Keep Kids Healthy With the Family Dentist

What makes a family dentist unique is the role that we get to play for generations of your family’s life by influencing your oral health. For us, the ultimate goal is that our patients have strong, healthy teeth and as such very little need of medical interventions. If there were a way we could get all our families healthy enough to only visit us for annual cleanings, we would be delighted. However, we are fully aware that there are challenges with each age group in the family, and more importantly that these challenges change over the course of time. As such, for younger children, we have adopted the philosophy that the family that brushes together visits the dentist less. Perhaps it seems counterintuitive, but for us, as your family dentist, the ultimate goal is to have you with healthy enough teeth that you only come see us for routine work. 

The earlier we can become involved in your children’s oral health care, the sooner we can start to have a positive impact on their teeth. As soon as a child has the first tooth break the surface, they can come in and see a family dentist. This allows us to get ahead of the curve on any potential challenges and also allows your child to get to know us as a friend an ally. This is especially important if you, the parent, are afraid of visiting the dentist. Building that trust and relationship with your child will help us get to the root of any major problems, should they develop, and have the confidence of your child that we are going to fix it without hurting them. Early childhood visits also allow us to work with you on best practices, making sure that we are in a partnership that will build strong, long lasting teeth for your children. 

As a family dentist, we hear a lot of concerns, from both parents and children. The one that comes up most frequently is the conflict between parents, and their kids, about brushing. Many children find the idea of brushing to be a difficult routine to adapt to while parents are eager to teach their children good habits. This is especially true for younger children, when the habit is just being taught though older children have been known to be rebellious about brushing as well. Brushing twice a day is an important part of oral health and hygiene for your children so we recommend finding ways that make it more fun for your younger children. One best practice that has been shared is to incorporate elements of story time into the brushing. Children love fantasy, and the idea, of the toothbrush turning into magical dragon or mystical fairy to take out the evil plaque goblins, is sure to appeal to them. Another element that can be used is technology. Since many electric brushes are not very expensive anymore, and since this generation is fascinated by technology, this might be an easy carrot to lure your child into more frequent tooth brushing.

An Implant Dentist Explains the Process After Surgery

As an implant dentist, we make it possible to restore any teeth that you have lost.  A dental implant offers you the ability to lead a normal life without worrying about missing teeth. The most complete way, of replacing a lost tooth, comes by way of an oral surgery, where we implant a metal post beneath the gums and secure it to the jawbone. The symbiosis between the implant and the jawbone, as well as the organic tissue, is critical to the success of your dental implant surgery, which is why recovery time is very important. Understanding that, regardless of how minor, dental implant surgery is, in fact, a surgical procedure is important for taking the time to recover fully.

Recovering from a dental implant surgery starts with time. As with any surgery, you are going to need a certain amount of allocated time for healing. For starters, when you come out of anesthesia you will need to let the effects wear off before being able to drive home. If you want to return home immediately following the surgery itself, you will need to ensure that you bring a designated driver with you or have someone pick you up. The overall recovery process will take several days, but you should be able to return to normal activities after the first 24 to 48 hours. We do recommend that you spend several days avoiding strenuous physical situations, like lifting heavy weights, for example so that you do not risk damaging the implant or tearing the stitches. 

The single largest risk when you have a surgery, including dental implant surgery, is the risk of an infection. Since there is an open wound, which is stitched up after the implant is in place, there is a chance of an infection setting in. We are fully aware of this and will take every step necessary to avoid any infection. Our first line of defense is to prescribe an antibiotic as a precautionary measure. As an implant dentist, we recommend starting the antibiotic the day after the surgery and will continue for several days. It is important that you fill the prescription in a timely manner and that you take the entire course of antibiotics. Since antibiotics can be harsh on the system, we recommend that you take the pill with a meal or follow it up with a glass of milk. 

As an implant dentist, we will give you a special rinse with which to wash the area around the dental implant. This medicated solution, when combined with salt water rinses, will help disinfect the site of the dental implant and go far to ensuring that there are no infections possible. You will need to rinse three or four times in a day. 

 Additionally, you need to avoid touching the implant. Since the fingers can carry external germ and bacteria to the site of the surgery, you should avoid touching the dental implant until it is completely healed. 

If you experience any discomfort during the healing process you can take an over the counter pain medication and use a cool compress to reduce the swelling.  You should also watch what you eat and stick to soft foods for a few days.