Bartlett Pediatric Dentistry

Your and Your Child’s Dental Health

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:17:57 +0000

As a parent, you are in full charge of another individual’s life. This includes not just the general health but also the dental health of your child. Here are some of the things that you need to take note of when taking care of your child’s dental health:

Pregnancy

Yes, your child’s dental health actually starts as early as in the womb. While it’s very rare that a baby is born with teeth, the milk teeth actually begin to develop underneath the gums which a child is still a fetus. For this reason, it is crucial that the mother have a healthy pregnancy and partake on a balanced diet that will help to foster the development of her baby’s teeth. At the same time, pregnant women should be very vigilant about the status of their gums. Gingivitis has been linked to pre-term deliveries. At the same time, infections that the mother might have, including gingival infections, could cause an adjunct infection on the fetus.

One to Six Months Old

When your baby hit’s the age of six months old, it’s time for his or her first visit to the dentist. At this point, at least one milk tooth may have already erupted and would need tending to. Aside from that, your dentist will also check your child’s risk for cavities. Some children have a higher risk of getting cavities especially if their parents also had an extensive history of cavities. The reason for this could have something to do with the transmission of the cavity-causing bacteria from the mother to the child.

Six to Twelve Months Old

Your child’s next trip to the dentist should happen during his or her first birthday. For those children whose first primary tooth has not yet emerged during the first visit, then these children should also visit the dentist once that precious tooth has erupted. Your dentist will re-assess your child’s dental health and check for any signs of early cavities.

Preventing Cavities

There are a couple of ways that you can prevent the formation of cavities in children. The first thing that you can do is to prevent the transmission of pathogens by sharing utensils. Kissing can also transfer this bacteria. But that does not mean you’re barred from kissing your child. For as long as you make sure that your child has good dental hygiene, then you can reduce their risk for gum disease. Cleaning your child’s mouth is as simple as using a clean, soft and wet washcloth and carefully rubbing the sides of the mouth and the surfaces of the teeth. Nicotine exposure due to second-hand smoke can also increase your child’s risk for cavities and even gum disease because of how plaque adheres more to the surfaces of teeth due to nicotine.

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Your Child and Their Braces

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:02:52 +0000

When it comes to orthodontic braces, it’s usually children who get them. While adults are not exempted from getting braces, there are a lot of factors which make the process complicated or difficult for them. For instance, adults are more self-conscious especially when they have a job and a certain image to maintain, and sporting a very metallic smile might not be for them. Also, it would take longer to move the teeth of adults given that their dental roots have already developed considerably. While it’s still not a lost cause for adults, the process isn’t as easy as when children are involved.

What is the right age for orthodontic braces?

Dental problems and bad habits as one is growing up will start to manifest themselves in the form of malocclusions, or bad bites, by the time the child’s permanent teeth start to erupt. Usually, a child’s permanent teeth will begin to surface between the ages of six and 12 years old. In order to achieve the best results with your orthodontic braces, your child should be fitted with orthodontic braces by the time he or she is eight to 14 years old. If you’re not yet sure if your child really needs braces, then you can opt to have an orthodontic evaluation by the time he or she is seven years old. At this age, your child will have a good mix of both permanent and milk teeth.

If an adult is still adamant in getting orthodontic braces, then he or she will have to face the possibility of a tooth extraction, or even oral surgery in order to give the teeth space to move to.

Why are braces needed?

A malocclusion, or a bad bite, is the main reason for why your child would need braces. However, there are a number of reasons for why your child may have developed a bad bite, and the reasons are a cross between genetic factors and bad habits.

Genetically, some individuals are naturally born with an extra pair of teeth. This will lead to overcrowding of existing teeth and even cause an impacted or sub-impacted tooth to develop. Also, individuals with small mouths may have limited space even for a normal number of teeth. As for bad habits, tongue thrusting can lead to the formation of an open bite. An open bite can also form because of thumb sucking among children with permanent teeth.

