Pediatric Dentistry of Redlands

Your children’s teeth are an important resource.   Teeth allow a child to consume foods that are tough in texture, protect against jaw problems and help with digestion. Taking care of their teeth can be difficult and requires consistent care. If you can answer yes to these 4 important questions, your children are safely on the right track to keeping a smile that lasts a lifetime. 1.      Do they brush 2x a day? Brushing helps remove food from the surface of the teeth. If food is left on their teeth for long periods of time it turns into bacteria and eventually plaque. Plaque is a hard film that covers their teeth and cause cavities. 2.      Do they floss 1x a day? There is only one way to remove food from between the teeth and that is flossing. Dr. Cameron Fuller says, “Flossing can be a difficult habit to learn, starting young can make the process easier.” Doing something everyday can turn flossing from a chore to a healthy habit. 3.      D

Lip and tongue-ties can be difficult for your child and can impact not only the comfort of breastfeeding but also their speech, impact their ability to clean their mouths properly and can cause problems that impact them for a long time. But once you have the procedure there are also important steps that need to be taken to help the oral wound heal properly. It also limits the need to have a procedure completed again because oral wounds heal quickly. After the procedure has been completed, Pediatric Dentist Dr. Fuller will want you to complete stretches that are done everyday for the first 7-10 days.   This may not be enough time and it may be necessary to continue the stretches for 3-4 weeks. Stretches should be done soon after the 2 nd breastfeeding session. The stretches should only be done for about 3-5 seconds each. You will want to make sure your hands are clean before you begin this procedure to decrease the risk of infection. A little bit of

When your son or daughter visits the dentist it can be scary for them, especially if they are in pain and require a more extensive dental procedure. While the pain and procedure may be scary to your child, the cost may be making you sweat. Prior to having your child get a pulpotomy or root canal read this article to know if they really need one. Here are 3 reasons why your child may need a pulpotomy. When first presented with the problem, you may think your child’s tooth is going to fall out anyway. If they are going to lose the tooth, do they really need a root canal? Removing a child’s tooth can cause problems with speech and eating later on. This procedure can save the tooth and allow your child to resume normal eating patterns. If the cavity in the tooth is large and the decay is causing pain, the root needs to be cleaned out in order to remove the problem. Decay left in the tooth will continue to create pain and problems for your child. Decay le

Being a parent is complicated and there are always problems that you face. You do need to worry about their teeth also. Here are 10 tips from Dr. Fuller that can help you keep their teeth in tip-top shape. 1.      Have them brush regularly. Brushing 2x a day can prevent cavities and problems from becoming worse. 2.      Floss 1x a day. There is no other way to remove food from between their teeth. 3.      Avoid sugary foods. The higher the sugar content, the higher the risk of dental decay. 4.      Visit the dentist regularly. Regular dental visits can prevent any problems from becoming worse. 5.      Have x-rays taken when you schedule your visits. X-rays help the dentist to see if there are any problems they can’t see visually. 6.      Use fluoride. Fluoride prevents decay and helps to strengthen the enamel. 7.      Increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables have a higher water concentration. Water helps to r

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and we are here to give you tips and tricks to making sure your child has the healthiest smile, one that will last a lifetime. While it is no secret that a child needs to brush and floss their teeth, Dr. Fuller suggests, “They also need to visit the dentist regularly in order to catch any problems early on.” There is more to having a healthy smile then just brushing and flossing. This month help your child establish other healthy habits to keep their smile on the up and up. It can take a lifetime to break bad habits, so the earlier you can start, the more likely your child has of implementing habits that will last a lifetime. So, what you can you do to help your child’s smile besides brushing and flossing? Have them eat healthy foods, ones that have higher water content. During times where your child can’t brush their teeth, having them consume food that has a higher concentration of water will

It can be easy to justify only having your child brush 1x a day. You may think that food can’t stay on the teeth, or that they eat enough fruits and vegetables that are high in water concentrate and can remove food to decrease decay. This is not the case however, the longer food stays on the teeth and mixes with sugar, the more likely a cavity has to form. Even if your child consumes breakfast and then brushes there is still bacteria that stays in the mouth all the time. "Once your child has then eaten a snack, lunch and dinner there is now twice as much food stuck to their teeth," says pediatric dentist Dr. Cameron Fuller . This opportunity creates a breeding ground of potential problems for your child. Brushing 2x a day, helps to limit these problems. Brushing removes food from the surface of the teeth. Food that is left mixes with bacteria and becomes plaque. Plaque is a sticky substance that adhers to the teeth, and can then not be remo

When your children hit the teenage years, it can be difficult to investigate and find out where the most recent smell is coming from, but if you notice their breath smells worse then normal it may be a problem going on in their mouth that requires further investigation. Here are five of the most common problems that occur to cause bad breath in teenagers. 1.      It could be the food they are consuming. Onions, garlic or coffee are some of the foods that cause the worst problems. Simply avoiding these foods or chewing on a piece of sugarless gum after consuming these foods may help. If not it may be necessary to brush your teeth immediately after eating these foods. 2.      Dry mouth. "Teenagers need to drink plenty of water to avoid their mouth feeling dry," says Dr. Fuller . Dry mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria that can lead to problems with bad breath. Saliva is necessary in order to moisten their mouth and keep bacteria under con

Looking in your child’s mouth can share intricate details not only about their overall health but the health of their smile. When our smiles are not in great shape it can cause problems in the rest of the body. By taking care of decay, dental pain, broken or chipped teeth you ensure your child is the healthiest they can be. Here are 3 problems you may see or smell that let you know you need to visit the dentist. 1.      If your child is plagued with bad breath, even after they brush, this signifies there is something more going on. While it may be something as simple as changing up the diet, halitosis in children may mean they have decay that when not treated could lead to other problems. Halitosis is sometimes caused when your child has a foreign object lodged in their nose which then drains into their mouth. Dr. Fuller says, “If your child has bad breath and there doesn’t seem to be other dental concerns, this might be something to consider further.”