Preventative

Preventative dental care encompasses the treatments and services designed to prevent oral health problems from developing (or worsening if issues are already present). Preventive dentistry focuses on maintaining good oral health, teaching healthy oral hygiene habits and techniques, and helping young patients establish a solid foundation of oral health to support proper development and growth.

Why We Focus on Preventative Dental Care for Children

At Expedition Pediatric Dentistry, we strongly emphasize preventative care for all of our patients because it is essential not only to their current health but also to their future health. When you make a small cut in the bark of a pine tree sapling, it grows into an adult tree with a large mark on its trunk. Similarly, oral health problems that begin in childhood can have big consequences in adulthood.

To help our young patients optimize their oral health for their childhood and their future, we provide a well-rounded menu of preventative care services designed to help patients achieve good oral health, detect and treat oral health problems early, and develop healthy habits around dental care that they can carry into adulthood.

Our Top Preventative Dental Care Services

We're proud to provide our patients with well-rounded preventative care services and treatments, including:

Plaque and Calculus Control

During every routine dental examination, our dental hygienists use pediatric-sized tools, a gentle touch, and special techniques to scale and polish each patient's teeth. Dental prophylaxis (professional teeth cleaning) is designed to remove plaque and tartar to control the buildup and accumulation of calculus. This essential preventative care service helps to prevent tooth decay, cavities (dental caries), and gum disease (periodontal disease).

Cavity Risk Assessment

Each routine dental appointment also includes an examination and cavity assessment performed by our dentist. Dr. Miller carefully inspects each of your child's teeth for signs of tooth decay (enamel weak spots) and dental caries (cavities).

Dr. Miller will also talk with you about your child's oral hygiene routine, health history, and diet to help provide you with an accurate assessment of your child's risk for developing cavities. Depending on her findings, she will provide you with a recommended preventative care plan to help address any existing tooth decay and dental caries and prevent them from developing in the future.

Topical Fluoride Varnish

We recommend the application of a topical fluoride varnish following a professional teeth cleaning and examination. This varnish contains highly concentrated fluoride that helps to strengthen your child's tooth enamel by replenishing the minerals that can be dissolved and decayed by the acids in the foods we eat and produced by the harmful bacteria that live inside the mouth.

Topical fluoride applications can help to reverse the early stages of tooth decay and also prevent cavities from developing. It can also help to address tooth sensitivity experienced by some young patients.

Dental Sealant Applications

We recommend the application of dental sealants on all permanent molars which have naturally deep crevices. Dental sealants are designed to fill these crevices, creating a smooth surface that is easy to keep clean with brushing while protecting the chewing surfaces of molars from tooth decay.

Sealants are made from tooth-colored composite resin, the same material that is often used to fill cavities. The application process is quick, simple, and painless, and it can be performed during your child's routine dental appointment. We simply use a small brush to paint the resin onto the surface of a tooth and a special light to cure the resin. Once the resin has set (after a couple of minutes), we can smooth and adjust the dental sealant to ensure your child's bite feels comfortable.

Topical Silver Diamine Fluoride

We also offer topical applications of silver diamine fluoride to address some dental cavities. Silver diamine fluoride arrests decay and stops cavities from worsening. Silver diamine fluoride is highly effective at treating dental cavities.

However, we only recommend it in certain cases because it leaves behind a dark spot where it has treated a cavity. For this reason, we usually only recommend treating cavities with silver diamine fluoride on baby teeth, areas of the mouth that are not visible, or for a child who cannot tolerate lengthier cavity treatment with traditional drilling and filling.

Patient Education

An essential aspect of preventative care for children is education. We work with children at all stages of development to help them learn good oral hygiene habits and care techniques. This includes age-appropriate discussions about brushing and flossing in addition to conversations about how dietary choices can impact oral health, how oral health can impact general health, and more.

Embark on a Dental Adventure with Comprehensive Pediatric Dental Care in Bellevue, Washington

At Expedition Pediatric Dentistry, we make dental care fun and accessible for all of our patients. We provide children with comprehensive preventative care and education, in addition to restorative treatments and special needs care.

To learn more about services or to request an appointment for your child, we welcome you to contact our pediatric dental office in Bellevue today. We look forward to working with you to help your child build a strong foundation of good oral health.

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