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Thursday, May 27, 2021

Implants

 Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces in Phoenix, AZ offers many dental services, even implants. Dental implants are replacements for natural teeth that are missing or have been removed. They are a better alternative to dental bridges because other teeth will not be affected. Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces is dedicated to helping you achieve the smile you deserve with dental implants. 


The process for dental implants will take place over a few appointments, spanning over a couple of months. The first part of the process is installing the implant itself. You will be placed under general anesthesia for the procedure. Your trusted dentist will make an incision in the gums, placing the titanium screw into the jaw. After, the gums are sutured shut. The entire procedure itself takes around twenty minutes to complete. 


It takes between 3-6 months for the implant to completely heal. During this time the jaw bone will form around the implant in a process called osseointegration and you will be given crowns during the healing process. This will let you continue to eat and speak normally throughout. Once the implant is fully healed, an abutment is placed. This will serve as the base for your new tooth. An impression is then created from this and sent to a dental laboratory. There, your permanent restoration will be created. At your final appointment at Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces, your experienced dentist will attach the final restoration. 


Are you missing one or several teeth? Could you benefit from dental implants? Come in for a visit and we will discuss it with you further. We are happy to address any questions or concerns you may have. Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces has three separate offices in the Phoenix, AZ, area for your convenience. For more information about our services or to schedule an appointment, please visit kidzconnextion.com. You can also call 623-232-0749 for our N. 75th St. office, 480-666-5984 for the N. 24th St. office, and 480-405-4714 for the E. Baseline Rd. office.


Saturday, May 22, 2021

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

 Also called early childhood caries (ECC), bottle mouth, and infant caries, baby bottle tooth decay occurs when a child’s teeth come into contact too often with sugary snacks and drinks. This includes milk and infant formula. We at Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces in Phoenix, AZ are committed to educating parents about helping their children develop good oral hygiene habits. The earlier good habits are instilled, the more likely children will maintain them through adulthood. 


The complications that arise from baby bottle tooth decay can be as severe as your child not developing speech properly. This is a serious problem since children are essentially sponges, taking in information and constantly learning. Baby bottle tooth decay can make speech development difficult with nasty infections and chronic pain. 


Prevent baby bottle tooth decay by:


-Flossing your child’s teeth after they’ve all grown in

-Brushing your child’s teeth as soon as they start growing in

-Taking your child to regular dentist check-ups

-Encouraging healthy eating habits

-Limiting your child’s sugar intake

-Teaching your child how to drink from a cup at six months of age

-Weaning your child off the pacifier

-Wiping your infant’s gums after a feeding


Is your child due for a routine checkup? We can help with that! Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces has three separate offices in the Phoenix, AZ, area for your convenience. For more information about our services or to schedule an appointment, please visit kidzconnextion.com. You can also call 623-232-0749 for our N. 75th St. office, 480-666-5984 for the N. 24th St. office, and 480-405-4714 for the E. Baseline Rd. office.

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Toothbrush Care

Toothbrushes are essential tools for removing decay-causing bacteria and their food sources. But how do you clean the tool you use for cleaning? And how do you know when you need a replacement? At Kidz Connextion in Phoenix, our patients receive a toothbrush with each regular appointment, but if they’re using them properly, they’ll need to switch toothbrushes more frequently than that. Fortunately, taking care of a toothbrush is usually easy.


 


Each time a toothbrush is used, it should be run under tap water afterward to rinse away some of the bacteria and debris it accumulates. Following that, it should be allowed to air dry in an upright position. Leaving toothbrushes inside travel caps will keep them damp, allowing mold to grow on them. Putting them in an upright position will allow moisture to drain out of them, and keeping them in separated holders will prevent cross-contamination. Besides avoiding contact with other people’s toothbrushes, your child may want to keep their toothbrushes separate if they have different ones for their teeth and oral appliances such as retainers and mouthguards. Plastic sometimes requires gentler toothpaste than enamel, and grit leftover in a toothbrush could leave scratches in a retainer.


 


A toothbrush will need to be replaced when it flares outward too much to reach into crevices between the teeth. This typically happens after about three months of use, regardless of whether it is manual or electric. However, if the user has recently suffered a nasal or respiratory infection, they should dispose of the toothbrush after recovering. Toothbrushes also need to be replaced if they become warped or damaged in a way that would allow mold to colonize cracks in their handles. For this reason, we recommend not running toothbrushes in the dishwasher or storing them anywhere they could easily melt.