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Dealing with Bad Breath

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:14:36 +0000

If you’re struggling with bad breath, then knowing more about the condition may help you heave a sigh of relief. Here are some of the basic things you need to know about halitosis including its causes, treatments and prevention:

Cause of Bad Breath

Majority of cases of halitosis is due to bacterial overgrowth inside your mouth. There’s a reason for why we have to brush our teeth and floss. Whenever we eat, the food debris gets trapped in between our teeth as well as hard-to-reach areas inside our mouth. The problem with this is that bacteria feed on these residual food particles.

When bacteria start consuming food particles, they also release foul-smelling by-products. This is especially true of microorganisms which are trapped at the back of the tongue and other crevices since these strains of bacteria are usually anaerobic or that they do not utilize oxygen and offensive metabolites are the hallmark of these certain bacteria.

The best way to prevent bad breath is to prevent the build-up of bacteria inside your mouth, and good dental hygiene is your first line of defense against these pesky microorganisms. But brushing your teeth is only half of the job since brushing can only clean three surfaces of your teeth. On the other hand, flossing can get rid of food debris and malodorous plaque that are stuck in between teeth. Rinsing with mouthwash is also a great way to get rid of plaque which also causes that funky smell inside your mouth.

Other Cause of Halitosis

Dry Mouth. The lack of saliva secretion can also cause bad breath since this body secretion is known as the natural mouth rinse of the body. Saliva not only helps in digestion of carbohydrates and enhancing the flavor of food; saliva is also able to neutralize acids and prevent the overgrowth of bacteria. While a genetic defect which makes a person unable to secrete saliva is rather uncommon, anti-hypertensive drugs can also limit a person’s secretion of saliva.

Oral Reflux. We’ve all had a whiff of what our vomit smells like and you wouldn’t want to smell your breath right after puking. Oral reflux disorders will essentially give you a vomit breath. At the same time, people who suffer from bulimia may also have the same problem with all the constant vomiting that they do just to get rid of extra calories and keep them from gaining weight.

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How the Tooth Fairy Came to Be

admin — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:26:35 +0000

One way for you to get your kids interested in oral health is to talk about the most familiar figure in the world of teeth – the tooth fairy. Although the tooth fairy has become a permanent fixture in children’s story books and every parent’s repertoire of bedtime stories, this prominent figure only started to become popular in the early 1900′s. While majority of the western world know of the tooth fairy as a beautiful woman ready to dole out money in exchange for tooth tucked under children’s pillows as they slumber, every country in the world actually has its own version of this generous figure.

Playing the game of hide the tooth.

One of the origins of the tooth fairy is actually not a very pleasant one. In a number of western countries, people thought that witches would require items gathered from you, such as hair, nails and even teeth, in order to cast spells on you. Hence, parents, wanting to keep their children from being cursed by witches, would bury their kids’ lost teeth in gardens or fields close to their house in order to prevent nearby witches from using these items in order to inflict harm.

Planting the teeth and watching it grow.

As time went by, people began to stop fearing witches, but the habit of burying teeth did not stop there. On the contrary, parents became motivated to bury the teeth which their children have lost because the reigning idea of that time was that whenever you bury a tooth, a new and stronger tooth will grow in its stead. However, this myth was quickly quashed with the development of urban centers. With buildings growing in droves and trees being cut by the hundreds, it just doesn’t seem plausible, or practical, anymore for parents to “plant” their children’s lost teeth.

The tooth fairy was actually a mouse.

Of all the tooth fairy tales, the most mind-boggling would have to be one from Spain. According to the myth, kind rodents would exchange the lost teeth of children for small gifts. This belief was so popular in Spain that the people actually had a name for this mouse, Ratoncito Perez. According to the myths, Perez would leave coins or candy underneath the pillows of children in exchange for the teeth which they have lost. As years went by, the mouse became a beautiful, white fairy that would pay children nightly visits, take the teeth which they have lost and leave behind a coin.

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When Do You Wear Mouth Guards

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:02:39 +0000

Of the different types of dental appliances, from traditional braces to dentures, mouth guards have always been a source of mystery. What exactly are they used for and how can they help improve your dental health?

