SSD is now offering Sonicare rechargeable toothbrushes and replacement heads for both kids and teens. Ask us how to save $20 off the purchase of a new Sonicare toothbrush.
Now, with the discovery of stem cells in baby teeth and wisdom teeth, a second chance is available for those families who missed their opportunity to store cord blood, as well as a chance to add a new type of stem cells for those families who did.
Dental caries (the disease that causes cavities) is the leading chronic and infectious disease of childhood, 5 times more prevalent than childhood asthma. Caries is a bacterial infection in the mouth that leads to demineralization of teeth and, eventually, cavities (holes in teeth). Although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently reported decay rates in permanent teeth have decreased in the 6 to 19 year old age group and adults, it is actually increasing in preschoolers 2 to 5 years of age. This has been attributed to dietary changes. Children today tend to get more processed snack foods, juice, soda and bottled water and less fluoridated tap water.
It is important for parents, like you, to establish a dental home for your child by 12 months of age. True prevention helping your child avoid future dental problems can only happen at this early stage. Did you know that the bacteria responsible for tooth decay is transferred from mother (or primary caregiver) to child and colonize in the mouth of an infant shortly after birth?! These bad bacteria metabolize fermentable carbohydrates such as refined sugar* or cooked starch** in your child's mouth to produce acids (particularly lactic acid) that rob your child's teeth of minerals and eventually cause cavities to form.
Let our team of experts help identify problems early so that conservative and non-invasive intervention techniques can be applied to stop cavities before they start!
*Fresh fruit does not contain refined sugar; but juice, candy, fruit snacks, and even raisins do!
**A raw potato does not contain cooked starch; but chips, crackers, bread, and Cheetos do!
(Note: Starches are complex carbohydrates that get broken down by enzymes (amylase) in saliva to form sugars, which are simple carbohydrates.)
The table below shows the relative cariogenicity (ability to produce cavities) of various snacks as determined by the Palmer Classification.
Snack Item
Score (lower #’s are better)
Peanut Butter, Nuts, Vegetables
0
Cheese
1
Milk
2
Fruit Juice, Fresh Fruit (excluding Bananas)
3
Tortillas, Pasta, Rice, Beans
4
Cereal
5
Crackers
6
Bread
7
Soda, Kool-Aid®
8
Apple Sauce, Yogurt, Ice Cream, Pudding, Jell-O®
9
Cookies, Donuts, Chips
10
Banana, Raisins, Jam
11
Candy
12
Why are baby teeth important? They're gonna lose 'em anyway, right?
Well, actually, your child's baby teeth are very important because they help guide the permanent teeth, help your child chew food properly for proper nutrition and aid in speech development. Poor oral health and decayed or abscessed teeth can be detrimental to your child's self esteem and psychological development, cause pain and suffering which can lead to poor nutrition and inability to focus in school or other activities, potentially damage developing permanent teeth and even lead to poor general health. The truth is that when tooth decay is left untreated, it can have serious implications for your child's long-term health and well-being. Did you know over 51 million school hours are lost each year due to dental related problems.
Your child's dental home should provide the following services:
Comprehensive oral health care, including emergency and preventive services;
Comprehensive assessment for oral diseases and conditions;
An individualized preventive dental health program based upon a caries-risk assessment (CLICK HERE to read Dr. Hsu’s recently published article on this topic) and a periodontal disease risk assessment;
Anticipatory guidance about growth and development issues (i.e.- teething, digit-sucking or pacifier habits);
A plan for acute dental trauma;
Information about proper care of the child’s teeth and gums;
Dietary counseling;
Referrals to dental specialists when care cannot directly be provided within the dental home.
Risk factors for dental caries include:
Nighttime bottle feeding or breastfeeding on-demand;
Frequent snacking of foods that contain refined sugar or cooked starch;
Frequent intake of soda, sugary beverages;
Frequent intake of medications that contain sugar (check you child’s medication labels);
Reduced saliva flow from medication, radiation therapy, medical or congenital conditions;
Braces and orthodontic appliances;
Inadequate fluoride exposure;
Gastric reflux;
Teeth with deep anatomy, deep fissures and pits;
Inadequate oral hygiene;
Poor family oral health;
High levels of acid producing bacteria (streptococcus mutans, streptococcus sobrinus, lactobacilli, actinomyces naeslundii, actinomyces viscosus et al)
Poverty (limited or lack of access to dental care, poor oral hygiene)
Tips for a healthy smile:
First Appointment. Make your child's first dental visit by their first birthday. The ADA (American Dental Association), AAPD (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry), and the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommend that a child should visit the dentist within 6 months of the eruption of the first tooth or by age one, whichever comes first.
Fluoride. Ensure your child receives a fluoride varnish application at every 6 month check-up to reduce his/her decay rate by 400%.
Dental Visit Frequency. If your child has a high risk of dental decay, he/she can benefit from a visit to the dentist every 3 months.
Daily Brushing. If your child is at low risk, he/she may not receive additional benefit from professionally applied fluoride. Daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste and drinking/rinsing with fluoridated water is most likely sufficient.
The EARLIEST Prevention is in your hands. Because bad bacteria has been shown to transfer from mother or primary caregiver to child at a very early age, it is important for parents, like you, to have good oral hygiene and regular dental visits. Don't share spoons, toothbrushes, or cups with your infant or toddler. Don't clean a pacifier that has fallen with your mouth, and then place it in baby's mouth, or kiss your baby on the lips.
