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When Rachel Sarah took her daughter in for her first dental checkup a few years ago, she got a surprise. Not only did her 24-month-old have two cavities in her baby teeth, the pediatric dentist suggested she might have “caught” them from her mom. read more…

Tags: Children's Dentistry, Find a Children's Dentist, Parent Reviews, Pedodontist

PatientFYI: As with any other part of your child’s body, your child’s mouth needs to be cleaned regularly to keep it healthy, working properly and looking good. Research is now showing that the health of your mouth affects the health of the rest of your body, too. If your child’s mouth is clean and healthy, the rest of his or her body will be better off too.

Oral hygiene needs to start early. This means taking action even before your child gets his or her first tooth. Wipe your child’s tongue, gums and cheeks at least once a day, before bed or nap time, with a clean, damp washcloth wrapped around your finger. You can also use a terrycloth finger cot. This fits over a finger and is made for this purpose. Most drugstores carry them.

It’s best if you can look into your child’s mouth while you clean it. Lay your baby in a bassinette and stand behind his or her head as you use the wipe. As your child grows, sit down and have your child stand or kneel between your legs, facing away from you. Then, your child can tip his or her head back into your lap.

While you are looking in your child’s mouth, keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t appear normal. This could be white or red spots in the mouth, bulges that you can’t identify, or other changes. Ask your child’s dentist about anything you see.

As soon as the first teeth appear, it is especially important to clean along the gums around the teeth. This is where plaque is most likely to cause cavities and inflamed gums. Plaque is a sticky white or yellowish substance that contains bacteria. Wiping is a good way to clean your child’s mouth until the first few teeth begin to show. Then it is best to switch to a soft-bristled, infant-sized toothbrush. Use a very small smear of toothpaste.

Your child’s teeth don’t touch each other when they first come out. There is space between them. But as your child grows, the back teeth will move into position against one another. This can occur as early as age 3 or as late as age 6. When these back teeth start touching each other, it’s time to start flossing your child’s teeth. Flossing is essential because toothbrush bristles cannot reach between the baby teeth. This makes the areas between teeth at high risk for cavities.

Tags: Find a Children's Dentist, Parent Reviews of local Dentists

PatientFYI: Whether or not children receive regular dental care is strongly associated with their parents’ history of seeking dental care. A new report to appear in the journal Pediatrics, which has been released online, is the first to analyze the relationship between parents’ and children’s’ dental visits in a nationally representative sample.

“When parents don’t see the dentist, their children are much less likely to see the dentist,” says Inyang Isong, MD, MPH, of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy, the study’s lead author. “It looks like strategies to promote oral health should focus on the whole family.” The result of this study is clear. To set the pattern of good dental care for their children, parents need to set the example of regular dental care for themselves. Parents, you’re children are watching!

Meet Dr. Sorkin!

Tags: Children's Dentistry, Dental Health, Find a Children's Dentist, Find a Dentist, Parent Reviews of local Dentists, Preventive Dentistry

Dr. Bodak on Children’s Dentistry: Your newborn baby already has teeth, although you can’t see them. They are sitting just below the gum line. These “baby teeth”, which give your infant a great smile and allow the pleasures of chewing food or speaking more clearly, also help guide the permanent teeth into place. How soon do you need to start caring for your infant’s teeth? Just as soon as you see them!

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Tags: Children's Dentistry, Find a Children's Dentist, Parent Reviews, Pedodontist

PatientFYI - 1,698 Dentists in Miami, FL (Florida):  Find Patient Reviews, Discounts & Coupons, Advanced Dental Technologies, and detailed PatientFYI Practice Profiles so you can find the best Miami Dentist for you!

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Tags: Cosmetic Dentists, Dental Insurance, Dentist Discounts & Coupons, Find a Children's Dentist, Find a Dentist, FL, Miami, Patient Reviews

PatientFYI: You need a filling and you’re not exactly looking forward to it. But what you dread most isn’t the pain. Local anesthesia takes care of that. What you dread is the drill. Now there may be an alternative–Air Abrasion is the newest method of cleaning out tooth decay.

Find a Air Abrasion (Drill-Less) Dentist near you today!

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Tags: Air Abrasion, Children's Dentistry, Drill-Less Dentistry, Find a Children's Dentist, Find a Dentist, Painless Dentistry

PatientFYI: A dental filling is a type of restorative dentistry treatment used to repair minimal tooth fractures, tooth decay or otherwise damaged surfaces of the teeth. Dental filling materials, which include composite, porcelain and silver amalgam, may be used to even out tooth surfaces for better biting or chewing.

Find a great Dentist near you today!

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Tags: Cosmetic Dentists, Dental Fillings, Find a Children's Dentist, Find a Denti, Find a Dentist, Patient Reviews, Tooth Decay

PatientFYI: Most decay isn’t evident to dentists until it is one-third the width of the tooth – by then it requires a large filling that can weaken tooth structure and possibly cause problems years later. But new technology allows dentists to beam a laser light onto teeth with a pen-like instrument, illuminating grooves where cavities the size of pinpricks may be forming.

Find a great Cavity Detection Dentist near you today!

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Tags: Cavities, Children's Dentistry, Dental Cavity, Dentist Discounts & Coupons, Find a Children's Dentist, Find a Dentist, Parent Reviews of local Dentists, Patient Reviews, Teeth Cleaning

PatientFYI – A crown is used to entirely cover or “cap” a damaged tooth. Besides strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can be used to improve its appearance, shape or alignment.

Find a great Dentist for a Dental Crown today!

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Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentists, Dental Implants, Dental Insurance, dental technology, Dental Veneers, Dentist Discounts & Coupons, Find a Children's Dentist, Find a Cosmetic Dentist, Find a Dentist, Patient Reviews

PatientFYI - 110 Dentists in Murrieta, CA (California): Find Patient Reviews, Payment Specials, Advanced Dental Technologies, and detailed PatientFYI Practice Profiles so you can find the best Murrieta Dentist for you!

See all Dentists in California

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Tags: Children's Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Implants, Dental Insurance, dental technology, Dental Veneers, Dentistry for Children, Dentists in Murrieta CA, Dentists in Riverside CA, Find a Children's Dentist, Find a Cosmetic Dentist, Find a Dentist, Find a Pediatrician, Implant, Parent Reviews of local Dentists, Teeth Whitening