Tips and Tricks for Kids with Teeth

I’ve been hearing a lot about hydroxyapatite toothpaste. Should we try it?

Hydroxyapatite products haven’t been around long enough for us to know how much is needed or how much is included in each brand. Fluoride has been studied for many years and we have precise dosing amounts. We know that fluoride removes bacteria on teeth. It’s also a very strong binder for protecting teeth. If you want to try a hydroxyapatite toothpaste, mix two brands together in effort to get the best protection or try an antibacterial homeopathic toothpaste that contains hydroxyapatites.

What can we do about my child’s bad breath?

This problem sometimes arises because you have keratin filaments on your tongue, and some grow taller and capture more bacteria. A tongue scraper can help. Those on the backs of toothbrushes can be too tall for children, but you can find lower-profile scrapers online. If that doesn’t solve the problem it may be drainage on the back of the throat, which can be treated by an ear, nose, and throat specialist.

My child is a year old and doesn’t have any teeth. Should I worry?

Timetables are extremely variable. The average time for cutting the first tooth is six months old. But some children cut teeth at three months and some not until after 12 months. What concerns us more is pattern. Which teeth come in first? It’s usually the lower two in the front, then the center two on top. If that varies, we need to check for other issues. That’s when it really pays to have a relationship with a pediatric dental professional who can set your mind at ease.

When should we start X-rays and how often should we have them?

We recommend the first X-ray come sometime between age three and four-and-a-half and continue annually. Early on, a child’s teeth don’t touch and we don’t have to worry about decay between teeth. Decay between teeth is very hard to see and can become a problem very quickly. If we do regular X-rays we can see when teeth start to touch and if decay becomes a problem. That allows us to avoid multiple fillings and other complicated treatments for little ones.

What’s new in pediatric dentistry?

Lasers. By keeping up with the latest technology we can treat problems in the mouth with less medication, less pain, and faster recovery times. For hard tissue, the teeth, we can numb an area with nothing but the feeling of water squirting on the teeth. For soft tissue issues like tongue ties, lip ties, or teeth that won’t release from the gum we can reduce recovery time by up to 75% when we use a laser instead of a scalpel. A good dental cleaning and laser treatment cleans the teeth more thoroughly and keeps the bacteria away longer.