Phoenix, AZ
Family & Pediatric Dentistry FAQ
FAQ: Family & Pediatric Dentistry
The office of Matthew J Cavendish, DDS, PLLC is open to answering your most frequently asked questions about family and pediatric dentistry in Phoenix, AZ. We’ve offered family and children’s dentistry for over ten years, and we specialize in providing personalized treatment options for the entire family. From the time your baby gets their first tooth, we’re here for all your dental needs. Read on to have your most FAQs answered about family and pediatric dentistry! Contact us to schedule an appointment!
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When your child gets their first tooth, we recommend a dental visit. It’s important to help children feel comfortable in the dentist’s chair as soon as possible as their teeth erupt.
Your child’s first dental appointment is mostly about helping them feel comfortable and ensuring there are no significant issues in their mouth. We’ll check their teeth, gums, and jaw to assess their oral health needs and risk of cavities. The rest of the appointment is quick and easy as we’ll clean their teeth and apply a fluoride treatment. Your child will leave our office with a brand new toothbrush, education about their teeth, and a bright smile.
If you’re planning your child’s first pediatric dentist appointment, there are several things you can do to help them prepare for the visit, including:
- Play mimicking games with your child to “open wide”.
- Use a washcloth to wipe your child’s teeth after eating.
- Brush and floss in front of your child so they can witness good oral hygiene habits.
- Maintain a positive attitude that won’t incite fear in your child about going to the dentist.
- Bring your child in for a pre-tour of our office to get them comfortable.
- Let them know the dentist is here to help them keep their teeth and gums healthy.
We usually do X-rays when children are two to three years of age. X-rays at this age will be simple ones of their front, back, and lower teeth so we can determine their development.
The age your child will start getting teeth varies individually, but the first baby teeth usually appear between the age of six and eight months. The lower front teeth are typically the first ones to make an appearance.
It’s best to clean your baby’s teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush designed for infants.
When your child gets teeth, you should use a soft-bristled toothbrush to brush their teeth and gums gently. A teething baby will try to place almost anything in their mouth to chew, so a baby toothbrush may become one of their favorites.
Your child’s first set of primary teeth or “baby” teeth are important for many reasons. Not only do they help your child with speaking clearly and communicating, but it also helps them chew naturally and form a path for the permanent teeth to follow. To ensure a lifetime of good oral health, it’s important to introduce your child to good oral hygiene habits and schedule routine dental check-ups every six months.
We recommend your child sees the dentist for a routine check-up every six months. During these check-ups, we will clean the teeth, so they’re free of plaque and tartar and ensure there are no serious problems developing. Scheduling regular dental check-ups at an early age will help your child instill great oral hygiene habits, and it will become a part of their normal routine.
Thumb and pacifier sucking that continues for an extended period of time can create bite problems and crowded or crooked teeth. If your child is still sucking their thumb when their permanent teeth come in, your dentist may recommend an appliance to help prevent crowding and other issues. Most children stop sucking their thumbs on their own.
Baby teeth help your children speak, chew, and smile. Though they have an adorable look without those two front teeth, it’s still important to take care of them. If children lose their baby teeth too early, their other teeth may shift and cause overcrowding. Plaque and tartar buildup on either baby teeth or permanent teeth aren’t good for a child’s overall health and hygiene.
It’s best to wait until the age of three to use fluoridated toothpaste. Before the age of three, special toothpaste creations are made without fluoride, or you can clean your child’s teeth with water and a soft toothbrush. Once they start using toothpaste with fluoride, it’s important only to use a pea-sized amount. Parents should always supervise children brushing their teeth.
Getting an adequate amount of fluoride until the age of 16 helps ensure teeth remain strong and healthy. Fluoride also allows for proper enamel development.
Making brushing and flossing fun is essential to helping a child learn healthy oral hygiene habits. We can work together to help children understand the importance of healthy teeth and gums. Singing and dancing about brushing teeth is an exciting way to get children involved in the process.
