4 Signs Your Child Needs Emergency Dental Care
Worried about your child’s teeth? Don’t ignore these urgent warning signs! Acting quickly can prevent lasting damage and keep their smile sparkling.
1. Broken or Missing Teeth:
- Action Alert! Chipped, cracked, or knocked-out teeth require immediate attention. Rinse, call us, and preserve the tooth if possible. Delays can lead to infections or permanent loss.
2. Dental Abscess:
- Red Flag! Swollen gums, fever, or spreading pain could signal an abscess. Don’t wait! Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent complications.
3. Lost Filling or Crown:
- Missing Piece? Save it! Rinse the area, keep brushing gently, and schedule an appointment. Reuse might be possible, saving time and money.
4. Significant Pain or Swelling:
- Listen to Their Smile! Persistent pain or swelling is never normal. Don’t dismiss it! A quick call can prevent serious issues and restore comfort.
Ignoring these signs can lead to permanent tooth loss, infections, and even overall health problems. Don’t risk it!
Act Now. Save Your Child’s Smile.
- We prioritize urgent cases. Call us, and we’ll get your child seen quickly.
- Pain relief is our priority. We help soothe the discomfort and address the underlying cause.
- Dental best practices for optimal results. Rest assured, your child’s smile is in good hands.
Don’t wait, take action! Contact us today and let’s keep your child’s smile healthy and happy.
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How To Encourage Your Child To Develop Healthy Dental Habits
Ensuring a Lifetime of Healthy Smiles for Your Kids
Teaching your kids good dental hygiene is essential in ensuring they are set for a lifetime of healthy smiles. At Broad Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we have the resources and tips to make your little ones excited about taking care of their teeth!
Initiating Dental Care from Day One: A Guide for New Parents
Taking care of your baby’s teeth should begin on day one. After your baby has finished eating, it is important to wipe their gums off with a washcloth and warm water.
As your baby grows and begins teething and eating solids, begin using a silicone finger brush and warm water after each meal. Once your baby’s first tooth has erupted, you can begin placing a small amount of fluoride toothpaste (no larger than a grain of rice) on their toothbrush and brush twice a day.
Schedule your baby’s first pediatric dental appointment between when their first tooth appears, between 6 and 8 months, and their first birthday. The dentist will perform a thorough exam to make sure your child’s teeth, gums, and mouth are healthy. This will also help your child become familiar with the sights and sounds of the dentist.
How To Make Dental Care Exciting:
- Let Them Pick Out A Special Toothbrush and Other Products: Many department and retail stores carry unique, colored and character toothbrushes. Bringing your child to the store and letting them pick out their own toothbrush will make them want to brush their teeth more often as they’ll be excited to use their very own special toothbrush. Just be sure to buy a soft-bristled toothbrush. Let them choose their own toothpaste while they’re at it! They can choose from exciting flavors like strawberry and bubblegum!
- Play Dental Games: Download kid-friendly oral health apps from the App Store that have educational games to teach about flossing and brushing. These games will make kids excited to practice the skills they learned on their own teeth. You can also encourage them to play pretend and be a dentist for their stuffed animals by practicing brushing and flossing the toy’s teeth. You can also turn brushing into a game with plaque disclosing tablets- have your age appropriate child chew one of these tablets to color all the plaque on their teeth, then see how much of the plaque they can remove by brushing!
- Play Music or Use a Fun Timer: Play your child’s favorite song or some upbeat music while they brush their teeth. Doing so will encourage them to brush for the full 2 minutes. There are also kid-friendly timers you can download in the App-Store that allow kids to pick out a certain theme or character that pops up when the timer goes off!
With these tips, you’re sure to get your child excited about taking care of their mouth. Solidifying these habits with your kids now is key to making sure they’re set for a lifetime of healthy smiles! To learn more about caring for your child’s teeth, visit the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry for more resources. Contact our office to set up a dental appointment for your little one today!
