Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Although your child's baby teeth are temporary, don’t make the mistake of not taking care of them. Baby teeth are even more susceptible to cavities than adult teeth. Adult teeth are tougher, which helps prevent cavities. Tooth decay in toddlers and infants is commonly referred to as Baby Bottle Tooth Decay. At Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces, our dentists can prevent and treat baby bottle tooth decay.

There are many factors that can cause bottle tooth decay. Prolonged and recurrent exposure to sugary drinks is the most common factor. The American Dental Association recommends only placing formula, milk, or breast milk in bottles. Avoid sugary drinks like juice, soft drinks, or sugar water. Try to have your child finish their bottle or drink before going to bed. Having a bottle with them in bed allows for moisture to accumulate in their mouth. If they use a pacifier, provide them with a clean one. Do not dip the pacifier in sugar or honey. By their first birthday, encourage them to try drinking from a sippy or age-appropriate cups.

Be wary of germs and bacteria as well. Bottle tooth decay often begins when a mothers saliva is transferred to her child. When the mother transfers a spoon from her mouth to her infants or cleans their pacifier with her mouth, bacteria can be passed to the child. Making sure your child has enough access to fluoride also helps prevent decay. Fluoride can be found naturally in the U.S. water supply in forty-two out of the fifty states.

If you are concerned that your child might be experiencing baby bottle tooth decay, or have any questions about any of our other services, feel free to visit one of Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces offices located around the Phoenix, AZ. area. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, visit our website at https://www.kidzconnextion.com/.

Sealants

At Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces, we advise our patients to get sealants for their molars. Sealants are a thin plastic coating that is painted on the surface of molars to prevent tooth decay. Molars can be hard to clean because they are in the back of the mouth and have deep crevices. Since they’re used for chewing, food debris often gets stuck on their surfaces. Children with sealants are less likely to develop cavities because the plastic coating that acts as a shield to protect enamel and somewhat flattens out tooth indentations.

We encourage our patients to get sealants after the first set of molars erupt to protect them from plaque. The first set of molars usually develops between the ages of 5 and 7; while the permanent sets of molars develop between ages 11 and 14. Sealants last for about 10 years and can be replaced.
Don’t forget, even with sealants we still want our patients to practice good oral hygiene by brushing and flossing twice a day. We want our patients to have the healthiest teeth and the brightest smile!

If you have any questions or concerns about sealants or our services, please visit our website at www.kidzconnextion.com for more information. Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces maintains offices around Phoenix.

Pacifiers and Tooth Development

Kidz Connextion dentists are often asked by parents about weaning their small child off a pacifier.  Infants are soothed to a sense of security by pacifiers, but when the time comes it is one of the hardest habits to break.  It can require a great deal of persuasion, but because of the effect they can have on the growth and development of the teeth and mouth, children should stop using pacifiers by the age of two. 

Prolonged pacifier use can cause changes in the shape of the roof of the mouth, prevent proper growth of the mouth, and create problems with tooth alignment.  Narrowing of the roof of the mouth and misalignment of the jaws can also occur.  Using a pacifier too long can also lead to a variety of complications including tilting in of the bottom teeth, and slanting in of the top and front teeth. Until the age of two, any alignment problem with the teeth or developing bone is usually corrected within six months after pacifier use has stopped.  We can help and support parents having any trouble weaning their child off a pacifier before that age.

Kidz Connextion Dental & Braces maintains offices around Phoenix.  To find out more, visit our website at Kidzconnextion.com.

Removing Braces

Now that Kidz Connextion in Phoenix offers orthodontic services, we thought our patients would enjoy learning more about what they have to look forward to after finishing major steps of their treatment. Removing braces is generally an easy process, but patients should still feel prepared for it.

We heavily emphasize to patients the importance of protecting their orthodontic brackets. They can be knocked loose by contact sports or misshapen by sticky foods such as toffee. Because of this, you may not be surprised to learn that the dental cement used to attach brackets to enamel is designed to be removable. Following the removal of elastics and wires, the dentist will compress the bracket with a plier. The deformity in the bracket will cause the dental cement to snap away from it, allowing the bracket to be lifted out.

