Little Jaws Big Smiles
We offer everything needed for your child's dental treatment!Click on a treatment below to see more informationWe would like to see every child by age one! It is very important to introduce your child to the dentist and ask questions that you may have regarding oral hygiene.Not just a contrivance of science fiction, today lasers actually have very sophisticated and important applications in dentistry. The most common use in pediatric dentistry is to achieve photothermally induced vaporization and coagulation of soft tissue to promote quicker healing in surgical procedures such as frenectomies. In some cases, they eliminate the need for stitches or anesthetic. They are used to trim soft tissue, stop bleeding and promote healing for the following procedures and more: 1) Maxillary Frenectomy: decreasing the band of tissue attachment between the upper lip and gums between the two front teeth. This can improve nursing in infants and reduce diastema (gap tooth) in older children. 2) Lingual Frenectomy: treating "tongue tie" by using the laser to decrease the tissue attachment between the bottom of the tongue and the floor of the mouth. This improves tongue mobility to aid in breast feeding and speech. 3) Treatment of cold sores and aphthous ulcers (canker sores).Nitrous oxide is a blend of two gases, oxygen and nitrous oxide, that reduces anxiety when inhaled. The gas is completely eliminated from the body prior to leaving the office, by breathing 100% oxygen for a few minutes.How will my child fee when breathing nitrous oxide?Your child will smell this "flavored air" and experience a sense of relaxation. Some children say they feel like they are "floating" or "tingling". If the sight or sounds of dental treatment worry your child, they may respond more positively with the use of nitrous oxide.How safe is nitrous oxide?Nitrous oxide is considered by many to be the safest sedative in dentistry. It is easily taken, quickly eliminated and your child will remain fully conscious throughout treatment.Are there any special instructions for nitrous oxide?Your child should not eat 3-4 hours before the dental visit. Nitrous oxide may occasionally cause nausea or vomiting. Be sure to tell the doctor about any respiratory condition that makes breathing through the nose difficult for your child (cold, asthma, sinus problems, etc).Will nitrous oxide work for all children?Nitrous oxide is not effective for some children, especially those who have severe dental anxiety. Do not worry if nitrous does not work for your child, there are other options for sedation.Conscious sedation is a way of using medication to relax a child without the child being completely asleep. Children with moderate to severe anxiety may be candidates for sedation. Conscious sedation helps the child accept dental treatment in a more comfortable state.Are there any special instructions for oral conscious sedation?Children must have an empty stomach for the sedation appointment. When your child arrives to the office they will drink a liquid medication based on their weight. While the child waits for the medication to start working, parents will accompany their child in our sedation suite. Depending on the medication that is used they may wait anywhere from 10-40 minutes before treatment begins.Is Sedation Safe?Oral conscious sedation is usually safe and has an excellent record when administered by a qualified and experienced provider. The doctors are trained and certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support. They have obtained advanced training to administer, monitor and manage sedated patients.General anesthesia is the treatment with certain medications that puts you into a deep sleep. After your child is asleep, they will not remember any dental treatment. Your child should experience amnesia (no memory) and analgesia (no pain) while asleep.When and why is general anesthesia used in the office?General anesthesia is recommended when a child is very young, very fearful, uncooperative or has special circumstances that will not allow them to cooperate for needed treatment. This is frequently recommended if the amount of treatment necessary would be too long or uncomfortable to be tolerated when your child is awake. Sometimes the only way to provide a non-traumatic experience to our patients is by undergoing general anesthesia.What are the eating restrictions prior to general anesthesia?The patient that is to receive general anesthesia for an elective procedure must follow the American Society of Anesthesiologists guidelines for pre-operative fasting. No food may be eaten for eight hours prior to the anesthesia time. Breast milk may be consumed up until four hours prior to the procedure. Guidelines will be explained in detail by our staff if general anesthesia is recommended for your child. It is extremely important to follow these guidelines to avoid unnecessary cancellation of the procedure.How safe is general anesthesia?General anesthesia is commonly employed in the outpatient environment. It is used frequently in most pediatric dental offices to treat specific types of patients. Outpatient general anesthesia is considered very safe and has an excellent safety record in the pediatric dental office when administered by qualified and experienced providers. A licensed dental anesthesiologist administers the general anesthesia in the office and is present solely to monitor your child while Dr. Tansy or Dr. Nolan restore your child's teeth. There are risks inherent in every type of procedure including anesthesia but these risks are minimal with appropriate patients and highly trained providers.The frenum is a piece of tissue that holds the tongue to the floor of the mouth (lingual frenum) or the lip to the gums (labial frenum). A frenectomy is the procedure where this tissue is removed.Tongue-TieSometimes a child is born with "tongue-tie" and has a difficult time nursing, speaking, or licking their lips. A frenectomy may improve this situationGap between teethA child may have a large gap between their teeth because of the frenum being very thick. A frenectomy may reduce this space and improve the smile.Ceramic, metal-free prefabricated Zirconia dental crowns that offers parents and children an esthetically pleasing alternative option to stainless steel crowns.When necessary, whitening teeth can be performed after the teeth have all erupted and fully formed.Injuries to the teeth may occur while playing sports. We recommend having a sports guard in at all times. Over the counter boil-and-bites can be used, but a custom made sports guard may be more comfortable and last longer.Silver "caps" are placed on a tooth when a cavity is very large or if a baby-tooth needs a root canal.A pulpotomy is performed if your child has a very large cavity in their baby tooth. The cavity will be removed and a special medicine and filling will be placed inside the tooth. A stainless steel crown will be placed over the tooth to help keep it protected.When necessary, we will wiggle out your child's tooth. Following most extractions, we recommend space maintenance.This is similar to a retainer following braces. If your child is missing a tooth in their mouth, they may need the teeth "held" in place. To keep the teeth from moving, a space maintainer will be cemented in the mouth until the adult tooth erupts.We recommend the first visit by age one. Cleanings should be scheduled every six months.Protective coat that is placed on the grooves and pits of your child's teeth which help prevent the formation of cavities.Composite "tooth colored" fillingsSelect the following checkbox to view all
