Children’s Teeth and Pregnancy

Children's Dentist Hawthorn, East Melbourne

Bliss Dentistry are proud to offer expert dental care for kids. When you need a Children's Dentists in Hawthorn, East Melbourne, you know you are in safe hands with the team at Bliss Dentistry.
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​The First Visit

Nowadays children have little to worry about when visiting the dentist. We like to see children when they are very young and it is helpful to bring them along when mum or dad have their own check-ups. It works well to take a few minutes of that appointment and let a young child have a ride in the chair often sitting on their parent's lap. Just letting the children play in dental room, watching mum or dad having a clean allows them to get used to the sights and sounds of the dental environment.

Some children, even as young as 18 months, will jump up on the chair and open their mouth for a quick look with no problem at all. Others may take three or four visits. This is why we prefer, if possible, to add them onto their parents dental appointment. This way no child  feels the pressure to "perform". The first visit should be fun and rewarding (literally!). Once we do get to have a look and clean their teeth then they are mostly always good patients in the future.

Children need regular check-ups to not only check on any dental decay but also jaw development. 

See our web page on Orthodontics
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Early Treatment

Early cavities can be treated very easily, often without the need for injections, and restored with tooth coloured materials. It is important to try and keep the baby teeth until they are due to fall out, as they help the path of eruption of the adult teeth and maintain jaw size and spaces. Early loss may cause the other teeth to move into the gaps and block out the un-erupted permanent teeth.
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Prevention

Fizzy sugary drinks can be a dental disaster. Many popular drinks are also quite acidic (popular sports drinks) and this causes not only decay but gross tooth erosion. Dummies used long term can cause a distortion in the shape of the jaws and if dipped in sugary mixes these also cause gross decay.

Tooth brushing is a gradually learned skill and most children are unable to do it properly without adult supervision. For very young children toothbrush shaped teething rings get them used to having something in their mouth. Gradually they can hold their own baby toothbrush and even if they just bite it, it can still help to get them into the habit of cleaning their teeth twice a day; after breakfast and before going to bed.

Most children under 10 are unable to use floss properly and generally they do not need to.

See our webpage on Gum Disease
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Accidents

See in our web page on Emergencies
It is rare to get through childhood without some tooth damage. Knocks on baby teeth can cause the tooth to darken, which is literally a bruise within the tooth. Most baby teeth have wide open ended roots and it is not unusual for these teeth to regain their colour 6-8 months later. However, we should check out the damage. In older children, when the front teeth are adult teeth, a knock may cause the tooth to die leading to the need for a root treatment. Again an x-ray will show up any damage needing treatment. Broken teeth can be restored in a number of ways.

See our web pages on Crowns and Veneers

If a tooth is knocked out it should be found and brought straight to the surgery. If this is not possible then it should be washed and either replaced into the socket or kept in water or milk.

Mouthguards are essential wear in any contact sports including basketball, soccer and football. Well fitted mouthguards have saved many patients from severe tooth damage or loss. Unless the mouthguard is fitting properly then they most likely will not be worn. Impressions will need to be taken to make a new mouthguard and parents should expect that as the child grows, mouthguards will need to be changed.