The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends for children to have their first visit at a pediatric dentist by their first tooth growing in or by one year of age - whichever comes first. This is important to establish a “dental home” - where comprehensive, continuous, and accessible care can be provided. At your child’s first dental visit, our goal is to provide a positive, educational experience…We always like to recommend talking to your child about visiting the dentist prior to their appointment - using positive verbiage and even showing them children’s video/TV shows where the characters visit their dentist.

Feeling nervous, scared or upset are completely normal feelings for a child to have when visiting a healthcare provider. Helping your child overcome their fear of healthcare visits and setting them up for success can be achieved keeping the following in mind:

• Start early to familiarize them with the environment

• Offer positive reinforcement and small rewards for bravery

• Openly discuss the importance of check-ups

• Choose pediatric specialists for their expertise in treating children

• Use age-appropriate books and video to educate them

• Lead by example by prioritizing your own health

• Make these appointments a consistent part of their routine

• Consider a pre-appointment visit to ease their fears

• Stay calm and positive to help reassure them

We strive to make all of our young patients feel comfortable and confident here at LUMIA DENTAL KIDS - we want every visit to be a positive experience!

Baby teeth, also known as primary teeth, are important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they help in chewing nutritious foods (e.g. carrots, apples, etc). If children didn’t have baby teeth, they would only be able to eat processed, soft foods. Baby teeth also act as place holders - keeping space for the adult teeth to grow in. If a baby tooth gets a large cavity and has to be removed, space loss can occur and cause speech, developmental, and orthodontic problems in the future. Lastly, baby teeth are meant to allow for proper speech, airway, and swallowing. With missing teeth, the arches in a child’s mouth can reduce in size and make it harder for the child’s growth to be maximized.

If your child falls, first make sure that they did not lose consciousness and/or have symptoms of a concussion like amnesia, nausea, vomiting, etc. Once they are medically cleared, see if you can locate any tooth fragments, or the entire tooth if it was displaced. If the tooth did not become displaced, please check to make sure the tooth is not so loose that it is an aspiration risk.

Place any tooth pieces in milk and call your pediatric dentist at LUMIA DENTAL KIDS right away. Please reassure your child and know we are here to help!

Once in the office, we will evaluate your child’s general well-being and jaw prior to evaluation of the chief complaint (the tooth in question!)

We may do a series of clinical exams: palpation, ruling out embedded tooth fragments in the soft tissues, cold testing, radiographic x-ray assessment, mobility testing, percussion testing, and/or rule out bone fractures. At this time, a plan will be made for treatment and a follow up schedule will be ascertained to make sure that the child has the best possible outcomes.

A pediatric dentist is a specialist who has had 2-3 years of additional training in pediatrics, complex medical conditions, and special needs. They are also trained in treating a diverse range of neurodivergent patients who need additional resources and patience from their healthcare providers.

By going to a pediatric dentist, you can be assured that your child will feel safe, empowered, and encouraged about their own teeth while having an exciting and age-appropriate comfortable experience. Timing for children’s dental care is extremely important to help the child reach adulthood with excellent oral health and a sense of confidence in their smiles. 

Teething is the process of teeth moving closer to the surface and poking through the gums entering the mouth. The process typically starts a little before 6 months of age and is usually completed by 3 years of age.

Then, when the patient is about 5 or 6, the teething process begins again when the adult permanent first molars come in behind all the baby teeth. These sometimes go unnoticed because patients will commonly complain about “wiggly” front “shark teeth” but forget that more teeth are coming in near the back of their mouths.  You will know your child is teething when they begin to get fussier, drool, start putting things in their mouths and a generally irritable disposition. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, children get used to the feeling. Ever so often we will see something called an eruption hematoma which may appear swollen, bluish, and scary but is actually a common cyst that is seen right before a tooth erupts and will resolve on its own.

Allowing your child to chew on a cold wet cloth, a baby chewing toy, or a popsicle, and verbal reassurance, will help your child. It is not advised to use things like Oragel as the oral cavity in children often has so much saliva that the medication is mostly swallowed and does not have the desired numbing effect.

Don’t worry, this is very normal! Adult teeth usually erupt behind the baby teeth. The tooth will eventually make its way more forward to take a better position. Sometimes, it may not move as forward as you would like (to make the teeth look completely straight), and the teeth may need orthodontic treatment for better alignment.

The pediatric dentists at LUMIA DENTAL KIDS recommend that children have their first orthodontic evaluation by the age of 7. When some of the permanent teeth have erupted into the mouth, we can assess the teeth and jaws with a panoramic x-ray to evaluate developing dentition.  Early evaluation allows for timely detection and orthodontic referral of potential problems and a greater opportunity for more effective treatment. Concerns that may warrant an early referral could include but are not limited to early or late loss of baby teeth, difficulty in chewing or biting, mouth breathing, thumb sucking, crowded or misplaced teeth, and jaws that shift or make sounds.

SDF or silver diamine fluoride is frequently used in pediatric dentistry to treat dental sensitivity, slow down cavity progression, and potentially stop cavities in the most ideal situations. This treatment is a minimally invasive, painless, cost-effective, and quick treatment. Because of its unique features, SDF is the perfect medicament to help manage early childhood cavities in young and fearful children. It is especially helpful for the special needs community and children who are neurodivergent.

SDF is carefully applied by the pediatric dentist in two visits, at least two weeks apart, with a small dental brush tip. Application takes about one minute per tooth surface. Over time, lesions that have had SDF applied will turn blackish in color showing the uptake of the medicament into the cavity. Once it is assured that pain and infection are not present, the tooth can be restored with a more definitive and esthetic tooth-colored restoration.

Having SDF in our toolbox allows us to perform completely painless, non-invasive, and conservative early intervention and buy some time so that little ones can avoid pain and discomfort at a young age. This will allow time to pass for the child to grow older, developing the ability to sit in the dental chair for an atraumatic restoration and protect their developing psyche.

Fluoride exists in all natural bodies of water. For decades, fluoride has been used a type of dental medicine that is applied to the enamel surfaces to help strengthen and remineralize them. This helps prevent or reduce cavities, chipping/wear, erosion, and sensitivity. In fact, clinical studies have shown that enamel that has been treated with fluoride is much stronger than enamel that has never been treated with fluoride.

If your child is drinking New York City water, they do not need to take fluoride tablets. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry provides guidelines on fluoride supplementation. Your LUMIA DENTAL KIDS pediatric dentist will recommend the amount of fluoride that is appropriate for the specific child.

A rice-size smear of fluoride toothpaste is recommended to children before they are able to spit out on their own, which happens around the age of 3 for most children.

Cavities are preventable, and according to the CDC, fluoride varnish treatment applied by a dentist can help prevent a cavity by about one-third (33%) for children. According to the AAPD (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) guidelines, fluoride application by the dentist is recommended twice per year. We, of course, respect your decision on treatment for your child, so please let us know if you would like to have a conversation about it.

Sealants are a protective coating applied to the permanent molars (or any other primary or permanent tooth with anatomy especially at risk for developing cavities). Sealants are applied without any drilling performed on the tooth therefore not requiring local anesthesia and is a quick and easy treatment. Sealants protect and cover the deep grooves and crevices of the top of the tooth, preventing sticky, carbohydrate-rich foods from sticking on teeth and causing cavities.