We warmly welcome your family to our pediatric dental practice. Our team takes pride in creating a relaxed environment for children and adolescents and we use the latest technology to customize comprehensive preventative programs to maintain healthy teeth and instill good brushing and dental care habits. At Somerville Pediatric Dentistry, we offer services for patients with special medical needs, nitrous oxide sedation and hospital dentistry for the very anxious.
Dental Examinations & Cleanings
At Somerville Pediatric Dentistry, we take pride in helping your child improve their oral health in every way we can. We take the time to teach your child about oral hygiene and preventative care in addition to the dental services we provide. By teaching your child how to take care of their mouth, we seek to help to improve your child’s long-term oral health.
When you make an appointment for your child, you can expect us to cover a range of dental services to evaluate your child’s overall oral health. We will inspect their mouth, looking for any signs of tooth decay, gum disease, bite or jaw problems, or other dental needs such as tooth restorations and fluoride treatments. The main goal of dental examinations is to find any problems and address them accordingly, therefore, we are thorough in each exam, making sure to catch any problems and find the best solution in a timely manner. Taking dental x-rays help us to identify any problem areas that the eye might not catch and also help in deciding if your child will need braces later on.
The cleaning portion of your child’s appointment will help us to get rid of built-up plaque, tartar and other stains on your child’s teeth. Having thorough cleanings twice a year will help your child grow strong, healthy teeth as they get older. Even if your child brushes and flosses often, some plaque and tartar build-up is unpreventable but frequent cleaning treatments will take care of this problem. By ridding of plaque and tartar, we will limit the amount of bacteria in your child’s mouth which is essential to their oral hygiene. Scheduling dental exams and cleanings for your child every six months will help your child to have a healthy, happy mouth.
Dental Sealants
The best way for your children to prevent decay in their teeth is to brush and floss frequently. Leftover food often causes decay to grow in tight spaces that needs to be treated immediately. One of the best ways to prevent molar decay is with dental sealants.
You can think of dental sealants as a rain jacket for your child’s molars, protecting them from food that often gets caught and causes decay to grow. Dental sealants are a protective covering made most commonly of plastic or other dental materials, which allow for extra protection on your child’s teeth. In addition to daily brushing and flossing, dental sealants will help protect your child’s teeth from the common decay problems that can cause serious oral health issues in both children and adults.
Dental sealants are highly recommended for children with soft enamel or other bacterial susceptibilities. The earlier one gets dental sealants, the better off they will be. By protecting your child’s molars from a young age, they will improve their oral health into their adulthood, making them three times less likely to get molar cavities than children without sealants. Cavities, root canals, and other dental problems that occur in molars are complicated and often expensive so sealing these molars with dental sealants is worth the investment!
The process of getting dental sealants for your child is both fast and painless. The dentist will clean and dry the teeth, apply a gel, and then glue the sealant to the necessary teeth. Most sealants are clear so it will be easy for your dentist to continue to keep a close eye on your child’s teeth after applying sealants. Applying dental sealants is a safe, risk-free process without any side effects. Contact us today to inquire about getting dental sealants for your child!
Dental Crowns for Children
If your child has a problem tooth that needs extra protection, a dental crown is a great option to keep the tooth safe from further damage. A dental crown is a cap made to fit right over a tooth that protects it from outside threats such as decay and plaque build-up. Not only do dental crowns protect from future damage, but they also help restore the tooth’s appearance and strength after it has suffered. Dental crowns completely cover the visible part of the tooth all the way to the gum line to maximize their effectiveness. They’ve been proved to be particularly effective in restoring and protecting children’s teeth because young teeth tend to bounce back from damage when properly treated.
The only way to know if your child needs a dental crown is to see a professional who will both inspect the tooth and take dental x-rays to see what’s going on under the surface. Though it may be too late to restore this tooth to its complete, natural state, a dental crown will restore much of its damage and help the tooth moving forward. In the future, you can help your child prevent the need of a dental crown by preventative care efforts such as brushing, flossing, and scheduling dental cleanings and examinations every six months. If your child has particularly sensitive teeth, you should also consider fluoride treatments and improve their dental habits at home.
Phase I and Comprehensive Orthodontic Treatment
Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics is an integral part of your child’s dental care and growth and development. We offer a range of orthodontic treatment for you or your child, including early/Phase I treatment, comprehensive treatment with ceramic/clear braces and clear aligner treatment with Invisalign. Click here for more information and to schedule your complimentary orthodontic evaluation.