If your child is complaining about tooth or mouth pain, you can rinse their mouth with warm saltwater and apply a cold compress to their face if it’s swollen. This should help relieve some of the pain until they can see a dentist. Don’t put any heat or over-the-counter medication on the sore area, but you can give them a pain reliever for the pain. It’s important to schedule an appointment as soon as possible when your child is complaining about a toothache.
Using a mouthguard should be one of the top priorities if your child is involved in any sports. You can purchase mouth guards at many sporting goods stores, but a custom-made mouthguard fitted by your dentist will offer the best protection against sports-related mouth injuries.
Tooth decay is formed from bacteria and sugars that stick to your teeth. Dental plaque is a sticky, thin deposit that sits on the top of your teeth. If you don’t brush your teeth regularly, the enamel breaks down, forming a cavity.
Some children simply get more cavities even though they have healthy oral hygiene habits. You can help your child avoid cavities by:
- Avoiding sugary and sticky foods
- Ensuring your child brushes at least twice a day
- Using a fluoride toothpaste
- Flossing daily
- Applying dental sealants
Baby teeth are important to form a path where permanent teeth sit when they erupt. If baby teeth are neglected, your child might face a tooth infection, gums and jaw infection, premature loss of teeth, and pain. It’s crucial to fill cavities on baby teeth to ensure the tooth decay doesn’t spread to permanent teeth.
Many babies feel discomfort as teeth erupt through their gums. Some children find comfort in a frozen teething ring or teething biscuit. There are over-the-counter medications that are safe to rub on the gums to help alleviate the pain.
It’s a common thing for a child to knock out a permanent tooth. The first thing to remember is to stay calm. If you find the tooth, don’t hold it at the root. Try to place it back in the socket until you can get to the dentist. If you cannot place it into the socket, put it into a container of milk. The faster you can get to us, the better the chances of saving your tooth.
The main thing is to remain calm. Your child is going to lose their baby teeth, so it shouldn’t be a big ordeal if they lose one prematurely. We recommend scheduling an appointment us to evaluate the area and ensure there is no extensive damage to the mouth.
Sealants are clear or shaded plastic that are applied to the surface of a tooth to help keep them cavity-free. They help fill in the pits on the surface of the teeth, which can trap debris and bacteria and eventually cause decay. Sealants are clear or shaded plastic applied to the teeth to help keep them cavity-free. Sealants are easy to apply, pain-free, and can effectively prevent cavities and protect teeth for many years.
As your child approaches their first birthday, it’s important to encourage them to drink from a cup. They should never fall asleep with anything in their bottle. If they breastfeed at night, try to avoid it as their baby teeth begin to erupt.
Your child can help protect their mouth during sports with a mouth guard. An athletic mouth protector is made of plastic and fits comfortably in your mouth. A mouth guard helps protect your children’s lips, cheeks, gums, and teeth. We can custom fit a mouth guard to your child’s mouth for optimal protection.
Yes, dental X-rays are safe. We use contemporary safeguards like high-speed film and lead aprons to make the radiation exposure as low as possible. Dental X-rays offer less radiation exposure than you receive on an everyday basis when outdoors.
Dental sealants are made of shaded or clear plastic and applied to grooves in the teeth to help reduce the risk of cavities. Sealants fill in pitted surfaces of the teeth that are often hard to clean, leaving bacteria stuck in the grooves. Dental sealants are painless and can protect teeth for many years.
Yes! It’s essential to visit the family dentist twice a year to get your teeth and gums cleaned and examined. We may find an undetected oral issue and need to address it at that time. We’ll quickly freshen your mouth and teeth at your appointments.
If you have teeth sensitivity to hot or cold liquid or food, it’s important to schedule an appointment as you may have a cavity. Additional signs include bleeding gums, tooth pain, halitosis, tooth pain, a bad taste, dry mouth, difficulty chewing and a popping jaw.
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If you have more questions about family and children’s dentistry, please contact our office! We’re here to answer your questions and help your family feel comfortable at the dentist. Dr. Cavendish and his compassionate team want to help you smile bigger and brighter. We look forward to helping your family grow their smiles!
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