We’ll use flat-tipped pliers to leverage out the metal bands surrounding the molars. Both methods of removing brackets are meant to prevent us from needing to pull on a patient’s enamel, although they will still feel pressure as we remove the molar brackets. Once all the metal is removed, we’ll scrape away the remaining cement. An impression of the patient’s mouth can then be taken and used to shape a retainer. The patient should be able to eat normally again by the end of the day.

Kidz Connextion Dental and Braces maintains offices around Phoenix. To find out more, visit our website at Kidz Connextion.

Causes of Gap Teeth

A gap between the front teeth may not be the most uncomfortable misalignment, but it can make people self-conscious and cause them to whistle as they speak. At Kidz Connextion in Phoenix, we provide orthodontic therapy to correct gaps (also known as diastema), but it’s important to understand their various causes since they can determine which treatment is most appropriate.

If the misalignments are only cosmetic, they may be fixable using non-invasive orthodontic means such as invisible aligners. But a gap between the top front teeth, like an overbite, may be related to behavior. Thumb sucking and tongue thrusting can result in both kinds of misalignments and will have to be corrected for orthodontic therapy to last. Tongue thrusting is sometimes done involuntarily while swallowing and help from an ear-nose-and-throat doctor may be required to fix it.

It is also possible that there is a growth on the inside of the mouth that is pushing the teeth apart. This could simply be an overly large labial frenum, which is the connective tissue between the upper lip and the upper jaw. An oral surgeon could cut away a small amount of it so the teeth will have room to move together. Children’s teeth wouldn’t usually have problems such as staining or cracks, but we can provide new crowns if there is a major problem and crowns can be guided with braces.

Kidz Connextion Dental Care maintains offices around Phoenix. To find out more, visit our website at Kidz Connextion.

 

Caring For Your Retainer

Many orthodontic patients require a retainer at the end of orthodontic treatment.  Removable retainers are an easy step to take to preserve a straight smile. Kidz Connextion provides retainers for patients, and caring for your retainer properly is important so that it functions and lasts as long as possible.  A silly but common mistake people make with their retainers is trying to cut corners -- don’t try to clean or brush your retainer while it’s still in your mouth!  You can’t quickly scrub your retainer while brushing your teeth -- the retainer cannot be completely cleaned of debris this way, and toothpaste can also be abrasive to the plastic of the retainer.  Always remove your retainer before cleaning thoroughly with water and your toothbrush, and use a mild dish or hand soap to help clean off debris, never abrasive toothpaste.

You should clean your retainer daily, and also treat it weekly by soaking.  Soaking helps maintain the cleanliness of the retainer and keep it from drying out.  To soak the retainer, dissolve denture cleaning tablets in water or add a little baking soda to water to make a solution.  Storing your retainer properly is also important for its longevity.  Get in the habit of always using and carrying a case.  Too retainers have disappeared after being folded up in napkins!

Kidz Connextion Dental Care maintains offices around Phoenix.  To find out more, visit our website at Kidzconnextion.com.

Water Flossing with Orthodontics

A little floss goes a long way when it comes to oral health.  Flossing is an important step to remove food particles that have been left behind after brushing. Flossing can significantly reduce periodontal disease and cavity-causing causing bacteria that leads to tooth decay, but sometimes the act of flossing is difficult for a patient with orthodontics. If you have trouble adjusting to flossing with your new braces, Kidz Connextion dentists may suggest using a water flosser for those hard to reach places!

A safe, easy, and effective way to remove plaque around dental braces is to use a water flosser. A water flosser is a handheld device that sprays streams of water in steady pulses. Not only is this beneficial to patients with traditional braces, water flossers are also an option for people who have trouble controlling traditional floss by hand. You should never get by on flossing alone. It’s important to brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss at least once a day to reap the maximum benefits of a healthy mouth.

Kidz Connextion Dental Care maintains offices around Phoenix.  To find out more, visit our website at Kidzconnextion.com.