Kidz Connextion has three convenient locations in Phoenix, Arizona. To schedule an appointment at 2533 N 75th St, text 623-232-0749. For our office at 2046 N 24th St, text 480-666-5984. For our office at 524 E Baseline Rd, text 480-405-4714. Or, visit Kidz Connextion on our website.

Monday, May 10, 2021

Bite Checks for Children

Children’s mouths change rapidly. With new teeth coming in and constantly being rearranged, it can be a challenge for kids to maintain proper hygiene. But ease of brushing and flossing isn’t the only benefit of having straight teeth, and children are able to undergo orthodontic therapy that is unlikely to be successful later in life. At Kidz Connextion in Phoenix, we provide general and orthodontic services, and we want all our patients’ parents to understand why it’s important for their kids to get regular bite checks.


 


Ideally, when a person bites down, their upper front teeth will rest outside of their lower ones and the outside of each upper tooth on the sides will close outside of the lower molars and premolars. Hygienists will ask a patient to demonstrate biting down during their examination, which will also allow us to observe if their jaws are uneven or catching or if there are wear marks on their teeth consistent with nighttime grinding. However, in pediatric patients, the more pressing concern is usually a malocclusion, which is when misalignment in the teeth interferes with biting. Malocclusions most commonly take the form of overbites, in which the upper teeth extend too far beyond the lower ones, underbites, in which they don’t extend far enough, and crossbites, in which the side teeth do not fit together.


 


Children’s facial bones don’t fully solidify until adolescence, and until then, braces can be used to guide their teeth into significantly different positions. But orthodontic therapy takes a lot of planning, and dentists will want to leave room for unerupted teeth or, in the cases of wisdom teeth, anticipate needing to remove them before they disrupt work in progress. Performing a bite check can help us to recognize immediate issues such as a high filling that’s interfering with the bite, but it will also allow us to observe whether a tooth is at risk for long-term instability or being pushed further out of place due to the pressure being put on it by a misalignment. Sometimes, early orthodontic intervention can prevent more serious misalignments from causing structural damage to the entire mouth.


 


Kidz Connextion has three convenient locations in Phoenix, Arizona. To schedule an appointment at 2533 N 75th St, text 623-232-0749. For our office at 2046 N 24th St, text 480-666-5984. For our office at 524 E Baseline Rd, text 480-405-4714. Or, visit Kidz Connextion on our website.

Friday, May 7, 2021

Tooth Sensitivity

Hot weather will soon be upon us, and kids and adults alike are looking forward to frozen treats. But for many people, tooth sensitivity is a serious drawback to eating ice cream and slushies. At Kidz Connextion in Phoenix, we want all our patients to be happy with their teeth and set up for a lifetime of good oral care. Nobody should accept tooth sensitivity as a normal part of life, and this week, we’re going to take a closer look at what causes it in children.


 


The outer portion of a dental crown is made up of enamel, which is the hardest material in the body. But the inner tooth is made up of pulp and contains a nerve as well as blood vessels. In between the pulp and enamel is dentin, a porous substance that easily conducts heat. Dentin is a yellow-grey color and can be seen when a person’s enamel is thin. The less enamel is covering a crown, the more sensitive the pulp will be to changes in temperature. Gum recession can also contribute to tooth sensitivity because the enamel surrounding a tooth root is naturally thinner to begin with, and once the gum recedes, the root will lose its only insulation.


 


Sensitivity in children is usually due to tooth decay. In adults, acid reflux, a loose filling, or enamel wear from grinding would also be likely culprits. But children have softer enamel, more difficulty using toothbrushes and floss, and tooth misalignments that make it harder to brush each surface of each tooth. Brushing more thoroughly is the best way to combat tooth surface infections, but more thorough does not mean harder; gums may also recede from being brushed too hard. Dentists can help children to learn better brushing techniques, and parents may try getting them chewable tablets that will leave powder on children’s teeth to show them spots they’ve missed. Parents might also want to try getting their children toothpaste for sensitive teeth, which will make dentin less conducive to heat, and should bring their children to regular appointments to have their enamel reinforced with fluoride. Persistent toothaches may require fillings, in which case, they should be done as quickly as possible.


 


Kidz Connextion has three convenient locations in Phoenix, Arizona. To schedule an appointment at 2533 N 75th St, text 623-232-0749. For our office at 2046 N 24th St, text 480-666-5984. For our office at 524 E Baseline Rd, text 480-405-4714. Or, visit Kidz Connextion on our website.