Keep It Clean: Why Your Child Needs Regular Dental Cleanings

Keep It Clean: Why Your Child Needs Regular Dental Cleanings

With our expertise and instruments, we can clean your child’s teeth to a degree that simply cannot be achieved at home. From there, your child has a baseline from which to begin the next six months of brushing, flossing and rinsing until we see him or her again. But there are other reasons to ensure that we clean your child’s teeth on a regular schedule:

• Regular visits ensure that your child is comfortable with us. Then, if a dental emergency arises, he or she will have been to the office fairly recently for a friendly, routine visit. That can reduce the amount of fear in what might otherwise be a scary situation.
• Checkups and cleanings give us the opportunity to remind your child—and you—of the proper techniques for brushing and flossing. We also give instructions for using disclosing tablets, which give children a visual way to understand plaque’s potential pervasiveness in a way they often find delightfully “gross.”
• At each visit, we check your child’s mouth for the beginning of potential orthodontic problems and can suggest a consultation with an orthodontist, if necessary.
• When you come in, we can discuss developmental milestones your child has reached, and we can help you determine where your child is on the path to adult oral health.
• During cleanings, we often take x-rays that can reveal not-yet-visible cavities, allowing us to fill them before more damage is caused. We can also apply a sealant and possibly recommend a fluoride mouth rinse to promote additional cavity prevention.

Finally, we use cleaning appointments to discuss good nutrition with both parents and children. If you have a really young one, we’ll offer some crucial advice: Switch your toddler from a bottle to a cup as soon as possible after his or her first birthday, and never let your baby fall asleep with a bottle or sippy cup of milk or juice. We look forward to talking about these topics with you and your child soon at KiDDS Dental.

Click here to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jared. Or give us a call at (509)-891-7070.