Examinations & Cleanings

Infants and Toddlers

Infants and Toddlers
The most important part of an infant exam is our time talking with you, the parent! We work to help you through the specific challenges you face, whether it is how to brush teeth, how to get rid of pacifiers, or how to choose healthy foods.

Our exams are completed in the Knee to Knee position so that your child can stay comfortably in your lap. Knee-to-knee positioning also allows you to see everything we are looking at in our exam. In these exams, we are checking for the strength and angle of the teeth, as well as the development of the cheeks, tongue, and more!

Children
Around age three, all baby teeth have come in and closed the spaces between teeth. This makes three years old a great time to take the first radiographs (x-rays) of teeth! We evaluate the growth and development of the adult teeth and visualize spaces between teeth that we can not see or feel with our instruments.

Following the x-rays, there is an exam completed in our special dental chairs made specifically for children! Our hygienists show your child every step of the cleaning process so they can be comfortable and understand what is happening. We call this Tell, Show, Do!

In our exam, we are looking at teeth and gums to make sure they are healthy and strong. We also check the jaws’ growth and development and help assess the potential long or short-term needs of orthodontics. In our practice, we can complete some early small orthodontics work. However, we work with some fantastic local orthodontists and can help prepare and guide you if that’s what your child needs.

Esthetic Restorations

Our office uses only the highest quality restorative materials to repair dental decay. Our office doesn’t use any Amalgam “silver mercury-based” filling materials. We have options for all porcelain ceramic crowns for teeth. Ask our team members if you have any questions about the different filling materials used in our office.

Laser Frenectomy

A frenectomy or frenotomy refers to a corrective procedure done to release a tight frenum (lip or tongue tie). When done with a laser, the terminology is essentially interchangeable.

Our office works very closely with multiple IBCLSs and speech therapists. We have Valeri Gatlin, IBCLC, in our office on a regular basis during the revisions to help mothers achieve optimal feeding immediately following the procedure. Our doctors have completed many extra training courses specifically aimed at appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare. We understand that the mother-baby breastfeeding dyad is of the utmost importance. We have been able to offer many mothers the ability to successfully breastfeed their infant when they previously had significant difficulty!

Prevention

Diet

Diet plays a huge role in preventing decay. The bacteria in our mouths use the carbohydrates and produce an acid that breaks the teeth down. The longer the acid stays on our teeth the more chance we have for cavities. Choosing foods that are low in carbohydrates that do not stay stuck on our teeth helps to prevent decay from forming. Snacks like pretzels, chips, crackers, and gummy fruit snacks stay on the teeth for a longer period of time so are more likely to contribute to cavities. Healthy snacks like fresh fruits, vegetables, yogurts, natural nuts, and cheeses are choices that may help minimize cavities. Time matters more than amount, so we encourage you to minimize time that carbohydrates are on the teeth.

Nutrition counseling and diet recommendations

It is easy to just say “don’t eat sugars” but we know that there are many other factors that go into getting dental decay. We work with each patient individually to determine what factors go into causing dental decay. Some children have decreased saliva from medications, while others just love to snack on carbohydrate snacks (Cheetos, gummies, goldfish, etc, etc) we try to set realistic goals and expectations that our patients and families can achieve.

Dental Sealants

Coverings that protect the deep grooves on the molars from dental decay. These non invasive restorations are a great adjunct to good diet and hygiene to prevent dental decay.

Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF)

SDF has been used in Japan for many years and has only been FDA approved in the United States since 2014. Our practice has used this great material to help stop or slow the progression of dental decay. This allows our office to help build trust with our patients as well as help our families to get in front of the progressive and destructive dental disease. Although this material can stain the teeth black we have esthetic restorations that can be placed over these dark areas to help improve the esthetic appearance.

SDF is not a magic fix, and our ultimate goal is to prevent dental decay before SDF would ever need to be used. However, this material is a great adjunct to our traditional dental restorations

SDF also helps to stop large dental decay in baby teeth and prevent the need for baby root canal therapy.

While root canal therapy is sometimes the best treatment option a literature review shows that Indirect Pulp Cap therapy (the killing of bacteria by sealing off the bacteria from new food sources) has greater long term success than “baby root canals” and is less costly and less difficult for the patient. Because of this Parkview Pediatric dentistry utilizes these techniques to provide the best long term treatment for your children.

Fluoride Varnish

We know that one of the best things to help decrease dental decay was the use of fluoride in our toothpastes and drinking water. While these daily applications are helpful, they wash off your teeth rather quickly. Because of this we utilize a “varnish” which is a sticky resin that holds the fluoride ions on the teeth for a full 24hours. This allows for greater surface uptake of the fluoride and helps to strengthen and remineralize enamel.

Basic Bites

Basic Bites are a great addition to our preventive strategies. These chocolate chews are a great adjunct for children who are cavity prone and are trying all the good habits and still getting dental decay. These chocolate chews are to be used at least at night and are eaten right before bed. The chocolates are sugar free, and contain sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) which is very basic and helps to raise the pH of the mouth and fight off the bad cavity causing bacteria. You can get these on Amazon or we offer them in the office, if you have more questions about the basic bites please talk with one of our doctors to see if they would be right for your children.

Sedation Dentistry

There are two types of sedation, conscious and unconscious, also known as awake and asleep. Sedation dentistry can help patients to feel less fear and anxiety about coming to the dentist. This not only allows for better patient experiences but also enables our staff to complete procedures without interference from an especially fearful or uncooperative child.

Our office offers three levels of sedation:

• Nitrous oxide: Better known as "laughing gas!"
• Oral conscious sedation: Instead of inhaling a gas, your child will drink a liquid before the procedure.
• General anesthesia: Putting your child into a controlled, unconscious state

*Our providers are all pediatric dental specialists who received 2 extra years of training to understand the complexities of pediatric sedation.

Therapy Services

Breastfeeding is one of the most natural interactions between a parent and child. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. If you or your baby are struggling, we want to help.

Through Parkview Lactation Consulting services we are able to screen for lip and tongue ties, revise them with a Parkview Pediatric dentist, and follow you through the process every step of the way to support you on your feeding journey.

Ways we can help:

• Before birth breastfeeding consultation
• Getting a comfortable latch
• Breastfeeding early-term and preterm infants
• Pumping and returning to work
• Weight checks
• Weaning Preparation
• Screening for lip and tongue ties

Emergency Care

We understand emergencies happen and Parkview is here for you. Teeth can always be fixed, but we want to make sure your child is safe and medically assessed if needed. If a concussion or greater injuries are suspected, please visit your medical provider or emergency room.

If a baby tooth is knocked out, never replant the tooth. If an adult tooth is knocked out and the patient is alert and awake, it is best to place the tooth back in the socket it was knocked out of.  If you are not comfortable with this the next best is to place the tooth in milk and contact our office immediately to plan a course of action.