Category Archives: Pediatric Dentistry

Pediatric Dentistry

Discolored Baby Teeth

My five year old son has two front teeth that have become discolored. Is there something I can do? They used to be so white and beautiful. Will teeth whitening work?

Donna

Dear Donna,

Happy girl in pediatric dental chair

I don’t know of a dentist that would do teeth whitening on a child that young. In fact, he would probably resist it anyway because the whitening gel doesn’t exactly taste like a peppermint candy. Plus, he would have to keep the whitening trays on for a minimum of fifteen minutes. Good luck with that unless you want to sit by him the entire time. Additionally, messing with his teeth like that could cause them to fall out prematurely.

There is good news, though. Your son is five years old. It will only be a year or two before those front teeth fall out. Then, he will have nice shiny white adult teeth in there.

If it is surface stains and your regular toothpaste isn’t working, you could try Supersmile Toothpaste. This does a fantatic job in removing surface stains in a safe way. Do not use over-the-counter whitening toothpaste. These contain abrasives that actually damage tooth enamel, leading to more stains.

Other than that, make sure he is brushing after each meal and flossing his teeth before bed. It sounds like you really care about your son’s oral health, so you are probably already doing all of this.

Children at his age rarely pay attention to the appearance of their peer’s teeth. while kids like to make fun of each other, they are more likely to find something else to tease him about than some tooth discoloration.

If after his adult teeth come in there are still stains, then I would speak with his pediatric dentist to get to the root cause of the problem. With baby teeth, they’ll just let nature take its course.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Pediatric Dentistry

Should My Special Needs Foster Teen Go to a General or Pediatric Dentist?

I’ve recently become a foster parent. I choose to work with special needs children. They give us training, but of course, there is no way to teach us about every single issue that comes up. What I am up against now is that he needs to see a dentist. He is sixteen years old and is pretty much a child in a man’s body because of his special needs. Of course, he doesn’t want to be treated like a child. I am trying to decide whether to take him to a pediatric dentist or a general dentist. My concern is he will be hurt or offended about the idea of a pediatric dentist but that his social skills and compliance issues, which aren’t bad except when his anxiety jumps through the roof, will be an issue with the general dentist. Do you have any recommendations for me?

Pricilla

Dear Pricilla,

Happy girl in pediatric dental chair

First, let me say right off that bat that I admire you for taking on foster children, and especially those with special needs. You are amazing. The first thing I would do is look up some websites of pediatric dentists that are in your insurance network. Show your foster son the pictures they have on the site and see what he thinks. If he gets excited about it, go to a pediatric dentist. If he complains that it is for little kids, you still have a good option.

There are general dentists who like to treat children. However, some are better at working with children than others. If a general dentist recommends bringing in children as young as two years old, then you can know they are good at working with kiddos and really enjoy them. If they want you to wait until the child is about five or six years old, then I would look for someone else.

Whichever you end up with, I have two additional recommendations. First, is that you let the office know ahead of time about his special needs. The second is that you set up a time for him to “tour” the dental office and meet the staff. That way it won’t be a totally new experience for him when he goes in for his dental care.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Bonding, Pediatric Dentistry

Will Snap-On Smile work for my daughter?

My daughter is ten years old and she chipped her front teeth. I was thinking I would wait until she is older before I get these teeth fixed. But I was wondering if Snap-On Smile would work until we moved forward with a permanent fix?

Thanks,

– Gina from Ohio

Gina,

Ten years old is a tricky age because your daughter likely has a mix of permanent teeth and she probably still has some baby teeth. The baby teeth she still has may be a little loose too and her permanent teeth are in the process of erupting. The main issue with choosing the Snap-On Smile for your daughter is the fact that the appliance needs to snap onto her existing teeth. And since her teeth are in such a transitional stage, it isn’t going to work very well.

Dental bonding is safe for children and would be a solution to take care of the chipped teeth. You just need to make sure that she is old enough and willing to sit in a dental chair during the procedure.

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Related posts: pediatric dentist

Pediatric Dentistry

Should my son get his teeth extracted?

My son is almost two years old and has suffered trauma to his front teeth. They are discolored now and I think it is due to the trauma that occurred. His four teeth in front are a green color and I think the enamel is wearing down. I have tried a multivitamin for him on a daily basis but I don’t think that is doing anything to help. Do you think he will need to have these teeth extracted?

– Laura in Iowa

Laura,

It is difficult to make a recommendation without knowing exactly what caused your son’s trauma to his front teeth.

That said, the discoloration is likely due to bacteria. Sometimes kids can get stains on their teeth and their bodies become accustomed to the various bacteria. It would be good to take your child to a pediatric dentist to have his teeth cleaned. This may help with the green color you are referring to.

It was a good idea to give your child a multivitamin, although since the teeth have already erupted in the mouth it won’t have any positive effect.

What happens when you have trauma to the teeth is that the nerve endings can become severed. If this is the case, then you may need to have the teeth extracted. Although, I would not have them removed unless it is absolutely necessary. Since your son is so young, they are helpful for speech development.

