Children’s Dentistry in Plano, TX
The Plano dentist office of Dr. Jacob Grapevine welcomes young patients, providing a warm, family-friendly atmosphere. Our staff makes every effort to ensure that all patients feel comfortable, especially children visiting for the first time. We also educate patients about the dental treatment they receive to ensure they understand in simple terms what we will do next.
Our general dentist in Plano, TX, recommends that parents or caregivers bring a child in for their first dental visit by the age of 3. By this age, most or all primary teeth have erupted. These early visits are significant, often laying the foundation for a lifetime of good oral habits and a healthy smile.
We will evaluate your child’s oral health to look for any signs of decay. Our team will also assess the bite to ensure the proper development of permanent teeth down the road.
The Importance of Primary Teeth
The primary teeth serve several important functions in their overall development:
- Placeholders for permanent teeth: The position of the primary teeth can predict possible problems with permanent teeth. Keeping baby teeth healthy will ensure that emerging adult teeth also stay healthy.
- Affect speech development: Primary teeth affect tongue movement and clarity as your child’s speech develops. Tooth formation affects how your child pronounces sounds as they speak.
- Impact nutrition: Primary teeth facilitate a healthy diet for your growing child. Healthy primary teeth aid in proper biting and chewing.
Children who learn early on the benefits of keeping their teeth and gums clean with daily oral hygiene and routine dentistry often experience better dental health as adults. During early visits, our staff will take the time to teach age-appropriate teeth brushing and flossing skills. They will encourage your child to play a role in the care of their smile.
Preventing Tooth Decay In Children
Tooth decay and cavities remain prevalent today, even among the youngest patients. Decay can be a sign of a genetic predisposition to gum disease. However, tooth decay is typically the result of a diet rich in sugar and poor oral hygiene.
It’s a common habit to allow children to sip slowly on sweet drinks. However, this enables harmful bacteria to build up and remain on tooth surfaces. We do not recommend putting your child to bed with a bottle full of formula. The formula contains sugar that can coat the teeth and gums. Baby bottle tooth decay can lead to decay and even gum disease in small children.
It’s important to limit your child’s consumption of juices and sodas and to rinse their mouth after drinking them with water. Drinking water can help to reduce significantly the incidence of tooth cavities that need a dental filling.
Regular dental appointments are important for children. During these visits, we clean the teeth and gums and offer fluoride treatment and dental sealants. During fluoride treatments, we paint a fluoride gel or varnish on the teeth. Fluoride is a natural mineral that helps strengthen weakened teeth. We will offer a fluoride treatment following dental cleaning to strengthen the teeth against dental cavities.
We also provide sealants for children to protect teeth and prevent decay. Dental sealants are protective coatings that we place on the molars. We will place sealants on the first molars to emerge, typically at age 6. When the second molars emerge, we will place sealants on those teeth. The second molars emerge around age 12. Dental sealants will continually protect teeth over two years.
It’s important to protect the molars because they are the most likely to experience decay. It can be hard for children to clean their back teeth thoroughly. In-office treatments like fluoride and sealants offer continual protection to these teeth.
Dr. Grapevine also recommends that parents supervise their children’s teeth brushing and flossing. It’s useful to supervise children until they are of late elementary school age. Then, they can understand how to floss and brush their teeth effectively. Using fluoride, ADA-approved toothpaste is also essential to ensure the best results from at-home oral hygiene.
During your visit, our staff can make personalized recommendations for your child. We want to address individual concerns or needs when making daily oral care easy- and fun!
Children’s Dental Services in Plano, TX
Our family dentist office provides a comprehensive range of dental services. We want to keep smiles of ALL ages healthy and functional. Some of the children’s dental services we provide in our office include:
- Dental fillings: If your child develops a cavity, even in a baby tooth, we need to remove their dental infection immediately. Once we remove signs of decay, we use a dental filling to seal the tooth and protect against further dental infections.
- Orthodontics: Children benefit from orthodontic treatments to help prevent problems created by overcrowded and misaligned teeth.
- Tooth extractions: We can help extract stubborn, loose baby teeth that need removal. Our office will use a local anesthetic so your child will not feel any pain during their treatment.
- Dental sealants: At routine visits, we will place sealants to protect the molars. Sealants protect teeth in the back of the mouth from cavities and tooth decay.
- Custom sports mouthguards: It’s important for your child to wear a custom-made sports mouthguard during contact sports. A custom mouthguard can protect against tooth loss, hits to the teeth, and injuries to the mouth’s soft tissues.
Our goal is to help your child enjoy a healthy smile through both high-quality dental care and a well-informed at-home hygiene routine. Feel free to ask us if you need tips for keeping your child’s mouth healthy at home. We’re here to answer your questions.
Contact Your Family Dentist Today
Children’s dentistry is integral to our Plano, TX, dental office. Call Dr. Grapevine for care today at (972) 449-5759. You can also schedule a dental appointment for you and your child online.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our office if you have questions about your child’s oral health. We will help address their dental problems and find the best treatments for their smiles.