General Treatment

Our practice can provide a wide range of dental services. Since we have providers with a wide range of experience and training, we can typically provide every type of dental service without having to refer you to other specialties. This flexibility saves you time and keeps your total dental care within one practice. Our emphasis is on total preventive care for our patients.

Dental Examination

We will thoroughly examine your child's teeth and gums, specifically looking for any potential problems. Depending on the patient, X-rays may be taken. If there are any signs of decay or other problems, we will recommend treatment options and make notes of any conditions that may need future observation. Oral hygiene instructions will also be provided along with suggestions to help you care for your teeth.

Routine Cleanings

Twice a year, you should schedule a routine dental cleaning. During this visit, one of our dental assistants will remove plaque from your child's teeth, especially from places where your brush can't reach, such as underneath the gum line and between teeth. We will then apply fluoride to help protect your teeth once you leave the office.

Fillings

Fillings replace damaged or decayed tooth structure with a restorative material. There are several different types of filling materials, including:

Silver amalgam: Silver was once the most commonly used material when it came to dental restorations, such as fillings. However, silver fillings do not have much aesthetic appeal to patients. And since these materials do not bond to enamel or dentin, amalgam restorations also require more removal of tooth structure to allow the filling to lock into place. For these reasons, Dentistry For Kids does not offer amalgam fillings.
Gold fillings: Gold fillings are very durable, able to last approximately 10 to 15 years. The main drawback to gold fillings is the cost of the restoration, since gold is a precious metal.
White fillings: After much research, some new tooth-colored materials have been developed that are stronger, longer-lasting and more aesthetically pleasing to our patients. These new tooth-colored fillings bond directly to the tooth, strengthening it by restoring most of its original shape. The fillings can even be custom-colored to match your teeth to help give you the most natural-looking smile possible.

Crowns

A crown is a covering that fits over an original tooth that is either decayed, damaged or cracked. Pediatric crowns are made of a variety of different materials such as stainless steel or zirconia.

The treatment plan for a young patient receiving a crown usually involves:

Numbing the tooth to remove the decay in or around it
Re-sculpturing the tooth to provide an ideal fit for the crown
Ensuring that the crown has the proper look and fit, and cementing it into place

Once the procedure is completed, proper care should be taken to ensure the crown remains in good condition and the teeth and gums are healthy. Given proper care, your crowns can last until the baby tooth exfoliates. Dentistry For Kids offers white zirconia crowns in the esthetic zone, and stainless steel crowns in the back of the mouth.

Pulpotomy/Pulpectomy/Root Canal

A pulpotomy or pulpectomy is commonly referred to as a "baby root canal." It is a procedure that extracts decayed pulp from inside a tooth, reshapes the canal (pulpectomy) and replaces it with strengthened filler. There are a number of reasons a pulp treatment may be necessary, including dental injuries, severe decay and infection or inflammation in the tooth pulp. When left untreated, these problems can cause extensive damage to the tooth structure and infections that can easily spread throughout the face and body. Dentistry For Kids can also perform root canals on permanent teeth in most cases, although difficult roots may need to be referred to a root canal specialist.

Tooth Extractions

An extraction is the complete removal of a tooth. Extractions are sometimes necessary if:

A primary tooth is preventing the normal eruption of a permanent tooth
The tooth has suffered extensive tooth decay or trauma that cannot be repaired
The tooth is impacted – this is usually the case with the third molars, or “wisdom teeth,” as they erupt years after the other teeth and often have insufficient room in the jaw

Depending on the complexity of the case, an extraction can be performed surgically or non-surgically. A mild anesthesia is used to ensure the patient is as comfortable as possible throughout the procedure.