Pediatric Dentistry Services
We see patients as early as 6 months of age, around the time their first tooth erupts. Pediatric (baby) teeth serve two primary purposes: allowing your child to eat and maintaining space in the arch for the adult teeth. Therefore, it is important to maintain baby teeth until they are ready to naturally exfoliate.
Common Pediatric Dentistry Services
Crowns
If your child has a caries (active disease that leads to “cavities”) in a baby tooth, many times we can stop the active disease and restore the tooth with fillings or stainless steel crowns (for larger “cavities”).
Loss of Teeth
Premature loss of baby teeth can result in a collapse of the space required for adult teeth to come in. This can lead to problems with crowding or even teeth getting completely blocked out.
If your child prematurely loses a primary tooth, we may recommend a space maintainer to help hold the adjacent teeth in place. A space maintainer is usually a small, metal appliance that is placed to maintain the space needed for the adult tooth to come in.
Sealants
Sealants are a great way to protect against tooth decay and cavities on your back teeth. These are the teeth that are most vulnerable to cavities and decay because they are used in the chewing process and are the most difficult to reach and clean. Adult molars first come in at around 6 years of age, with a second set coming in around age 12.
Sealants help create a barrier between teeth and any plaque, food particles and bacteria.
Not every tooth or child should get sealants. Sometimes they can be more detrimental than helpful. We will help evaluate if sealants will benefit your child.