Chronic gingivitis. aggressive periodontists and generalized aggressive periodontists are types of gum disease in children.
Chronic gingivitis is common in children. It usually causes gum tissue to swell, turn red and bleed easily. Gingivitis is both preventable and treatable with a routine of brushing, flossing and professional dental care. However, left untreated, it can eventually advance to more serious forms of periodontal disease.
Aggressive periodontists can affect otherwise healthy young people. Localized aggressive periodontists are found in teenagers and young adults and mainly affects the first molars and incisors. It is characterized by the severe loss of alveolar bone, and ironically, patients generally form very little dental plaque or calculus.
Generalized aggressive periodontists may begin around puberty and involve the entire mouth. It is marked by inflammation of the gums and heavy accumulations of plaque and calculus. Eventually, it can cause the teeth to become loose.
Four basic signs will alert you to periodontal disease in your child:
Bleeding
Bleeding gums during tooth brushing, flossing or any other time
Puffiness
Swollen and bright red gums
Recession
Gums that have receded away from the teeth, sometimes exposing the roots
Early diagnosis is important for successful treatment of periodontal diseases. Therefore, children must receive a comprehensive periodontal examination as part of their routine dental visits. Be aware that if your child has an advanced form of periodontal disease, this may be an early sign of systemic disease. A general medical evaluation should be considered for children who exhibit severe periodontists, especially if it appears resistant to therapy.
The most important preventive step against periodontal disease is to establish good oral health habits with your child. There are basic preventive steps to help your child maintain good oral health:
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information call us today to answer all of your questions so get an appointment.
Why is a dentist asking you that question? There are several reasons a dentist could be the first one to notice if your child has an airway problem. Despite the distinct separation between medicine and dentistry with things like education and insurance, they are intertwined. The mouth is an important part of your body. Problems in the mouth affect the entire body, and systemic health problems affect the mouth.
There is a particularly noteworthy correlation between the mouth (teeth and jaws) and the airway. Many people are aware of the connection between sleep apnea and the mouth; most are not aware that this connection is true for both adults and children.
Pediatric sleep apnea is a condition in which a child stops breathing for any length of time during sleep. As with adults, it can be accompanied by snoring, gasping, and choking sounds. It can also be silent.
Children who stop breathing at night do not get quality sleep, which is essential for growth and development. Sleep is also integral in the healing process, so children with sleep apnea tend to be ill more often than other children.
In addition to sleep apnea, children can also suffer from other types of sleep-disordered breathing, in which breathing does not stop but is restricted enough to reduce oxygen levels and quality of sleep.
There are certain signs of pediatric sleep-disordered breathing that appear in the mouth. During your child’s dental evaluation or professional teeth cleaning, one of our hygienists may note some of these signs and ask you more about your child’s sleep patterns.
The following list includes things we, as dentists, look for as red flags for airway problems.
You, as the parent, are an important part of the diagnosis process. Detailed information about your child’s sleep habits and patterns are integral in diagnosing an airway problem. Simply sharing your observations about how your child sleeps can provide us with vital pieces of the airway puzzle.
Often a sleep test is required to determine the severity of a sleep-disordered breathing problem. This test gives precise details about oxygenation levels, sleep stages, and disturbances in sleep.
Another tool we have at Designer Smiles for evaluating the airway is our three-dimensional imaging system, the Prexion CBCT scanner. With a 3D image, we can measure the volume of the child’s airway, the size of the upper and lower jaws, and the size of soft tissue structures like tonsils and adenoids. This 3D imaging is a valuable tool in assessing anyone’s risk for airway problems.
Surgical removal of the adenoids and tonsils is the most common treatment for pediatric OSA. In uncomplicated cases, the operation results in the complete elimination of OSA symptoms in 70 to 90 percent of the time. Although generally an outpatient procedure, some children with chronic medical conditions like obesity or severe OSA or complications of OSA should be carefully monitored overnight following the surgery. because breathing abnormalities may not appear until REM sleep begins several hours in the next extended sleep cycle after the operation. Owing to post-operative swelling, full resolution of the OSA symptoms may not occur for six to eight weeks.
If adenotonsillectomy is not indicated or if the surgery does not fully resolve the symptoms, positive airway pressure therapy like that commonly prescribed for adults probably will be helpful.. (PAP therapy may also be prescribed before surgery in severe pediatric OSA cases.) PAP should be regarded as palliative rather than curative, however. Optimal pressure settings (sufficient to reduce or eliminate obstructive events without increasing arousals or central apneas) should be determined in an overnight sleep study, and efficacy studies and re-titrations should be regularly conducted: generally yearly or when there are significant weight changes in older children and adolescents.
As in adults, compliance with PAP therapy is a key factor in determining success. Adolescents pose a particular challenge. For many children, however, the dramatic improvement in the way they feel after PAP therapy is begun becomes an important motivating factor.
Oral appliances for the treatment of pediatric OSA are helpful in some cases, especially in adolescents whose facial bone growth is largely complete. One device that rapidly expands the transversal diameter of the hard palate over a six-month to one-year period has been used successfully in children as young as 6.
Weight management, including nutritional, exercise, and behavioral elements, should be strongly encouraged for all children with OSA who are overweight or obese. An adequate nightly duration of sleep is an important component of weight management.
Other treatments are directed towards additional risk factors in individual cases; i.e., allergy medications for children with seasonal/environmental allergies, asthma medications/inhalers, and treatment for gastroesophageal reflux.
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information call us today to answer all of your questions so get appointment.
Did you know your dental benefits reset every year? It’s true. If your dental insurance plan, like most is on a calendar year, you will lose out on all unused benefits after December 31st.
