| A Stitch in Time Could Save Nine |
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The media has been devoting a lot of coverage recently to the leading chronic disease in small children: dental decay. Dental health professionals nationwide are noticing a dramatic uptick in life-threatening dental complications in the youngest sector of the public.
A two-year old was hospitalized recently and anesthetized in order to extract two incisors, perform a root canal, and fill and crown the all the rest of his teeth. The magnitude of the procedure required general sedation.
If appropriate oral hygiene practices had been followed, it's more than likely that this situation could have been prevented. One might wonder how a parent could allow a child to become so compromised. But we see such cases as evidence of the gap in dental information for parents. Many don't know when they should first visit the dentist, start tooth brushing, introduce fluoridated toothpaste, and more.
There is a common misunderstanding of the link between very young children and the need to practice oral hygiene. After all, they lose their baby teeth. But according to one report, dentists are "seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with 6 to 10 cavities or more."
They're the lucky ones. For every child we see, there's another who isn't receiving care. Unattended dental decay can ultimately result in operations that require general anesthesia or, still worse, dental infections so severe that they enter small children's bodily systems and threaten their lives.
We take the health of your entire family seriously -from birth to old age- and want to provide you with all the tools you need to keep everyone safe and healthy.
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| What Is Mixed Dentition?
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Just like trees come in "deciduous" and "evergreen," depending on whether they shed their leaves or not, the impermanent or baby teeth are sometimes referred to as deciduous teeth.
Between the ages of 6 to 12 years, children experience the periodic eruption of permanent incisor or front teeth and 6-year molars. The condition in which children have a mix of deciduous and permanent teeth is called mixed dentition.
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| Preventive Dental Care, Why? |
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Many oral health issues can be identified and resolved at the early stages, helping you to avoid more costly treatment later. In some cases early detection of serious conditions even helps save lives.
When you come in for a visit, our comprehensive screening evaluates you for gum disease, oral cancer, and tooth decay. These can afflict children, too, making it important at all stages of life to maintain regular dental appointments.
Help us keep you safe and healthy. Schedule regular checkups for you and your family.
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