Woman and her son with toothbrush on blurred backgroundIt is never too early to begin teaching excellent oral hygiene habits to your little ones, especially proper brushing and flossing. What’s more, the right combination of preventive care at home, maintaining a healthy diet, and attending routinely schedule dental visits can contribute to a lifelong smile and avoid the need for extensive treatment such as extraction or dental implants down the line.  Indeed, your dentist recommends a regular checkup at least once every six months, and the same can be said for tiny grins. In today’s blog, your Leawood, KS dentist will explain the importance of attending regular dental visits and the impact it has on your child’s beautiful smile.

Checking for Healthy Development

Just as we check your smile for any signs of damage, harm, or abnormalities, we do the same for your family! We encourage bringing in your infant as soon as their first tooth arrives or by their first birthday in order to begin monitoring for proper development and familiarize them with our office. Starting at age three, we will begin to see your little one regularly through routine checkups twice a year. Similar to your own visit, we will look for any indication of harm, damage, or threat to their smile, including inspecting teeth, gums, and all other oral structures present. The main difference in your checkup versus your child’s is that we are also actively monitoring their healthy development, which means being able to provide added boosts of strength and more to ensure a great grin for life. For more information on your child’s dental examination, reach out to our team today.

Preventing Plaque Buildup

In addition to examining tiny grins, we also provide a careful but thorough cleaning so as to remove deposits of plaque and tartar buildup caused by harmful oral bacteria. These bacteria are present in every smile, and the key is to keep them at bay and prevent them from taking over. Certain foods and beverages actually feed bacteria, causing them to secrete harmful acids that aid in the breakdown of a tooth’s natural structure and causes cavities. During this process, your dentist will carefully remove deposits of plaque and polish the teeth to make it more difficult for bacteria to latch on in the future.

An Added Boost of Strength

While your child may be brushing and flossing regularly, sometimes developing grins could use a helping hand. Our team offers fluoride treatments to help build up the layer of enamel present on the front of the teeth, the smile’s first line of defense against harm. We also offer a dental sealant in which a thin layer of acrylic is painted over the surface of the molars to prevent bacteria from nestling into the nooks and crevices. Ask your dentist about these procedures the next time your family visits.

Schedule Your Family’s Visit

Maintaining a healthy smile is a continuous process. Contact Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, KS by calling 913-681-5500 to schedule your little one’s visit today.