Teeth cleanings, exams, and other preventative care represent the cornerstone of pediatric dentistry. We are, above all, here to help your children avoid cavities and other dental issues altogether. Soul Dental Kids is committed to keeping their teeth healthy and creating a positive dentistry experience, so they’ll love going to the dentist and maintain good habits throughout life. We aim to provide nothing less than the best pediatric dentistry in NYC for your family!

Cleanings and Exams

From your child’s first tooth–or when they reach 6 months of age, whichever comes first!–onward, we are here for their regular exams and cleanings. We’ll start slow and simple to get them accustomed to being in the dentist’s chair and having us work in their mouth. If they’re frightened of the handpiece, for example, we’ll manually clean their teeth with a toothbrush; and we’ll try the handpiece next time. If the gritty polish bothers them, we’ll use regular toothpaste.

The main thing when they’re very young is to get them comfortable with us and keep an eye on their precious little teeth. As your children get older, we’ll move towards a more standard cleaning, as they’re comfortable.

Why Are Dental Cleanings and Exams Important for Kids?

The three main reasons why regular cleanings and exams matter are:

• Prevention
• Observation/monitoring
• Habits

Now, for the unabridged version:

Prevention

Plaque buildup can occur between teeth and in their tiny grooves no matter how good we are about brushing and flossing. Plaque on the teeth can create an acidic environment, which leads to decay. Decay in baby teeth can cause infection, which can affect the development of permanent teeth. Regular cleanings from infancy on, therefore, are essential!

Observation

Your kiddo’s cleanings and exams also give us an opportunity to spot decay early, as well as any orthodontic concerns, and nip them in the bud. Generally, the earlier we can catch and treat dental or orthodontic issues in children, the easier their treatment will be.

Habits

And finally, if children develop good oral hygiene and dentistry habits in childhood, it will be so much easier for them to maintain good habits as adults.

Why is it Important to Prevent Cavities in Baby Teeth?

While, yes, those baby teeth are just going to fall out, treating advanced decay can be painful and expensive, and untreated decay is painful too. Our best bet is to prevent decay as much as possible so that children don’t have to experience any of that pain. (And you don’t have to experience any of that pay-n!)

Varnishes and Sealants

In addition to regular cleanings, we also offer some protective applications for your child’s teeth. Since prevention is #1 here at Soul Dental Kids, we want to make sure every preventive measure is available to your family.

Fluoride Treatments

Fluoride is a mineral known to strengthen tooth enamel. As such, it can help prevent, slow down, or even arrest tooth decay. We offer a quick, easy, painless brush-on fluoride varnish as part of your child’s exam, or as a stand-alone treatment. This is one of several tools in the healthy-teeth toolkit. Every little thing we can do to keep our patients from getting cavities is worth doing!

Sealants

Another easy tool in that healthy-teeth toolkit is dental sealant! The tiny grooves in your child’s molars—the ones big enough for bacteria but too small for toothbrush bristles—are especially susceptible to decay. We can brush a sealant on those chewing surfaces to keep bacteria out of there and preserve the baby chompers as long as they hang around.

Digital X-Rays

We generally don’t start x-raying children’s teeth until they’re 4 or 5 years old, but we do occasionally need to x-ray patients younger than that. For them, we have a super-cool “spaceship” x-ray machine that doesn’t require us to put a large sensor inside their mouth. And parents can feel at ease once we do begin taking them, because we perform exclusively digital x-rays, which give off 70% less radiation than traditional x-rays.

Why Are X-Rays Important for Pediatric Dentistry?

As your child’s jaw matures and permanent teeth approach, it is game-changing to know if there are any problems such as crowding, impaction, or improper jaw growth. As with all things dental, the earlier we know, the better.

For example, early orthodontic intervention can guide your child’s teeth to grow in ideally. The alternative, as many of us remember, is braces in adolescence that focus on moving teeth once they’ve grown in.

X-rays also show decay that may not yet be visible at a tooth’s outer surface. If we don’t address decay until it’s visible, we may have quite a big cavity on our hands by that time. Catching it early, on the other hand, may mean we can treat it with SDF instead of a filling, or a filling instead of a root canal.

Get the Best Pediatric Dentistry in NYC

We can’t wait to meet you and your kiddos. Give us a call today to set up their first appointment with us. And make yourself an appointment while you’re at it. That’s right, one-stop shopping!