What Issues Can Invisalign® Fix?
Invisalign® transformed the world of orthodontics. Gone are the days of conspicuous metal braces. This innovative clear aligner system lets you discreetly achieve a straighter, healthier smile, boosting your confidence without compromising comfort. But with any treatment, considering your individual needs is crucial. While Invisalign® excels in many areas, understanding its limitations can help you make the best decision for your unique smile journey.
Let’s explore the issues Invisalign® effectively tackles:
1. Crooked Teeth: Say goodbye to misaligned teeth! Invisalign®’s gentle yet effective pressure gradually guides your teeth into their ideal positions, leaving you with a radiant, aligned smile.
2. Overbites and Underbites: Both overbites (where upper teeth protrude over lower teeth) and underbites (where the lower jaw extends beyond the upper jaw) can be effectively corrected with Invisalign®. The aligners precisely move your teeth to achieve proper jaw alignment and a balanced bite.
3. Crossbites: When your upper and lower teeth don’t meet properly, causing misalignment, you have a crossbite. Invisalign® can meticulously adjust the positioning of your teeth, eliminating this issue and ensuring a harmonious bite.
4. Gaps and Crowding: Whether you have unsightly gaps between your teeth or teeth crammed together due to lack of space, Invisalign® offers a solution. It can close gaps or gently widen your jaw to accommodate crowded teeth, promoting optimal oral health and a beautiful smile.
Now, let’s acknowledge Invisalign®’s limitations:
- Severe Orthodontic Issues: For complex cases requiring significant tooth movement or intrusion/extrusion (movement in a direction beyond the gum line), traditional braces might be a better choice due to their stronger force application.
- Importance of Consultation: Remember, every smile is unique. Consulting an experienced dentist is essential to determine if Invisalign® is the right fit for your specific needs and goals.
The good news? Invisalign® technology is constantly evolving! Today, it can handle more complex cases than ever before. So, even if you have reservations, a consultation might reveal that Invisalign® can still be your path to a confident, healthy smile.
Ready to take the first step?
Contact our offices to schedule a consultation and we can discuss your smile aspirations. Let’s work together to unlock the full potential of your smile!
Straighter Teeth, Clearer Speech
Fetch. Vivid. Jive. Start. Zoo. Chair. Gym.
All of these words rely on the teeth to form their first sound.
Our world would not be able to function without communication. While there are many forms of communication, verbal communication and listening are perhaps the most important. As humans are the most social animals, human speech is the most complex. In order to form sounds, humans use several different structures to create them, including the lungs, trachea, larynx, vocal cords, tongue, and teeth. All of these structures work together in a way that allows us to express our wants, needs, emotions and dreams.
Articulation happens in the mouth, and creating clear speech without teeth is all but impossible. There are several words that depend on the teeth for their pronunciation. The sounds that rely on the teeth for their production are known as “strident” sounds, but what happens to the teeth to impact these strident sounds we create?
Teeth and Speech
- Overcrowded Teeth happen when instead of growing into their correct position, the teeth do not have enough room and grow into unnatural positions. This can affect tongue position and the ability to form certain sounds.
- Overbites happen when the top arch of teeth sticks out far beyond the lower teeth, making it especially difficult to form sounds like the ‘stridents’ mentioned above.
- Open bites are caused by the top teeth and the bottom teeth not coming together in the correct position, which can lead to them looking open. This can create an interdental lisp.
- Gapped Teeth are caused when there is an excessive amount of space between teeth and a whistling sound can arise when creating speech.
The best way to fix these issues and get clearer speech is to correct the issues within the mouth. There are numerous ways in which this is possible, most notably with metal braces and Invisalign©. By correcting how the teeth are positioned in your mouth, you can pronounce your words with greater precision and eliminate a lisp altogether. Schedule a consultation today at www.broadsmilespdo.com or by calling (781) 599-2900 and see what treatment options will work best for you.