Also known as mouth protectors, mouth guards are flexible oral appliances which are fitted over teeth and worn for a number of purposes. They can be used to protect teeth while playing sports or to help prevent damage to teeth due to certain dental conditions. The following are specific reasons for why your dentist might prescribe the use of mouth protectors:

Playing Sports

Athletes as well as those who love playing contact sports like football should wear mouth guards. A large percentage of sports related injuries affect the head, and there’s a huge chance that your teeth might become fractured or chipped because of blunt trauma to your face. The consequences of not using mouth guards while being embroiled in a sports related injury ranges anywhere from a chipped tooth to a knocked out tooth. A simple yet effective way to prevent any of that from happening is to wear mouth guards.

Sleep Apnea

This condition is characterized as the cessation of breathing while you are sleeping. Sleep apnea can lead to serious complications including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, the most immediate consequence of sleep apnea is daytime sleepiness, which puts sufferers at risk for vehicular accidents. Obstructive sleep apnea is develops when the tissues and muscles surrounding the throat collapse over the airways and prevent the entrance of oxygen. To prevent these muscles from falling over the airways, dentists advise the use of mouth guards to hold these tissues up.

Bruxism

Bruxism, also known as teeth grinding, is the excessive grinding or the gnashing of teeth. This condition can wear out the enamel region of your teeth simply because of the friction produced during the grinding episodes. What’s more unique with this condition is that the episodes happen usually while one is asleep. This means that the person cannot control his or her grinding, and chances are that a sufferer may not even know that he or she has bruxism to begin with. Jaw tenderness is the main symptom and indicator that one has bruxism. Mouth guards may not solve the grinding problem, but it protects your teeth from the effects of grinding. This dental appliance is only worn while asleep.

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Protecting Your Child’s Mouth

admin — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:58:32 +0000

In this modern day and age, things have become a lot harder for parents. In the past, parents never really had to worry about problems like how early their children had to visit their dentist, or if their toddlers should start flossing or not. However, parents of the 21st century are burdened with their children’s sophisticated dental needs. So aside from keeping your kids from eating too much candy, what else should you do?

Start before they’re a year old.

When it comes to protecting your children’s teeth from cavities, you need to begin as early as possible and that means before the first tooth has even begun to erupt. When your child is a couple of months old, just because you cannot see teeth does not mean that they aren’t there underneath their gums. In fact, teeth start to form underneath the gums during the second trimester of pregnancy. By the time that a baby is born, all 20 milk teeth are properly formed underneath the gums.

You can take care of these deciduous teeth even before they come in by running a clean and damp washcloth along the gums of your baby every day in order to get rid of harmful oral bacteria. Once the teeth start to come in, parents can use a small toothbrush in order to clean each tooth. However, be very careful to use only a smear of toothpaste with a lot of water. Excessive exposure to fluoride can also cause cosmetic repercussions to the permanent teeth of your baby.

Don’t turn to the bottle.

Most parents allow their children to go to bed with a bottle of milk or juice. The problem with this is that the starches found in milk can be degraded into sugars in the mouth of your child and can accelerate tooth decay. It’s important that you brush and clean your baby’s mouth before he or she goes to bed and get rid of the source of energy for oral, cavity-causing bacteria.

Visit the dentist.

As early as when the first tooth has begun to come in, you need to take your child to the dentist for regular check-ups. The dentist will check for cavities and formation of plaque on your child’s teeth. Moreover, your dentist can suggest preventive treatments such as dental sealants, which can reduce your child’s risk for cavities, as well as fluoride rinses, which can increase the strength of your child’s dental enamel.

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A Healthy Diet for A Healthy Mouth

admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:14:51 +0000

You’ve heard the saying, “you are what you eat” but most do not realize that the kind of diet you consume shows by the way your mouth looks like. If you want a healthier mouth, load up on these things:

Green Tea

Green tea is one of the healthiest foods for the teeth. Green tea contains polyphenol, which is a plant anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants prevent attachment of bacteria and plaque on the surfaces of teeth, which reduces the chances of having tooth decay and having bad breath. Another property of green tea is that it inhibits bacterial growth. It has been proven by different clinical tests that green tea contains bacterial killing compounds. Inhibition of bacterial growth helps lessen bad breath and tooth decay.

