There’s nothing quite like being a parent, is there? Watching your child grow and learn and play and smile is such a powerful and rewarding experience — especially that smile. So much is contained in and expressed in a smile. A smile means one thing when it’s half-hidden and revealed slowly and quite another when accompanied by a wild expression and gut-busting laughter. Your child’s smile helps you see so much of who they are.
So how do you make sure to help keep that beautiful, radiant smile healthy so it can shine proudly for years to come?
As prescribed as it might sound, the best way to ensure that your child can enjoy the confidence and wellness that comes with healthy teeth is to prioritize a handful of specific dental services that are pretty important for kids.
In today’s blog from the friendly family dentists at Smile Designers PC in Longmont, we will look at the three most important dental services to inquire about for your child to help them keep a happy healthy smile.
Read on to learn more, or fill out our online form to schedule an appointment with one of our dentists.
Regularly Scheduled Dental Cleanings
If there were one, and only one, dental service that you prioritized for your child, it would need to be regularly scheduled six-month exams and cleanings. Regular cleanings provide two fundamental pillars of good dental health: prevention and early detection.
Prevention
The best way to not have to deal with dental health problems is to do everything that you can to prevent them. Semi-annual dental cleanings provide a service that really gives your teeth a good, deep clean. Hardened food and debris, as well as plaque and tartar, can be cleaned off your teeth. Not only is this good for preventing long term build-up, but it also reduces the availability of pockets for bacteria to grow and cause gingivitis and tooth decay.
Early Detection
Even the very best prevention methods can’t guarantee that you won’t experience some issues with your dental health, and kids are no exception. However, when a problem does develop, regular dental cleanings and exams will ensure that not too much time can go by before it’s caught.
In some cases, early detection simply means that at-home habits need to improve to turn the situation around. In other cases where further professional dental services are needed, early detection ensures that the least invasive and extensive — and therefore least costly — solution can be chosen.
Sealants
Our teeth are durable, hard, and textured to accomplish their primary job — chewing food to bits. However, the tiny crevices and texture on your teeth also make for great places for bacteria to grow and feed on sugars and other debris left on your teeth. This is why regular brushing is so important.
However, despite a parent’s best efforts, regular brushing at home can be less regular than it should be. Less regular brushing combined with the sugars from foods that children often enjoy or prefer is one of the reasons why children have so many more cavities than adults.
If you want to help protect your child’s teeth, then make sure to ask your dentist about sealants. Sealants are a dental service that is of particular benefit to kids because of the extra protection it provides them with no matter what their teeth cleaning habits are like.
Sealants are a coating that is applied individually to each tooth to create a protective barrier. So even when food and bacteria build-up, they aren’t actually touching your child’s teeth! Sealants can last for up to seven or eight years but typically need to be replaced more.
Topical Fluoride Applications
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that supports dental health by promoting strong teeth while simultaneously fighting the bacteria that causes bad breath and tooth decay. Applied as a wash, gel, or varnish, fluoride treatments pull double duty for your child’s dental wellness.
Depending on what kinds of fluoride treatments are used and your child’s dental health history, fluoride treatments may be needed as often as every three months or as little as every year.
Schedule Your Child’s Dental Service With Smile Designers PC In Longmont Today
These dental services are the most important for your child’s dental health, but don’t forget that what you do at home is just as important, if not more important, than the gentle dentistry services that we provide here are Smile Designers PC in Longmont.
Good brushing and flossing habits are crucial to both short and long term dental health for children and adults. Making sure that you spend the time to teach, encourage, and even insist that your child brush their teeth helps to build a lifelong habit for wellness, confidence, and a wonderful smile.
If you have questions about your child’s dental wellness or would like to schedule an appointment with us, fill out our online form and a member of our family dentistry team will contact you shortly.