Oral Hygiene & Cleanings

Caries is a common bacterial disease caused by plaque-induced acid demineralization of the tooth. There are risk factors and protective factors, and keeping them in balance is what prevents cavities in your children's teeth. Here are some age-appropriate tips from Dr. Lee. However, depending on your child's risk for disease, Dr. Lee may recommend a more individualized plan for treatment.

INFANTS

• If your infant falls asleep while feeding, wipe their teeth before laying them in bed.
• Start brushing your child's teeth twice a day when they start to erupt.
• Infants should not be put to bed with a bottle.
• Ad libitum breast-feeding should be avoided after the first teeth erupt.
• Encourage your child to drink from a cup as they approach their 1st birthday.
• Schedule your child for a Well Baby Dental Visit by their 1st birthday.

AGES 1-6

• Parents should continue to assist their children with tooth brushing.
• Parents should dispense a "pea-sized" amount of fluoride toothpaste after age 2.
• Wean your baby from the bottle by 12-14 months of age.
• Floss your child's teeth once a day, as instructed by Dr. Lee.
• Avoid letting your child use a sippy cup to drink juice, milk, soda, or other beverages that contain fermentable carbohydrates, especially between meals.
• Help your child develop healthy snacking habits by offering foods that are nutritious.
• Avoid allowing your child to "nibble" throughout the day.

* Remember: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ages 1-6 should drink no more than 4-6 ounces of juice a day from a cup as part of a meal or snack.

SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN

• Parents should assure that their child brushes twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste.
• Look for plaque along the gum line of the front teeth to verify effectiveness of brushing.
• Parents should continue to supervise and assist as needed with daily brushing and flossing.
• Occasional sweets and treats are best consumed after a healthy meal.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics promotes water, not sports or energy drinks, as the principal source of hydration for children and adolescents.
• Active children burn lots of calories and usually eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day. Help them make healthy choices and avoid "empty" calories. Discourage children from "sipping and grazing" because frequency of exposure to sugars and fermentable carbohydrates increases the risk of caries.

TEENS

• Remind your teen to brush thoroughly at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
• If your teen frequently "forgets to brush" or is "too tired", help them pick a time of day that can work better for them, like after school or after dinner.
• Remind your child to floss daily.
• Make healthy snacks available and discourage frequent "sipping and nibbling".
• Discourage your teen from drinking soda, sports drinks, and other acidic, sugary beverages.
• Remember that diet sodas are acidic and may increase the risk of enamel erosion.
• Energy drinks are popular with teens, but contain sugar and caffeine or other stimulants. Some contain more than 500mg of caffeine which is like drinking 14 cans of cola!

Pediatric Services

Preventive Approach

Dr. Lee is passionate about preventive care and committed to helping parents and children form a deeper understanding of the cause of dental disease and how to prevent it. As part of his preventive approach to dentistry, he provides thorough examinations and detailed explanations that will allow him to catch problems early on and help your child best maintain their smile. His goal in every service is to improve your child’s health and their life.

Personal Relationships

At A+ Dentistry for Kids, we care about your children as if they were our own. We take the time to get to know them personally, listening to their unique wants and desires, so we can help them feel comfortable during their care and deliver customized services to meet their needs. We thoroughly enjoy building strong relationships together and look forward to getting to know your family through the years.

Patient Education

Good habits should start early, which is why we make patient education a priority here. Dr. Lee and our caring team are dedicated to helping your child understand the importance of good oral hygiene and will empower you and your child with the knowledge necessary to maintain lasting oral health for years to come.

Working Together with You and Your Child

We work together with you and your child as a team so you both can feel comfortable and empowered through every step of your child’s oral health care. We welcome parents in the treatment rooms and pride ourselves in our ability to answer your questions and explain the details of treatment in an honest and easy-to-understand manner. Your family will be well-informed and confident in your child’s dental decisions. Together, we will empower your family towards lifelong health.

Friendly, Fun Environment

One thing children and parents love about our practice is the friendly and fun environment we create here. We are energetic, outgoing, and enjoyable to be around. We work hard to help your child feel relaxed during each visit and to alleviate any dental anxiety that should arise. We truly want your child’s visit to be a positive one!

Advanced Technology

We work with some of the most up-to-date dental technologies because they help us better identify, treat and prevent dental problems and, ultimately, better serve your child. We already utilize technologies like digital x-rays, radiation free imaging, wand anesthesia, tablets and more, and we are always improving with your family in mind.

Cosmetic Restorations

At some point in their life, your child will likely need some kind of cosmetic restorative care.

Fillings, crowns, bridges and veneers are all common procedures used to bring back their natural smile and increase the strength and function of their teeth when damage has occurred. Our experience and reputation in cosmetic restorative dentistry makes it easy for parents to choose us for improving their children's smiles. If your child has missing, chipped, crooked or damaged teeth, we can restore their smile and confidence with results that look and feel natural.

• Veneers
• Whitening
• Bonding
• Crowns & Bridges
• Fillings
• Implants
• Full-Mouth Reconstruction

We offer multiple anesthetic options to provide the most pain-free, stress-free and comfortable treatments possible. Nitrous oxide sedation, also known as "laughing gas," is commonly used to make treatment more comfortable and great for patients that feel anxious in the dental chair. Oral sedation works by taking a pill or liquid at a set time before treatment and produces a calming effect. All our sedation techniques are carefully monitored and safe for every child.

Preventitive Sealants

Sealants are used to fill in narrow grooves in a tooth that cannot be adequately cleaned by brushing. Fine grooves or pits in primary and permanent teeth accumulate plaque, not because the person doesn't brush, but because these pits and grooves are too narrow to allow even one bristle into them. These will develop cavities over time, and you don't want that.

The Surgeon General reported in 2000 that by 17 years of age, 78% of children will have experienced caries. 9 out of 10 cavities in school-aged children occur in pits and fissures and that's why Dr. Lee will recommend sealants for teeth she considers at risk for this type of tooth decay.

Applying sealants is easy. After the tooth is cleaned, a special gel is placed on the chewing surface for a few seconds. The tooth is then washed and dried. Then, the sealant is painted on the tooth. The dentist or dental assistant will shine a light on the tooth to help harden the sealant and form a protective shield.

At your child's regular dental exam, their sealants are evaluated and maintained or replaced as needed. With appropriate follow up care, the success rate of sealants is 80-90%, even after a decade.