Tips for Parents: Toothbrushing

Toothbrushing from Day One

Here at Hudsonville Dental, we encourage you to take care of your child’s teeth from day one.  Infant gums should be wiped with clean gauze after all feedings.  Once the first tooth has emerged, begin brushing your child’s teeth and gums with a soft bristled toothbrush and a little water.  Lots of new types of toothbrushes and safety brushes for infants and toddlers are available so experiment until you find the right one for you and your child.  When your child is able to hold the toothbrush and tries to brush themselves, supervise carefully and then brush again for them to make sure every surface has been brushed.  As they learn how to brush, begin using a pea-sized amount of toothpaste and teach them to spit out the toothpaste and rinse well with water.  Toddlers, and even infants who are teething, may enjoy the soothing vibrations of an electric toothbrush.  Select one with a smaller head made for young children.  Many even include timers so the brush turns off automatically when brushing time is over.  Help your child

build healthy teeth and healthy habits! 

Tips for Parents: Pacifiers and Thumb Sucking

Pacifiers and Thumb Sucking:

Sucking is one of a baby’s natural reflexes and serves to help them learn about their world, feel secure, calm themselves and can help them fall asleep.  Most children will stop thumb sucking or using a pacifier between the ages of two and four.  Once permanent teeth begin to emerge, sucking on a thumb or pacifier can cause problems with growth and alignment so encourage your toddler to use another item such as a blanket or favorite stuffed animal to soothe themselves.   

For more info on pacifiers, click here to visit our website!

www.hudsonvilledental.com

Tips for Parents: Bottles and Sippy Cups

Limit Bottles and Sippy Cups to Mealtimes!

Your baby’s teeth are important from day one.  To protect your baby’s smile, avoid giving your baby or toddler unlimited access to bottles and sippy cups.  As harmless as it may seem, allowing your child to drink from a baby bottle for too long can expose them to baby bottle tooth decay.  Infants should finish their naptime or bedtime bottle before going to bed, as liquids can pool in the mouth when babies are allowed to fall asleep with a bottle.  Fruit juice, milk and formula all contain sugar and when teeth are exposed to these sugars for a long time, decay can begin.

 

Most children are ready to learn to drink from a cup by their first birthday.  While sippy cups are a useful tool in helping children transition to the cup, they should only be used temporarily.  "No spill" cups contain a valve that does not allow the child to sip, but instead they must suck on the cup like a baby bottle.  This can defeat the purpose as it prevents the child from learning to sip.  Toddlers should also not be allowed to carry the

training cup around, as there is a risk of injury to the mouth if the child falls while walking and drinking at the same time.  Once the child has learned how to sip, the switch

to a regular cup can be made. 

For more information, visit our website at www.hudsonvilledental.com

Your Child’s Baby Teeth Are Important!

Your Child’s Baby Teeth Are Important!

February is National Children's Dental Health Month and we want to make sure your child develops a happy, healthy smile!

It is just as important to take care of your child’s primary (baby) teeth as it is to take care of
the permanent teeth that follow.  

Primary teeth are important for proper chewing and digestion of food.  They also help
your child to learn to speak properly and have a good-looking smile.  Primary teeth serve
as space maintainers to save room your child’s permanent teeth.  When a baby tooth is
lost too early, other teeth may drift into the empty space left behind and cause problems
such as overcrowding and crooked teeth when adult teeth emerge.  

Decay in baby teeth can be just as painful to your child as decay in an adult tooth.  If a
child is suffering pain from decaying primary teeth, it may result in improper speech,
dietary problems or trouble concentrating in school.  Millions of valuable school hours
are lost each year to children due to tooth decay.

Your child can have a healthy mouth for a lifetime!

visit www.hudsonvilledental.com or
www.smilemichigan.com for more info.

Why do we take so many pictures?

At my office, we are constantly using intraoral cameras to photograph the condition of your teeth.  We use a small, handheld wand-like camera that can take digital pictures of a single tooth or an area of your mouth.  The digital photos are then viewed on a computer screen, so we can show you what we see in your mouth. 

We use cameras for a number of reasons.  First, we use the cameras during your hygiene appointments to show you how well you are doing with your regular homecare.  We can then show you what areas you need to focus on more while brushing. 

Next, we use the intraoral camera to show you any potential problems we see.  The camera can show you a crack in a back molar, indicating that the tooth will need a crown before it breaks.  Cameras can also reveal cavities, lost fillings, and other mouth conditions that may be hard for you to see in the mirror. 

Intraoral cameras help us to diagnose problems in their early stages—which means we can catch problems earlier, resulting in less invasive treatment for you.  They also help us to diagnose the problem with you, so you aren’t left wondering where that mysterious crack in your tooth might be.  You will be able to see it for yourself!  We can then store the photo in your chart, where it is easily retrievable to monitor the tooth over time, or to submit to your dental insurance company to aid in the payment of a claim.  

FOOD DRIVE!

Hungry?

So many people here in West Michigan depend on the local food pantries.

That's why we've decided to host another food drive for Love Inc. here in Hudsonville.

We are welcoming any donations of non-perishable items between now and December 16.

All patients who donate will receive $10 towards their next dental visit!

Love INC has provided us with a brief list of their most needed items right now:

Potatoes

Peas and Carrots

Yams

Sauerkraut

Chili Beans

Pork and Beans

Lima Beans

Great Northern Beans

Chicken

Sloppy Joe sauce

Mushrooms

Condensed Milk

Mandarin Oranges

Shortening

Pancake syrup 

Raisin Bran Cereal

Chips

Cookies

Pop Tarts

Snack Cups

Hot Chocolate

Coffee

Tea Bags

Drink Boxes

Napkins

Tissues

Shampoo

Conditioner

Laundry Soap

All Purpose Cleaner

Photo of some of the food we collected at our last food drive.

Digital Impression Taking

Many of our patients have told me that they find the impression process uncomfortable as well, especially those with strong gag reflexes.  For those that haven’t had the experience, the dentist or assistant will place a tray full of wet putty in your mouth, ask you to breathe through your nose, and allow it to sit there for 8-10 minutes. 

The good news is that dental technology is advancing, and there is another way!  My patients were very excited when we incorporated new technology that could capture the impressions digitally. 

Instead of a goopy mess, the machine takes the impression using a compact, hand-held wand.  It takes a series of images of the teeth and puts it into a digital model.  This electronic model is then sent via a secure connection to the company headquarters, where it is milled into a traditional model.  The model is then sent on to our lab, who will make the crown or bridge. 

The process is also much faster.  Scanning the teeth usually takes 3-5 minutes for a crown, whereas the traditional method called for 8-10 minutes of putty in the mouth.  In addition, the digital impression creates an exact replica of what is in your mouth, so the crown or bridge is more precise and fits much more accurately!  This means your appointment times are shorter, so you can spend less time at the dental office and more time doing the things you really love!

If you would like to learn more, please visit us on the web at www.hudsonvilledental.com or call 669-6600 to make an appointment.