Dental Services
9:00am-5:00pm M Tu W
Thurs-non clinical day
9:00am-4pm Fri
Opening times may vary so please call for appointments
We welcome children
CHILDRENS DENTISTRY
At what age should I take my child to the dentist?
Children should be taken to the dentist as early as possible, so that they can become familiar with the surroundings, and develop a connection with the dentist, long before any intervention is necessary. We encourage parents to bring their children in before they are 1year old.
Why do some children have more cavities?
For a variety of reasons some children will be more susceptible to decay. If there are several decayed teeth by the age of two then the likelihood of having problems with their adult teeth is high.
What can parents do about this?
* If you do not object to fluoride, then giving them extra fluoride, will reduce their susceptibility to decay by about half. Children up to six years of age who are free of cavities should just use a pea-sized amount of low-fluoride toothpaste (around 500 parts per million--check the ingredients section of your toothpaste)
* Sealing the fissures of the adult molar teeth as they come through can help. This involves painting a plastic coating on the permanent molars where deep groves which cannot be reached with a toothbrush occur.
* Limiting the number of times children eat sugary foods or have sweet drinks is a very effective way of reducing tooth decay,
* Brush the teeth twice a day.
It is some time before any new vaccine would make problems of tooth decay a thing of the past
Do baby teeth need to be filled?
YES. There is a widespread belief that baby teeth do not need to be filled. This is completely untrue. If the cavity in baby teeth, isnt filled the decay will worsen and cause pain. Baby teeth are small and hence there is less space between the outer enamel and the nerve, and therefore the decay can progress very quickly into the nerve of the tooth causing an abscess and unnecessarily complicated treatment.
In a few cases where there is no pain and the baby tooth is going to fall out naturally within six months the decay can simply be monitored.
Amalgam fillings are the subject of enormous controversy. Some experts are concerned that mercury may leak out of the fillings and accumulate in the body tissues. It is for this reason that we do not place amalgam fillings in the teeth of children.