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Other links you may be interested in: emergency dentist, affordable dentistry

Dental Bonding, Pediatric Dentistry

My child’s broken tooth

I feel so bad for my nine year old daughter. Yesterday, she fell down and broke one of her front teeth. Also, I just noticed a horizontal crack in another one. When I took her to the dentist, they didn’t seem concerned. Basically I was told that he doesn’t have the availability right now to take care of it. He said it should be fine for three months and needs that time to desensitize. Have you heard of this waiting period? I really want her to have it fixed as soon as possible.

Thanks for your time.

– Kendra from Arizona

Kendra,

If it is your desire to have this taken care of immediately, there is really no reason to wait. It would be ideal if you still have the broken piece of the tooth. If you find a cosmetic dentist that has an artistic eye, the tooth will actually be able to be reattached.

Please do your homework though and don’t go to just any dentist. Make sure the dentist is passionate about cosmetic dentistry and has undergone the additional training beyond dental school. From what you have described, the location of your daughter’s tooth is quite prominent and it will be important the the dentist is experienced.

Dental bonding will work to restore the look of the tooth if you don’t have the piece that has come off. As time goes by and your daughter gets older, the pulp in the tooth will be smaller. At that time, a single crown may be more appropriate based on damage that has been done.

Best of luck!

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Related links: emergency dentist, pediatric dentist

Pediatric Dentistry

My child’s teeth are in bad shape

My daughter is five years old and she needs a lot of dental work done. She has two cavities on her molars that are pretty deep into the tooth. And two other molars are decayed and have lost their structure. In fact, about one-third of the tooth is gone. I don’t know what to do. Should I have the decayed teeth extracted? I really don’t want to have her teeth pulled if we don’t need to. She is also complaining about pain during chewing in one of the right molars. Do I need a pediatric dentist now? Unfortunately, she is not cooperative at the dentist which is a major reason we are in this situation.

– Carrie from Nebraska

Carrie,

From what you have described it sounds like you need to visit a pediatric dentist. At her age, she only has baby teeth in her mouth so eventually she will lose them. But, she does require those teeth to be in good shape so she can eat and keep the spaces for the upcoming permanent teeth. If the teeth are removed, then space maintainers will be needed so the permanent molars don’t cause crowding to her other teeth. There are pediatric dentists that do sedation dentistry. It is worth it if that is what is needed to get her smile healthy again. Cavities and decay at this age are largely due to the frequency in which children eat. From what it sounds like with the condition of her teeth now, she may be eating all day long, asking for treats constantly, etc. You need to discourage this kind of behavior and allow enough time between meals for her hunger to build up so you can break this habit. Over time, her dietary behavior will improve which will improve her dental health as well.

Dentists understand that kids will lose their teeth so they tend to think more temporarily. A crown may be used to treat the decayed molar versus extracting the tooth.

Good luck to you. I hope this information was helpful.

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Related link: Sleep dentistry; dental anxiety

Pediatric Dentistry

Sucking my thumb

I sucked my thumb until I was 13 years old. My teeth have suffered badly. My top teeth are shaped in an upward curve and are out of alignment. I want to get them fixed. What do I need to do to get them to return to normal.

-Jeanie in Kansas

Jeanie,

I recommend you find an orthodontist in your area. They will be able to correct the misalignment you have from sucking your thumb. Invisalign braces could solve your problem. Without seeing your particular case it is hard to see if you have other options.

Thumb sucking is a common concern of parents whose children have this habit. The best advice is to not worry too much about it. If you make it a really big deal, you may create a complex in your child. Unfortunately, this will have the opposite affect and will actually reinforce the behavior. Thumb sucking does not cause permanent damage to the baby teeth. This means that you are okay until the age of about seven or so. Most likely, when a child starts school their friends will play a large part into making them stop.

Since you sucked your thumb until the age of 13, it did cause damage to your permanent teeth. So, just relax and for most this behavior takes care of itself.

If you are still dealing with your kids sucking their thumb after losing baby teeth, you may need to do something more. Positive encouragement is the way to go. Don’t force them, punish them, or cause shame. This could have lasting implications on your child’s self esteem.

If it still is an issue, there are aids that can help. Although, these aids have the most success when the child truly wants to quit. So, if they do want to stop then you can try a bitter liquid called Thum. This product and other similar products make thumb sucking unpleasant. This will cause them to associate the bad taste with the behavior and under the right circumstances, it will help.

This post was provided by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Read more about pediatric dentistry.

Pediatric Dentistry

Space Maintainers for Children

My daughter is six years old and has two broken baby molars. Tooth decay caused the problem and our dentist recommended extraction since they are infected. Is that my only option? 

Kathy from Nevada

Kathy,

When a child’s baby molars are infected, extraction is required. Typically when a tooth is infected a root canal can be performed. But, due to the shape of the roots on a child’s molar, it is not possible to do root canal treatments. That is why the tooth extraction has been recommended. It is important you follow through with this. If this condition is left untreated, the infection will affect her permanent teeth that are still developing.

It is likely that the dentist will want to put in some space maintainers. This will help hold the space where each tooth is removed. Your daughter’s permanent molars will be coming in very soon behind the baby molars. There are other problems that could occur if the space maintainers are not used. For example, the permanent molars can drift forward and this will block out the permanent premolars from coming in normally.

For more information, read more about pediatric dentistry and family dentistry.