That means this is a great time of year to take advantage of everything your dental insurance provides, especially if you have outstanding treatments. Here are just a few of the services you want to use before you lose the opportunity. Routine Checkups
Many dental insurance plans provide coverage for two checkups a year at six-month intervals. So, if you haven’t had a cleaning in the last six months, now is an excellent time to schedule an appointment
Getting a regular checkup ensures your teeth and gums are in tip-top shape and gives your dentist a chance to review your oral health to make sure problems aren’t developing. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy a professionally cleaned and polished smile, which can have you leaving the office feeling like a more radiant, confident you. Large Treatments
If you need more extensive dental treatments involving multiple visits, the end of the year is the perfect time to get started. This is especially true if you’ve already met your deductible and haven’t hit your annual maximum. Once your deductible is paid, your out-of-pocket expenses can decrease dramatically, making it an ideal situation for larger dental treatments.
If you’re getting close to your annual maximum, growing smiles can help create a plan to maximize your benefits by splitting your treatment between this year and next, allowing you to use the benefits you have remaining this year and take advantage of your renewed benefits after the new year.
This approach can help minimize out-of-pocket expenses by optimally using your coverage. And, if you need more assistance with making the costs manageable, we offer financing options like Care Credit that can allow you to spread out-of-pocket costs over a period that is manageable for you, sometimes without any interest charges.
After your dentist has reviewed your situation and developed a treatment plan, we can come up with a financial arrangement that allows you to maximize your dental insurance benefits, and achieve optimal oral health and the beautiful smile of your dreams.
Don’t let your 2018 dental benefits go to waste by making sure you use them before December 31. Schedule an appointment today to get started.
A lot of parents wonder the same things when it comes to fixing their child’s crooked teeth:
Put simply, a “right” or a “best” age doesn’t exist for a child’s first trip to the orthodontist office. Rather, keep an eye on your child’s teeth and bite alignment. Keep an eye on changes that you may see over time, but don’t wait too long if you suspect that something just isn’t right. Call the orthodontist for an appointment.
If your young daughter or son has misalignment issues or crooked teeth, he or she can most likely benefit from braces. An orthodontist will be able to determine which type of braces are best for your child’s specific needs.
All in all, there isn’t a definitive answer regarding age. However, many orthodontists recommend taking your child to his or her first orthodontic appointment around the age of 7 OR at the first sign of orthodontic problems.
Remember when we just told you about keeping an eye on your child’s teeth and bite alignment? Do that. If you see crowding issues, bite alignment issues, crooked teeth, overbite, underbite, or protruding teeth, schedule your child’s initial orthodontic evaluation as soon as possible.
Some kids start orthodontic treatment at 6 years of age, whereas others start at 10 years of age. Some say that 10-14 years of age is the ideal time to start with orthodontic braces since the head and mouth are still growing and teeth are more conducive to straightening ”
Keep in mind that every child is different though. Every child’s mouth doesn’t develop the same way.
However, around the age of 7, common orthodontic issues become visible.
Just remember — keep an eye out for potential oral problems and call your pediatric dentist or orthodontist depending on the type of dental problem your child is experiencing.
Your child’s first orthodontic appointment is an important one. He or she will get to know the orthodontist and other team members. The introductions should go smoothly and your child should feel comfortable asking questions.
He or she shouldn’t feel afraid or scared, but if this happens, the orthodontist should be trained and experienced to effectively handle the child’s emotions. Here are some things to expect for the first appointment:
You and your child should feel comfortable asking questions during this first appointment. If you or your child doesn’t feel comfortable, maybe the orthodontist isn’t the right one for your family.
Just so you understand a bit more clearly, this first appointment kind of sets the tone for the rest of the appointments. That’s why it’s very important that your child feels comfortable and at ease right from the start. This will help to develop a healthy foundation for all future orthodontic appointments.
If you’ve always dreamed of having a beautiful smile, braces are the most effective way of achieving your very own. From traditional metal braces to Invisalign, there are a variety of options to fit your budget and your preferences. Today’s braces are both affordable and virtually painless, but there are a few things to keep in mind when undergoing orthodontic treatment with braces, including the importance of brushing and flossing multiple times a day, and avoiding sticky and sugary foods as much as possible. Here are our tips and tricks for getting the most out of life while wearing braces.
Many of the foods you were once able to enjoy without braces can also be eaten with braces, but there are a few types of foods that it’s best to avoid.
Hard and crunchy foods are best avoided as often as possible to prevent the loosening of wires or the breaking of brackets. These types of foods can cause damage to braces that can only be repaired with a trip to the dentist. Some hard and crunchy foods to avoid with braces include:
It’s also recommended that individuals who wear braces avoid sticky and sugary foods that can attach to brackets and wires and cause significant damage. This includes candy, caramel, sodas and other sugary drinks, cake, ice cream, and other desserts.
While most people do not experience pain from wearing braces, there are exceptions. You may experience occasional mild soreness due to the movement of teeth below and above the gum line which can be treated with over-the-counter pain relievers or a warm saltwater mouth rinse.
If your braces are damaged from food or if your brackets or wires become loose, you’ll need to schedule an appointment with your orthodontist. However, there is a temporary fix that can prevent permanent and lasting damage. Simply affix a small amount of orthodontic wax to the area until you can make an appointment with your orthodontist to have them repaired.
The easiest way to floss with braces is by using a Waterpik or other similar device that uses water pressure to remove food particles and tartar to prevent plaque buildup which can lead to cavities, gingivitis, tooth loss, and more. The Waterpik system is great for anyone concerned about their oral health, but especially for children who need additional supervision during brushing or adults and adolescents with braces who have trouble using traditional floss.
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. For more information call us today to answer all of your questions so get an appointment.