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Category : Children

Encourage Your College-Bound Child To Practice Good Oral Health Habits

Posted on: May 3, 2021 by Arpit

It’s a big transition when your child enters college — for both of you. You may sometimes find “cutting the apron strings” a little rocky. But like most parents, you’ll soon condense what you still want your college kid to do down to a few major habits and choices. Be sure to keep health, diet, and lifestyle choices on that list, areas which could affect their oral health, long-term health, and well-being.

Dental Care

That should include dental care. Hopefully, they’ve already developed good hygiene habits and oral health like daily brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits. But, on their own now, they’re faced with other choices that could affect their dental health.

For example, eating a balanced, nutritious diet is necessary for a healthy mouth. That includes limiting sugar intake, especially when snacking. Disease-causing oral bacteria thrive on carbohydrates like sugar. These bacteria also secrete acid, which at consistently high levels can erode tooth enamel.

Affect Teeth and Gums

Tobacco smoking and excessive alcohol affect teeth and gums because both can inhibit the secretion of saliva. Besides containing antibodies that fight infection, saliva also neutralizes mouth acid. A dry mouth caused by these habits could put their mouth at higher risk for disease.

The fashion of their peers might also influence your college student to display piercings. Mouth piercings with lip or tongue hardware, in particular, can damage teeth. The constant movement and friction erode enamel or may even cause a tooth fracture. If possible, try to steer them to self-expression that poses less risk to their dental health.

Dental Health

There’s one other area that, believe it or not, could impact oral health: sex. While each family handles this particular subject differently, be sure your child knows that some forms of sexual activity increase the risk of contracting the human papillomavirus (HPV16). Among its many destructive outcomes, HPV16 profoundly raises the risk of oral cancer. A rare but deadly disease with a poor survival rate.

Going from home to college is a big step for a young person — and their parents. As a parent, you can help steer them to practice good habits and make wise choices that protect their lives and health, particularly oral health, like teeth and gums.

If you would like more information on helping your college student maintain their oral or dental health, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “10 Health Tips for College Students.”

Serena Williams’ Call For Help: What Every Parent Should Know About Teething

Posted on: May 3, 2021 by Arpit

Celebrities use Twitter to connect with their fans—promoting their next project, sharing big news, and throwing a little shade. Occasionally, a tweet reveals something deeply personal about your favorite star’s life. A case in point: tennis great Serena Williams’ plea for help with her baby’s teething.

“Nothing is working,” Williams told her followers on the Twitterverse as she asked for advice on what to do. And, as might be expected with Twitter, she got hundreds of replies. Some of the advice she received was, well, inadvisable. But a few tweets came through with a perspective that every parent with a teething baby needs to know: Teething is normal and won’t last forever.

Your baby’s first teeth are breaking through gums never broken through before. That’s a small-scale trauma that can cause tooth pain and discomfort, appetite, and sleep disruption. All of that and more is a recipe for irritability. It can happen each time a new tooth erupts and subside until the next eruption. But it will all end once all the primary teeth are in at around age 3.

In the meantime, the best thing you can do for your baby during a teething episode is to help them be as comfortable as possible. Here are some tips.

Give them soft, cold items to chew. Teething children naturally chew or gnaw on items to reduce their discomfort. You can further numb the pain by giving them teething rings, pacifiers, or similar soft plastic items that have been chilled. Avoid freezing the items, as this could burn the soft tissues around the mouth.

Massage their gums. One way to help counteract the pressure caused by teething. A major source of irritation is to massage your little one’s gums with your finger (just be sure it’s clean). And fingers only: Contrary to an old wives’ tale, it’s harmful to rub alcohol or similar substances on the gums because, like extreme cold, it can burn the skin.

Administer pain relievers. If your doctor advises, give your child an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen in a dose appropriate for his or her age to help dull the pain. This should be given orally, not rubbed on the gums. Note that you should not apply any substances containing the numbing agent benzocaine to young children’s gums, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Whether you’re a tennis superstar like Serena Williams or just meet up for doubles with friends occasionally, having a baby in the midst of teething can be stressful. But following these tips will help your baby, and you weather the storm.

Please contact us or schedule a consultation if you would like more information about teething. You can also connect with us if you have other aspects of pediatric dental care. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “Teething Troubles.”

Eliminating An Infant’s Lip Or Tongue Tie Can Make Breastfeeding Easier

Posted on: May 3, 2021 by Arpit

Most babies come into the world ready and able to nourish at their mother’s breast through breastfeeding. No training is required! About one in ten children may have a structural abnormality with their tongue or lip that makes it difficult for them to breastfeed.

Frenum or Frenulum

The abnormality involves a small strip of tissue called a frenum or frenulum. It is found in the mouth connecting soft tissue to more rigid structures. You’ll find a frenum attaching the upper lip to the gums. While another connects the tongue’s underside to the mouth’s floor.

Frenums are a normal part of oral anatomy and usually don’t pose a problem. But if the frenum tissue is too short, thick, or tight, it could restrict lip or tongue movement. If so, a baby may not be able to achieve a good seal on their mother’s nipple, causing them to chew ineffectively rather than suck to access the mother’s milk. Such a situation guarantees an unpleasant experience for both mother and baby.