Green tea also contains minute quantities of fluoride, which helps strengthen and repair the teeth. On top of that fluoride also helps maintain proper mouth pH. Acidic compounds which are by-products of bacterial metabolism can lower mouth pH, which in turn promotes tooth decay.

Dairy Products

Unsweetened dairy products such as milk and yogurt contain high amount of calcium, a mineral which is essential mineral for tooth strength and repair. Calcium promotes mineralization or deposition of minerals on the enamel or the outer layer of the tooth. A thick enamel layer resists plaque formation and bacterial growth in the mouth. Dairy products also have low acidity and highly acidic food promotes tooth decay. Dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, are rich in phosphate and calcium which promotes mineralization and resist tooth decay.

Vitamin C Rich Fruits

Fruits such as apples, strawberries, and citrus fruits contain high amounts of vitamin C. Vitamin C strengthens the binding between teeth and gums by enhancing collagen formation and development. During the 17th century, long sea voyages often result to a crippling disease which the symptoms include loss of teeth and bleeding tendencies. This disease is known as scurvy and occurs when the body does not receive enough Vitamin C. Vitamin C also strengthens the body’s immune system, which helps fight off diseases.

Vitamin A Rich Vegetables

Vegetables such as pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes and broccoli are rich in Vitamin A, which is essential for mineral deposition in teeth. Vegetables also help clean the teeth by providing a brushing-like effect by the vegetable fibers. This action also stimulates the gums. Onions contain strong anti-bacterial compounds which inhibit the growth of bacteria. Sesame seeds are rich in calcium, which helps maintain healthy teeth. Munching on sesame seeds also provide abrasion to your teeth which dislodges the bacterial and plaque build-ups.

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Tartar: the Culprit of Major Dental Disorders

admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 15:48:35 +0000

In one of those post-procedure talks you’ve had with your dentist, you may have heard him or her mention the word “tartar” every now and then. This tartar is not the one used for baking; rather, it’s the mineral-like substance which forms along your gum line and bottom surfaces of your exposed teeth, and is so hard that you can remove it with just your routine tooth brushing. But what is tartar and what’s so bad about it?

Why do we get tartar?

The sad reality of your mouth is that no matter how much you try to brush, floss and rinse, there will still be bacteria which will be proliferating inside of your mouth. You call these bacteria normal flora, because they normally reside inside your oral cavity. And while these bacteria help to establish a proper microbial balance inside your mouth, they can also cause significant damage through their secretions.

Plaque, the precursor to your tartar, is a combination of this normal flora with their harmful metabolites and leftover food debris. This white substance is very soft and it can easily be removed from the surfaces of your teeth, but you need to be quick about it. This is because plaque turns into the very dense and hard material, tartar, if left on your mouth for 72 hours. And once the tartar has formed, it can no longer be removed by manual brushing and must be professional removed through scaling and planing.

What does tartar do?

The thing about tartar is that it accumulates along the gum line, just along that joint where your gums meet with your teeth. Tartar is toxic to gum tissues and inflammation readily ensues whenever the tartar is at contact with the gum tissue. This can trigger the condition called gingivitis which is characterized by swollen gums and tendency to bleed.

However, what is more worrisome about tartar is the fact that it can cause pockets on the portions of your gums where it adheres to. Once your dentist removes this tartar, there will be no more gum tissue beneath it and what will be exposed are the roots of your teeth. This can lead to a myriad of dental conditions including teeth sensitivity and tooth decay, on top of destroying the structure which ensures that your teeth stays intact.

What can you do to prevent tartar?

Good oral hygiene is your first line of defense against plaque and the ensuing tartar. For as long as you do not allow any plaque to form into tartar, then you’re on your way to a mouth without rocks.

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What is Pericoronitis?

