PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY MURPHY

Dental Checkups & Teeth Cleanings

Getting your child a dental checkup and teeth cleaning twice a year is one of the most productive and proactive things you can do when it comes to keeping them cavity-free and healthy. We’ll look at their teeth, gums, and jaw for potential issues, and we’ll also monitor how they are growing and developing. Before the exam, a trained team member will remove all of the bacterial plaque and tartar from their teeth that are the root source of decay and gum disease, making their smile absolutely sparkle!

Fluoride Treatment

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that is found in small quantities in various foods, such as grapes, raisins, spinach, potatoes, shrimp, crab legs, and red meat. While fermentable carbohydrates (such as candies, juices, chips, crackers, rice, and pasta) cause acid formation that will soften tooth enamel which can lead to cavities, fluoride does the exact opposite in that it helps to remineralize (harden) the softened enamel caused by the foods and beverages we consume. In proper quantities, fluoride treatment is a very safe way to prevent cavities. Here at Bloom Pediatric Dentistry, we only use fluoride varnishes (as opposed to foams or gels), which come in a sticky consistency to minimize the amount that is swallowed. The goal is to have the fluoride varnish stick to the teeth where it can exert its topical effect to strengthen the enamel.

Dental Sealants

With a dental sealant, we place a thin, white layer of dental material over your child’s back teeth to cover the pits and grooves. The material of choice could be resin-based, or a bioactive glass ionomer, depending on the circumstances. This keeps food particles and bacteria out of the grooves of teeth, stopping cavities before they even start. Once in place, a sealant can be trusted to work for many years (or even longer, by avoiding sticky and crunchy foods as much as possible that could lead to the pulling off or chipping away of the sealant).

Anticipatory Guidance

We offer anticipatory guidance to parents of children from infancy through adolescence–providing practical and developmentally-appropriate information to help prepare them to navigate their child’s oral health needs as they grow and develop. Depending on the age of your child, topics will include: caries risk assessment, oral hygiene counseling, dietary counseling, counseling for non-nutritive habits (such as pacifier or finger-sucking), injury prevention and safety counseling, assessment of speech/language development, assessment of developing occlusion, assessment for pit and fissure sealants, periodontal risk assessment, counseling for tobacco, vaping, and substance misuse, counseling for human papillomavirus/vaccine, counseling for intraoral/perioral piercing, assessment of wisdom teeth, and transition to adult dental care.

Discussion of these topics at the appropriate timing can help prevent future issues. For example, while it’s adorable when an infant sucks their thumb, this habit can spell trouble if a child continues it past age three. The continual pressure can force the incoming teeth to become crooked, and it can even deform the jaw and bite! If you need help getting your child to stop, you’re not alone, and we can introduce you to a positivity-first program that we’ve successfully utilized to help countless children through this transition.

Athletic Mouthguards / Sportsguards

Before hitting the field, mat, or court, a child should always pop in a mouthguard to keep them protected from broken or knocked-out teeth that can stem from an accident. We can provide them with a custom guard that fits better and is WAY more comfortable compared to anything you’ll find on store shelves. A specially made appliance has a much higher chance of being worn as opposed to “forgotten” in a locker or gym bag!

Space Maintenance Therapy

It’s very important that a child’s baby teeth fall out when nature intends, because if a tooth is prematurely lost, the neighboring teeth can drift into the missing tooth space. This can create all sorts of problems in the present, including both aesthetic and functional concerns, as well as potentially block out the incoming adult teeth. Space maintenance therapy involves placing a small appliance where your child’s tooth used to be so that the rest stays straight and the adult teeth have a clear path once they are ready to appear.