The problem can be addressed with a minor surgical procedure performed in a dentist’s office. The dentist first numbs the area with an anesthetic gel during the procedure. The frenum is then snipped with scissors or a laser.

Nursing

With very little, if any, post-procedure care, the baby can immediately begin nursing. But although the physical impediment may be removed, the child may need to “relearn” how to nurse. It may take time for the baby to readjust and could require help from a professional.

Nursing isn’t the only reason for dealing with an abnormally shortened frenum. Abnormal frenums can interfere with speech development and may even widen gaps between the front teeth, contributing to poor bite development. Clipping a frenum early is often worthwhile before it creates other problems.

It isn’t absolutely necessary to deal with a “tongue” or “lip tie” in this manner. The bottle can nourish a baby. But to gain the physical and emotional benefits of breastfeeding, taking care of this particular problem early may be a good option.

If you would like more information on the problem of tongue or lip ties in infants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Tongue Ties, Lip Ties, and Breastfeeding.”

Dental Sealants Give Children An Added Boost Against Tooth Decay

Posted on: May 3, 2021 by Arpit

Although adults are more prone to dental disease, children aren’t immune from one particular infection, tooth decay. Dental Sealants is the solution. Some children, in fact, are at higher risk for an aggressive form called early childhood caries (ECC).

Child Oral Care

You can do several things to help your child avoid this destructive disease, especially daily brushing and flossing to remove bacterial dental plaque, the underlying cause of tooth decay. It’s also important for your child to see a dentist regularly for professional dental cleanings and checkups.

But some of their teeth, particularly the back molars, may need some extra attention to protect them against decay fully. This is because larger teeth like molars have numerous pits and crevices along their biting surfaces. It makes dental plaque difficult to remove by brushing alone. The added plaque increases the presence of bacteria around the tooth, which increases the risk of decay.

To minimize this possibility, dentists can apply dental sealants to “smooth out” those pits and crevices in the molars and make it more difficult for plaque to accumulate. This is a quick and painless procedure in which a dentist brushes a liquid plastic resin or similar material onto the teeth’s biting surfaces. They then apply a curing light to harden it into a durable coating.

Tooth decay

About one-third of children—mostly those considered at higher risk for tooth decay—have undergone dental sealants treatment. But the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommend this preventive measure for all children between ages 5 and 7, and then later between 11 and 14 when additional molars come in. Although there is a moderate cost per tooth for sealant application, it’s much less than the potential expense of treating an infected tooth.

Combined with daily oral hygiene and other preventive measures, sealants can reduce the chances of damaging tooth decay. Keeping your child’s teeth healthy is important in maintaining their dental health today—and tomorrow.

If you would like more information on preventive dental care for children, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

You Don’t Need To Pass A Football Like Patrick Mahomes To Remove A Loose Baby Tooth

Posted on: May 3, 2021 by Arpit

Kids get pretty inventive pulling a loose primary (baby) tooth. After all, there’s a profit motive involved (aka the Tooth Fairy). But a young Kansas City Chiefs fan may have topped his peers with his method, as revealed in a recent viral Twitter video.

Inspired by all-star KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes (and sporting his #15 jersey), 7-year-old Jensen Palmer tied his loose tooth to a football with a line of string. Then, announcing, “This is how an MVP gets their tooth out,” the next-gen QB sent the ball flying, with the tooth tailing close behind.

It appears young Palmer was no worse for wear with his tooth removal technique. But if you think there might be a less risky and dramatic way to remove a loose tooth, you’re right. You should first know that primary teeth come out when they’re good and ready, which is important. Primary teeth play an important role in a child’s current dental and speech function and future dental development. For the latter, they serve as placeholders for permanent teeth developing within the gums. If one is lost prematurely, the corresponding permanent tooth might erupt out of position and cause bite problems.

In normal development, though, a primary tooth coming out coincides closely with the linked permanent tooth coming in. When it’s time, the primary tooth lets you know by becoming quite loose in the socket.

If you think one of your children’s primary teeth is ready, clean your hands first with soap and water. Then using a clean tissue, you should be able to wiggle the tooth with little tension easily. Grasp the tooth with the tissue and give it a little horizontal twist to pop it out. If that doesn’t work, wait a day or two before trying again. If it does come out, be sure you have some clean gauze handy in case of bleeding from the empty socket.

Normally, nature takes its course from this point. But be on the lookout for abnormal signs like fragments of the tooth left behind in the socket (not to be mistaken for the top of the permanent tooth coming in). You should also look for redness, swelling, or complaints of pain the following day—signs of possible infection. If you see anything like this, make a prompt appointment so we can take a look. Losing a primary tooth is a signpost pointing the way from childhood to adulthood (not to mention a windfall for kids under their pillows). You can help make it a smooth transition—no forward pass required.

If you would like more information about caring for primary teeth, please contact us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Importance of Baby Teeth” and “Losing a Baby Tooth.”