The dental home is a relationship between the dentist and the patient, inclusive of all aspects of oral health care delivered in a comprehensive, continuously accessible, coordinated, and family-centered way.

Getting your child in for routine dental check-up’s from a very young age creates the best oral health outcomes & prevents any phobia to develop.

Your child will become comfortable with the process of seeing the dentist, reducing fear of unknown. This allows them to develop a genuine relationship with the dentist and will eventually look forward to the appointment rather than getting scared.

Regular check up every six months help us track their oral health and development making sure that they get the right treatment at the right time, be it prevention or intervention. Visit Dr. Ashna Khanna (Best Kids Dentist) at Little Whites Dental, Saket today!

Fillings in baby teeth. Are they necessary?

Baby teeth start coming into your child’s mouth at around six months of age & remain until their permanent successor teeth erupt.

Many parents assume that, because baby teeth will eventually fall, dental problems with them is not of concern. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It is essential to care for your child’s primary teeth due to a diversity of reasons:

• Untreated cavities can cause discomfort and pain that the kids cannot properly address and they stop eating leading to malnutrition, affecting other biological systems and their overall health.
• Cavities can lead to bigger dental problems, including infection & abscess.
• Children use healthy teeth to perform important functions, like speaking and eating. If front teeth are lost at an early age, the child can develop speech difficulties.

Fortunately, cavities are preventable and usually treatable through a simple procedure known as a filling. This is why early detection of cavities is so vital to your child’s dental health. Some common symptoms to look for include:

• White spots on the teeth
• Dark spots on the teeth
• Pits or holes in the teeth
• Avoidance of eating
• Sensitivity in teeth when drinking hot or cold liquids
• Holding the face or jaw
• Swelling around the mouth area

Tooth coloured filling

Most commonly used filling is GIC which is a tooth coloured, fluoride releasing & biocompatible material. Composites restorations are also used in cooperative patients.

Rainbow coloured filling

Who says going to the dentist can't be fun? Modern Dentistry nowadays make dental treatment for kids quick, easy and colourful. See  how your little ones can enjoy different colors in different shapes inside their mouth.

Dental Crowns

There are 3 types of crowns used for children

• Stainless steel crowns
• Zirconia crowns
• Strip crowns

Sometimes cavities in children’s teeth may become so large that simple fillings cannot restore the tooth so crowns are recommended. These crowns are pre-made which have to be trimmed and adjusted to fit your child’s tooth. They are affordable, minimally-invasive, and ensure that your child’s tooth is preserved until it falls out naturally.

Crowns are used in several circumstances:

• Broken teeth, which cannot be repaired by normal fillings
• Badly decayed teeth where little tooth structure remains
• To prevent breakage of a tooth which has had a pulpotomy or pulpectomy.

Orthodontics employs to recognize and eliminate the potential irregularities and malalignment in the developing dentofacial complex. Planned intervention at the mixed dentition stage (age 6 to 9 years) directs a child’s growth and development in a balanced form avoiding the severity of developing malocclusion & future treatment complexities.

It is divided in 2 phases

Phase 1 - orthodontic treatment involves a child wearing an appliance like a space maintainer, a palatal expander or limited braces for lesser than 12 months.

Phase 2 – begins when all the permanent teeth have erupted around 12- 13yrs of age. It includes braces or clear aligners to make any necessary  modifications to give them a beautiful, healthy smile.

While watching babies suck their thumbs they look cute, but thumb sucking can cause some dental problems in the future, if it is continued beyond 6 yrs of age.

Some of these problems include:

• Narrow Palate
• Open Bite
• Jaw Misalignment

Tips to Help Your Child Stop Thumb Sucking

• Keep Them Busy
• Positive Reinforcement Reward System
• Prevent Night time Sucking

We would be happy to offer a few more suggestions If you’re having a difficult time keeping your child from sucking his or her thumb.

If cavities are not treated it can cause discomfort and pain sometimes leading to infection, abscess and swelling.

PULPOTOMY is when we remove only the damaged portion of the pulp without touching the roots. This procedure is an option when the damage to the tooth is less severe and the patient does not give symptoms of chronic pain. Once the infected pulp is removed, the tooth is cleaned, disinfected, and filled.

PULPECTOMY also known as ‘root canal for baby teeth’ is used to save a baby tooth that has been severely damaged by decay or trauma. The baby tooth has various functions one of which natural space maintainer for the permanent teeth. Loss of a baby tooth before time can cause problems like:

• difficulty chewing
• speech development issues
• lead to crooked teeth that are difficult to clean

Special filling is used to fill the tooth after a pulpectomy that is resorbed by the body when the permanent tooth begins to erupt. The tooth is also covered with a stainless steel cap to protect the tooth structure by preventing leakage.

EXTRACTION / TOOTH REMOVAL

It is recommended in cases where the tooth is badly infected or cannot be saved. Extraction should be followed by space maintainer (after assessing the development of the new tooth)  to avoid any malalignment in future.

After thorough examination and reviewing the child’s history Dr. Ashna Khanna will recommend the most appropriate procedure for your child as each child is different. Although dental sedation is very safe, many considerations go into choosing the right option for each individual.

TYPES OF SEDATION

• Nitrous oxide inhalational sedation or Laughing Gas
• General anesthesia (in collaboration with Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital, New Delhi)
• Nasal sedation
• IV sedation

IS LAUGHING GAS SAFE?

It is one of the most reliable and offers a high degree of safety. Commonly used in pediatric dentistry to relax the children and increase the acceptability of the treatment.

This gas is a mild sedative & is mixed with oxygen for the child’s safety. The child does not fall asleep under the influence of the gas but might feel lightheaded or experience a tingling sensation in hands and legs. By giving 100% oxygen at the end of the treatment the effects of gas wears off so quickly limiting the after effects.

For further details you can contact Little Whites Dental Clinic.