will do it. However, your pediatric dentist will explain the best tips you need to know to create a habit for your kid.
Establishing an oral hygiene schedule, rewarding compliance, dramatizing how bad teeth smell if not clean, and using bedtime stories to enhance awareness and scare them just a little are fabulous ways to get your kid to ask you to accompany her to brush.
Discourage Your Baby From Bad Habits
Baby habits are naturally occurring, but parents must halt them when they grow into a toddler, and they are easy to eliminate. For example, drinking milk and sugar juices might end up in cavities, and sucking the thumb and pacifiers might cause abnormal jaw growth requiring interceptive intervention with functional appliances.
Healthy Eating Habits
The best age to start molding your kid’s habits is when they are toddlers or preschoolers. We know they use and consume a lot of energy, so they need rich in vitamins and minerals and food sources like vegetables.
A parental dilemma is getting their kids to eat fruits and veggies, but you can cook them or mix them with carbohydrates like pasta. Moreover, green leafy foods are essential in their diet to absorb calcium and other minerals.
On the other hand, strict control of sugar intake is necessary. We recommend parents control the ingredients in processed foods that claim to be healthy for children and contain high amounts of sugar.
Finally, and not less importantly, good parenting involves creating a chronogram of dental checkups at least twice a year for cleanings and tracking any issues like cavities that might compromise having a beautiful smile.
Fluoride Applications with a Pediatric Dentist
Fluoride is an integral part of dental hygiene. Fluoride is everywhere. You can find it in some foods enriched with minerals and also in the water supply of most U.S. cities, as the state government has directives about fluoridating tap water. However, the city of Aurora does not add fluoride to its water, so we offer special treatment with fluoride.
Although we get fluoride from different sources, once your kid is three years old, you can talk with your Kids’ Dentist in Aurora about a controlled in-office fluor application that helps your kid’s teeth remineralize, making them stronger.
Covering your kid’s teeth with an extra fluoride layer will protect them against bacteria and cavities.
Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are especially important in a child’s teeth, even on the primary ones. A sealant is a coating doctors apply on teeth to prevent tooth decay.
Dental sealants usually cover molars since these can be harder to clean.
Pulpotomy and Root Canal Performed by a Pediatric Dentist
Pulpotomy and pulpectomy may seem too hard for baby teeth, but when your Aurora kid’s dentist is an expert, you can trust the process. A baby root canal is another name for the same procedure, and it’s necessary when decay makes its way into the tooth’s pulp, causing pain and infections.
Fillings
The purpose of dental filling is to cover harmed tooth surface with a special protective mixture. Tooth decay can leave tiny holes in your kid’s tooth; if the hole is not covered soon, bacteria will infect the pulp inside.
The Importance of Oral Hygiene
Parenting is confusing. Sometimes we have this sense of protection, leading us to act vigilant, but this sense could disconcert us, and we might end up avoiding taking our child for dental checkups, thinking it is painful.
The thing is, dental care is essential for kids to avoid being affected by bacteria that could destroy the enamel layer of teeth. As bacteria progress deeper into teeth, they become vulnerable to decay, starting with white patches and ending up with rotten-like black teeth in advanced stages.
In addition to getting teeth severely damaged, cavities might also precede infections producing adverse effects on eating, speaking, and even in apparently non-connected activities like learning and playing.
So, as you might infer, protecting your child from dental caries is a must. Hence all treatments presented in this article are meant to complement your child’s dental health, but they by no means substitute an excellent oral hygiene routine. If you find this relevant, here you can get more information about “tips on good oral hygiene practices for your kid.”
How to Teach My Kid to Brush Their Teeth?
Teaching your kid how to practice good oral hygiene habits; brushing their teeth isn’t even the hardest part. Your kid sees you as a role model, and they will do exactly what you do. However, sometimes kids learn something, but it doesn’t guarantee they like it, and they might feel dragged to do it, so to get the best out of a dental hygiene lesson that turns into a routine, you might need to make it fun. Here you have some tips that will make this teaching-learning process a tiny one:
The Earlier, the Better
We don’t mean waking up your kid early. We mean start when your kid is a toddler and continue practicing along when your child is a preschooler. Bring the whole family, and set a time for it after a meal and before telling a story.
You might want to call it ukulele time, and you can play a song while your kid makes a circular movement with the toothbrush, or maybe you can make a dance. Whatever you do, try to make it fun and pleasant for your kid.
However, you might also get your kid a little scared about what could happen when failing to get their teeth clean. Show her clean is fun; dirt is bad.
Go Shopping With Your Kid
It makes perfect sense to take your little kid and let her grab the toothpaste and toothbrush. These utensils come in colorful shapes and have lots of different animated characters.
Moreover, toothpaste comes in different flavors. You might play, getting a flavor at a time. Of course, after the last one is gone.
Use Positive Reinforcement
Praise your kid with every single new achievement she makes. Children love to have their parents close, telling them they are awesome.
Get a chart to stick smiley faces with every brushing. Kids love to show parents what they’ve achieved.
The Importance of Oral Hygiene for a Pediatric Dentist
Dental care and oral health start with hygiene habits at home. Brushing is a daily task you can never avoid, so teach your kids this vital lesson.
Poor oral hygiene is the start of many painful and costly problems we can develop in our mouths. You can prevent this by cleaning your teeth, taking care of your diet, and visiting the dentist on time.
Make it easy for your family and create a fun space to wash your teeth twice daily. Create a ritual with theme songs and a toothbrush with your kid’s favorite character.
You prevent pain, disease, and fear of dentists by doing so.
Why Choose Dr. Patterson as Your Kids’ Pediatric Dentist
Our pediatric dentist, Dr. Patterson, will become a friend for you and your child because he can provide the best dental care for kids while having fun with your little one at your pediatric dentist in Aurora, CO.
You can count on his expertise to solve even the most challenging dental problems and to make informed decisions. As a children’s dentist in Aurora, CO, committed to delivering high-quality service, we’ll meet and surpass your expectations.
Make a dental appointment to get to know the best dental home in Aurora for your family.