Prevent Early Childhood Caries. Dental problems can begin early. Nighttime or naptime bottle feeding, or feeding continuously from the breast can lead to ECC (Early Childhood Caries). An infant 3 years or younger that has even one small, non-cavitated, demineralized "white-spot" lesion on a smooth surface of a front tooth is considered to have Severe-ECC. There is good bacteria that colonizes in a child's mouth early, making it difficult for the bad bacteria to take hold. This happens if the right environment exists, one that you can help create. Once bad bacteria has established itself in your child's mouth, it will remain there for the rest of your child's life.
Foods Matter. Consuming food, snacks or beverages that contain refined sugar or cooked starch can cause a pH drop and create an acidic environment in your child's mouth that can last hours. A pH of 5.5 or lower will cause teeth to demineralize, which will eventually lead to cavities. Frequent snacking is like soaking the mouth in an acid bath. Avoid bad snacks including sweet sugary candy, juice, soda, fruit snacks, raisins, cracker, chips and Cheetos. Sugary snacks that stick to the teeth (prolonged exposure) are particularly harmful. Good snacks can include fresh fruit, vegetables, milk or chocolate milk* (which kids love!) and calcium-rich cheese snacks immediately after a meal can stimulate saliva flow, which helps cleanse the teeth and bathe them in mineral-rich saliva to help neutralize acidity. If your child is old enough, chewing sugar free gum, especially gum sweetened with xylitol, can be particularly helpful.
* The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry promotes the consumption of chocolate milk. They state that children between the ages of 1 and 10 need enough calcium every day to equal about 3 cups of milk. Chocolate milk, like regular milk, is highly nutritious, but you are more likely to convince children to drink chocolate milk over plain milk. It is important to remember, though, that walking around with a sippy cup filled with milk all day or feeding with milk during the night after brushing is detrimental to your child's teeth.
Chew Xylitold Gum. Xylitol gum chewed after meals, 4 times a day, not only stimulates saliva flow, but also reduces plaque bacteria, helps prevent bad bacteria from sticking to teeth, reduces the risk of dental decay by around 80% and even reduces the risk of middle ear infections. It is perfectly safe and is usually harvested from the fibers of fruit and vegetables and from birch trees. You even create some in your own body when metabolizing glucose. Xylitol is, however, deadly to dogs. Even one stick of xylitol gum can potentially be fatal to a dog. So take care not to drop one on the floor if you own a dog!
Preventive Home-Remedy Rinse. Save a used plastic 8 oz water bottle, fill with water and 2 teaspoons of baking soda and have your child rinse with it after meals. It will help neutralize the acidity in the mouth rapidly to halt the decay process.
Breastfeeding. Wean your children from the bottle and breast at 12-14 months of age.
Sippy Cup Beverages. Don't let your child walk around with a sippy cup filled with anything but water for prolonged periods during the day.
The Best Sippy Cups to Prevent Decay. Sippy cups that spill when turned upside-down are better than sippy cups that don't spill when turned over.
Juice. Don't allow your child drink more than 4-6 oz of juice per day.
Pacifiers. Never dip a pacifier into honey or anything sweet before giving it to a baby.
Cleaning Infant's Gums. Wipe your infant's gums after feedings with a clean damp cloth or baby finger brush even before the first teeth erupt.
Brushing Teeth for Children up to 2 Years Old. Once teeth appear, brush your child's teeth with a soft toothbrush twice a day (once after breakfast and again before bedtime). Use only fluoride-free toothpaste at this age (such as Orajel® Toddler training Toothpaste). Most infants under age 2 have not yet learned to "spit out" after brushing, and excessive swallowing of toothpaste can damage the adult teeth that are at this time still growing under the gums. Baby can be placed with head on lap and legs facing outward to facilitate cleaning.
Brushing Teeth, Ages 2-5. As a preschooler, ages 2 to 5, you should brush your child's teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste; once after breakfast and once at night right before bed. The last thing your child's teeth should touch before going to bed and for the rest of the night is the toothpaste from their brush. Use only a pea-sized amount of toothpaste and smear it into the bristles with your finger to minimize swallowing toothpaste. Brush your preschooler for at least 1 minute each time. Teach your child to "spit out" the toothpaste after brushing as soon as possible.
Proper Toothpaste. For very young children (age 2 to 3), avoid sweet-tasting children's toothpaste that your child may be more apt to swallow, and instead use a pea-size amount of adult toothpaste like Colgate Total, which contains triclosan with additional antibacterial, anti-tartar and gum health benefits. Dr. Hsu uses Colgate Total at home.
Supervision During Brushing Teeth. Young children should always be supervised while brushing and taught to spit out rather than swallow toothpaste. You should brush your child's teeth until they are 7 or 8 years old because your child lacks the manual dexterity to do so properly until that age. Brushing should last for 2 minutes. Once you have observed that your child can brush properly on his/her own, then let your child brush independently.
Flossing. Flossing should begin when and where teeth are touching. Back molars usually begin touching at age 3 or 4. At this point, food can easily get trapped between the teeth and lead to cavities.
Motivational Charts
Use these charts as you wish to create you own reward system for forming healthy habits.