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:20:58 +0000

The problem with your wisdom teeth isn’t just confined to misaligned molars or impacted teeth. Sometimes, even with your wisdom teeth comes in properly a problem called pericoronitis can still ensue. Pericoronitis is a disorder involving the inflammation of gum tissue surrounding the wisdom tooth. While pericoronitis is usually due to the irritation that wisdom teeth bring, this condition can also affect gum tissue surrounding other molars.

Cause of Pericoronitis

Most of the time, pericoronitis develops whenever a wisdom tooth only partially erupts. Normally, teeth should erupt from our gums in an upright position with just the roots left hidden beneath the gums. But a semi-impacted wisdom tooth will feature only a small portion of that molar breaking through the gums. A small opening in the gums surrounding that tooth will then develop which will serve as an entrance point for bacteria which will then lead to an infection. A flap that forms around that tooth can also harbor food debris and plaque which can also cause gum irritation. In severe cases, pericoronitis can lead to infected and swollen cheeks, neck and jaws.

Symptoms of Pericoronitis

Some of the cardinal symptoms of pericoronitis include pain, infection and swelling. A direct consequence of irritation is pus formation and the leakage of this pus from a person’s gums can lead to a “modified taste” in one’s mouth. The presence of an infection can also lead to swollen lymph nodes in one’s neck as well as problems in opening one’s mouth.

Diagnosing Pericoronitis

In order to diagnose the dental condition, your dentist will have to monitor whether or not your wisdom teeth has already erupted or at least semi-erupted. In order to find out if your wisdom teeth are any close to erupting, your dentist will have to ask you get a dental x-ray which will reveal structures beneath your gums. Your dentist will also check your gums to see if there are any signs of inflammation or irritation.

Treating Pericoronitis

Once your dentist determines that the infection is only limited to one tooth, then you can treat pericoronitis simply by rinsing your mouth with a warm salt solution. Your dentist will also check if there is anything trapped under the affected gum flap. Over-the-counter pain relievers are also helpful in providing temporary relief from the pain that comes with pericoronitis. Sometimes, your dentist may have to prescribe antibiotics to help with the infection and the swelling.

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Why Do I Have to Brush My Teeth?

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:09:05 +0000

Dental hygiene is something which we have been taught as early as we can remember. When we reminisce about our childhood memories, we would always remember mother nagging us to brush our teeth before going to bed, and the dentist telling us to floss our teeth with every visit to his clinic. But while we know exactly that these habits help to ward off cavities and tooth decay, we may not have any clue how they do so. This post will attempt to fill in those logical leaps.

Brushing

The very obvious reason for why we have to brush our teeth is so that debris left after eating can be cleared away. But what’s so wrong with morsels of your lunch being trapped in between your teeth? It’s normal for you to have bacteria living inside your mouth right this very second. However, the reason for why they do not overrun your entire mouth is because of the action of saliva which deters the widespread growth of these microorganisms.

But failing to brush your teeth will leave a lot of food particles inside your mouth which, for bacteria, are wonderful sources of energy. And because well-fed bacteria are happy bacteria, your mouth becomes a breeding ground for bacteria right after finishing a meal and neglecting to brush. And especially if you’re eating sugary foods, your mouth is a haven for these cavity-causing, foul odor-emitting bacteria.

Flossing

While brushing really accomplishes the job of getting rid of gross particles of food in your mouth as well as plaque that forms on the surfaces of teeth, it’s not that effective in extruding morsels trapped in between teeth. This is because bristles of your average toothbrush are too large to get into these tiny crevices and food trapped no matter how tiny they might be could still be the cause of tooth decay and cavities. This is where flossing comes in.

Because flossing can be quite a difficult task, dentists aren’t so strict with the floss-after-each-meal rule, although this is the ideal scenario. However, if you can only floss your teeth once in a day, try to do so before going to bed.

Mouthwash

There are two main reasons for why we rinse our mouths with mouthwash – to avoid plaque and to have a fresher breath. Plaque is that soft substance that coats the surfaces of teeth and causes tooth decay because of its acidic components. While there might be a handful of mouthwash manufacturers which allege that their products can do all sorts of dental miracles, studies are only backing the two aforementioned indications of using mouthwash.

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