Preventive Dental Care For Children in Indianapolis

Our entire, kid friendly pit crew here at Speedway Pediatric Dentistry in Indianapolis is extremely passionate about making sure all of our families are well educated and equipped in all aspects of preventative dental care. It is extremely important that you don’t wait until there is a problem or a toothache before coming to see us. By the time a tooth is telling your child that there is a problem, it can be past the point of a simple solution. Children can pick up bad snacking or hygiene practices that can cause serious damage to their oral health in less than 6 month periods. Parents who immediately implement our preventative care methods, in conjunction with regular check ups and cleanings from the first year of their child’s life, have been able to avoid major procedures. In the end, being diligent from the very beginning will not only save you time and money, but will also help your child avoid painful and uncomfortable dental procedures.

“The toothbrush won’t remove six months of tartar 30 minutes before your appointment!”

Sealants

Many children have deep pits and grooves in their teeth, which increases the possibilities of getting cavities, or tooth decay. Nothing can help your child more than maintaining daily hygiene and healthy diet practices. However, one way that we can help prevent cavities is by placing dental sealants. The tooth is simply cleaned and our sealant material is allowed to flow into these susceptible areas and harden. It is a quick and painless procedure. This prevents bacteria, food particles and plaque from getting trapped in the deep grooves. Without the sealant, these areas are particularly difficult to clean with a toothbrush alone, leaving even the most diligent of parents and children finding it impossible to keep cavities away. We have found this to be a simple way to prevent our young patients from getting cavities.

Regular Fluoride Treatments...

Another effective way to prevent cavities (tooth decay) from occurring and help weakening teeth to remineralize (strengthen) is by getting regular fluoride treatments. Fluoride is already provided systemically through food, water and most toothpaste. Our application is a mostly topical interaction between the teeth and our fluoride varnish. This easy, affordable and painless procedure doesn’t take long, but the benefits are long lasting. We highly recommend that children have this done from the early years, all the way through their teenage years and in other case-specific situations. Statistically, if your child gets regular fluoride treatments, their risk for getting cavities decreases by thirty percent. This is significant when you are considering the overall health and cost of dental disease for your child. Rest assured, we are always on the lookout for the latest and greatest technology and procedures that are at our disposal to ensure that your child is as healthy and comfortable as possible.

We encourage a healthy Diet...

Invisible germs called bacteria live in your mouth all the time. Some of these bacteria help form a sticky material called plaque on the surface of the teeth. When you put sugar in your mouth, the bacteria in the plaque gobble up the sweet stuff and turn it into acids. These acids are powerful enough to dissolve the hard enamel that covers your teeth. That’s how cavities get started. If you don’t eat much sugar or clean your mouth immediately after, the bacteria can’t produce as much of the acid that eats away enamel.

Eating healthy and nutritious snacks are not only good for your overall health, but a few of of them can actually help your teeth while you are eating them! Eating raw fruits like apples, pears, pineapple and oranges are great examples of healthy fruits that provide less food for bacteria. Raw vegetables like broccoli, celery, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes are also really good you and your teeth!

Sugary snacks taste so good — but they aren’t so good for your teeth or your body. The candies, cakes, cookies and other sugary foods that kids love to eat between meals can cause tooth decay. Some sugary foods have a lot of fat in them, too. Kids who consume sugary snacks eat many different kinds of sugar every day, including table sugar (sucrose) and corn sweeteners (fructose). Starchy snacks can also break down into sugars once they’re in your mouth. We know it is hard to keep kids away from these foods, especially when being used as a reward, but minimizing snacking on damaging foods to mealtime and excellent oral hygiene practices can minimize damages. This will keep your children able to eat comfortably and wanting to smile all the time!