Creating Healthy Smiles in Lake Zurich

A child’s smile is constantly evolving. Because many dental problems can be avoided, we want to equip your family with vital information that can keep teeth strong.

Understanding Tooth Decay:

• Cavities are caused by bacteria that live off of the foods and drinks we consume. Sugars and processed foods cause these bacteria to thrive. The outer layer of enamel begins to demineralize and bacteria creates a hole (cavity) in the enamel.
• These bacteria can easily spread to adjacent teeth.
• Cavities are non-reversible and must be cleaned out and repaired with a filling or other dental restoration.

Home Care for Kids:

• Brush your child’s teeth twice daily.
• Floss once daily.
• Use a tiny smear of fluoridated toothpaste until your child is 3, then use a pea-sized amount.

Promoting Dental Health through Dietary Choices:

• Tap water contains regulated fluoride levels that are ideal for healthy tooth development.
• Encourage your child to limit sweets and processed foods.

Bedtime Practices for Optimal Oral Health:

• Avoid putting your baby to bed with a sippy cup or bottle of anything other than water. Children that sip on milk or juice while sleeping or throughout the day, often have “baby bottle tooth decay”.

• Tailored plans and personalized attention for children with special needs.
• Collaborative decision-making with parents to navigate intricate and challenging cases.
• Administration of gentle nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) to alleviate anxiety.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children first see a dentist between when their first tooth erupts and their first birthday. These early visits provide us a chance to intercept possible concerns or habits that lead to more extensive issues.

• Six Month Exams –Through regular exams, we are able to monitor changes in your child’s oral anatomy, in the event any treatments are necessary, and offer individualized instruction and education to help maintain good oral hygiene habits at home.
• Teeth Cleanings – We pace your child’s visit in a way that is upbeat, comfortable and on their terms. During their cleaning, we will go over oral hygiene skills to help develop healthy habits that last into adulthood.
• Dental Sealants – Placing a protective seal over the grooves of back teeth can reduce the chance of decay. Sealed teeth are easy to clean, and only take a few minutes to place.
• Fluoride – After your child’s cleaning, we will apply fluoride to aid in strong enamel and resistance to decay.
• Digital X-rays – With the lowest available radiation x-rays, we can evaluate your child’s oral anatomy and intercept problems before they become more complex.

While we make every effort to screen for decay early, sometimes cavities still pop up between routine checkups. When they do, we offer treatments to treat decay and prevent infections from spreading elsewhere in the mouth.

Fillings — Primary teeth are less dense than adult teeth are. As such, cavities inside of them can spread very quickly. We take extra care to check for decay on a frequent basis, so that we can treat lesions earlier and before they spread deeper into the tooth. All of our fillings are made from tooth-colored composite.

Dental Crowns — Baby teeth are not able to support larger fillings. Once a cavity gets fairly large, the best restorative option is usually a crown. “Why not pull the tooth instead?” you ask. Because premature tooth loss can affect the alignment of future adult teeth.

Nerve Therapy — Pulpotomies or “baby root canals” are for treating severely decayed baby teeth that have reached the pulp or nerve of the tooth. Removing the infection prevents it from spreading elsewhere in the mouth and/or the face, while preserving the tooth. In most cases, we will recommend a dental crown on the tooth until it falls out naturally when the adult tooth erupts.

Space Maintainers — When a tooth is lost prematurely or needs to be extracted before the adult tooth is ready to erupt, it can cause changes in your child’s tooth alignment patterns. To maintain alignment, we can use a space maintainer to ensure that the adult teeth erupt into place properly.

A groundbreaking approach aimed at preventing and halting dental cavities, Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) is a multifaceted topical medicament boasting silver and fluoride ions. The silver ions and fluoride ions in the medicament help to inactivate the metabolism of the bacteria that cause dental cavities and remineralize affected tooth structure. SDF not only holds the distinction of FDA clearance for tooth hypersensitivity but also finds off-label application in treating dental cavities. Major benefits of SDF include ease of application and effectiveness. Treated areas must be monitored by a dentist to determine whether other interventions are indicated.

Is SDF safe?

Yes! There are no reported cases of significant health risks or reactions to SDF. It does contain silver so it should not be used for people with allergies to silver or those who have mouth ulcers.

Are there side effects of SDF?

SDF has minor cosmetic side effects such as permanent staining of tooth cavities, and temporary stains on skin and gums, which can last up to three weeks.