February was a busy month for our Pediatric Dentist, Dr. Monica Sharma of Tiny Tooth Pediatric Dentistry. She celebrated National Children's Dental Health month by doing what she loves most - teaching children of all ages how to best care for their beautiful smiles and how food choice and frequency of meals and snacks can affect their dental health. When families come to visit her at the office, her office turns into a classroom as she encourages new parents to accompany their children back so she can educate them on methods they can use at home every day to implement great oral hygiene habits. "I wish I could cut my hands off and give them to you to take home so I could be sure your child was getting the home care they need," she says. She spends much of each child's first visit teaching and empowering parents to do the most important thing they can - home care and diet modification. It is clear she is very passionate about the dental health of each child so we spoke to her to find out more.
JCL: What age is the best age to start taking our kids to the dentist?
I recommend your child's first quick peek visit be at age 1 or when they get their first tooth - whichever comes first. This visit is typically complimentary at our office and allows us not only a look to make sure everything is fine developmentally, but more importantly, allows me the opportunity to teach and guide parents about developing early home care routines and setting good habits in place. I teach them to avoid putting their baby to bed with a bottle, wiping their baby's mouth out with a damp towel after each feed especially at night and throughout the night, etc. Studies have also shown, infants and toddlers with teeth that receive the concentrated fluoride treatment regularly before age 3 tend to have a much lower rate of decay in both childhood and into adulthood.
If you have difficulty nursing your baby, or your child is very colicky/gassy, spits up frequently, constantly wants to feed very often and has a hard time feeling satiated after nursing, has difficulty latching properly, makes clicking noises or drools milk when feeding, is having difficulty gaining weight, interrupted sleep, or the new mother is having pain upon nursing, cracked/bleeding nipples, and engorgement - these are all signs your baby may possibly have a lip tie or tongue tie. We recommend evaluating this as soon as these signs and symptoms arise. Many healthcare professionals are not trained to identify this problem and it can go undetected in infants and even into adulthood.
JCL: How often should children be going to the dentist?
We recommend going to the dentist every 6 months for a professional dental cleaning, exam, any necessary x-rays and a concentrated Fluoride treatment to help keep their teeth strong and healthy. When we can identify a concern or the start of decay early on, it usually means we can treat the area is a less invasive way and achieve a much better outcome. For example, a smaller tooth-colored filling may be recommended when caught early as opposed to a stainless steel crown if the decay has gotten much larger. It can also mean an easier and less involved visit for your child. Prevention is so important to me because if I can prevent a cavity, that means one less procedure we have to put your child through. Most new parents just haven't been taught what they should be doing at home to help their child. When they come visit us early on, I get excited because by teaching parents a few things, we can make a big impact on this child's oral health for a lifetime. Knowing is definitely half the battle!