Pediatric Dentist

At what age should I bring my child to the pediatric dentist for the first time? We are asked this a lot, and the answer is “1 year or 6 months after they get their first tooth.” Why so early? Two reasons:

1. Prevention and parent education—from age 6 months to 2 years, your child is in what is called “the window of infectivity” during which they are developing all the bacteria they will have in their mouth for the rest of their lives! Therefore, we want to help you foster good habits at the earliest age to prevent problems in the future.

2. Child’s comfort—the sooner they become comfortable visiting our office, sitting in the chair and letting us peek in their mouth, the easier each subsequent visit will be. We want them to like it here!

Now, you are not a “bad parent” if your child is older than this and has not yet been to the pediatric dentist, but we encourage you to make their first appointment soon. Stop by for a complimentary happy visit to introduce yourself and your child to our office!

There are many types of sedation that can be used to help make your child comfortable during a dental procedure. Our trained team partners with you to determine the best, most cost-effective and appropriate one for treating your child, should sedation be required.

We are committed to doing everything possible to make your child’s visit to the pediatric dentist a great experience. To help us create a comfortable environment and prepare for their visit, we have several resources and recommendations.

Special Needs Coordinator

Prior to your child’s visit, our special needs coordinator will offer to do a “comfort call” to learn more about your child’s personality, challenges, likes/aversions, etc. This allows us to prepare the space, the assistants, the doctor to help your child feel at ease. We can also send them a storyboard to review prior to the visit.

Sensory Rooms

Because many of our patients are sensory seekers or avoiders (including Dr. Todd’s son who has been diagnosed with autism and SPD), we have created two rooms with different sensory “options” targeting each of the 5 senses–sight (light, color, visual distractions), sound (music, headphones, “white noise”), smell (diffusers with relaxing or neutralizing scents), touch (memory-foam booster, weighted blanket, sensory “toys”), and taste (chewlry, different fluoride and varnish flavors). We will work with you to make sure we set things up appropriately for your child and do what we can to make your child most comfortable.

Special Training

We welcome ALL children to our office, but have a special place in our hearts for those that struggle with different challenges. Our doctors and assistants have received special training to help them understand how to best treat children with a variety of disabilities and special needs. They also meet regularly with therapy providers and other specialists to make sure they continue to provide the best experience possible for you as a parent and your extra-special child.

Should you have a dental emergency, please call our office ASAP.  If after hours, you will be instructed to leave a message for the on-call doctor who will be paged right away.

Often, parents aren’t sure what constitutes an emergency or ask us questions about what to do immediately following the incident.  Below are some of the most common injuries/emergencies and appropriate responses.

• Permanent tooth knocked out:  for the best long-term result, re-implant the tooth into the socket it was knocked out of.  Do not touch the root and be careful cleaning the tissue.  If you cannot put it back in, keep the tooth moist in room-temperature milk and bring it with you.  Getting the tooth stable is our primary objective.
• Baby tooth knocked out:  Do NOT re-implant it.  It is time for the tooth fairy!  Re-implantation could potentially damage the permanent tooth and we don’t want that to happen.
• Tooth knocked loose or hit out of place (permanent or baby):  Try to move the tooth back into its original place gently and do your best to secure it.  Call the office ASAP to triage.
• Open wounds:  Rule of thumb—if you have an open wound inside the lips, call us.  If it is outside the lips, we will recommend you contact a plastic surgeon.  Outside the lips is outside our area of expertise.  However, either way, we are happy to help you triage what to do and encourage you to contact us immediately.
• Pain or swelling:  We encourage you to call us right away if your child is experiencing pain or swelling.

Just so there are no surprises, please note that there may be an after-hours fee if it is necessary for a team member to come in to treat your child when the office is closed.