Children Dentistry
in Hobsonville
As dental professionals we believe in preventive dental care and encourage our patients to bring their children to the practice from an early age. Regular check-ups from an early age will ensure children don’t suffer from untreated dental decay, which can have devastating effects on their growing dentition. Regular check-ups can also help to spot potential developmental issues with children.
- Thoroughly examine your teeth, gums and mouth.
- Fluoride applications are a proven method to help guard your child’s growing teeth from developing decay. The fluoride is painted onto the surface of the teeth, helping to mineralise them.
- Tooth-coloured fissure sealants can be applied to the biting surfaces of children's teeth to prevent decay.
- Studies have shown that the younger your child is when attending their first dental appointment, even if just for a check-up, the more likely they are to have a positive experience and to grow up unafraid of the dentist. Our team will take special care of your child to make them feel listened to and cared for.
- Treating a child from a young age also allows the dentist to spot early signs of underbites, cross bites or overbites developing. As with most dental problems, the sooner you can start to treat it, the quicker it can be resolved.
- Helps with the development of healthy teeth and gums.
- Reduces the risk of developing tooth decay and reduces need for fillings.
- Helps reduce fears or phobias of the dentist by becoming accustomed to visiting the dentist at an early age.
The grooves (fissures) and pits on the biting surfaces of children's teeth can be particularly at risk from dental decay. A fissure sealant is a plastic coating which, when applied to these grooves and pits, can protect them from decay.
Fissure sealants and sealant restorations are applied to the permanent back teeth (the molars and premolars). Deciduous teeth (milk teeth) are not normally treated. If a small amount of decay has already occurred in part of a groove the decay must be removed. Provided the resulting cavity is small, a sealant restoration can still be used to fill the hole and seal the remaining grooves.
Not all back teeth need sealing. Where the grooves and pits are particularly deep, or a child has already experienced dental decay in one of their adult back teeth, or their milk teeth have been severely affected by decay, then fissure sealants are indicated. Sealants are usually applied as soon as the permanent back teeth come through (from around six years of age), provided the child is old enough to tolerate the procedure.
Where early decay is spotted on the biting surface of a child's permanent back tooth then a sealant restoration may be appropriate.
Fissure sealing on decay-free teeth is a completely painless process and will not require anaesthetic.
The tooth is polished, washed and dried before being conditioned with a special etching gel. Once etched, it is essential that the tooth surface does not become moistened with saliva before the procedure is completed. As this can be difficult to prevent, a rubber sheet is sometimes applied around the tooth to keep it free of saliva. The sealant is painted on to the prepared tooth surface and flows into the grooves and pits. The sealant is either clear or white in colour. An intense blue light is shone on to the sealant to make it set. This way the setting process takes as little as 20 seconds.
Where early decay is identified or suspected then the groove or pit must first be widened with a small drill. The amount of decay present determines whether a local anaesthetic is needed; very shallow cavities can normally be prepared painlessly without anaesthetic. Once any decay has been removed the procedure for a sealant restoration is the same as for a fissure sealant, though an underlying layer of tooth-coloured filling material is also required.
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Hobsonville Point Dental Family?
