Mother’s Q&A

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that it is stopped by the age of 3 to avoid speech and dental related problems.  If your child continues this behavior and you are unable to keep them from doing so, your dentist can create an appliance that can help.  Please call 317-336-8478 (DENTIST) with any questions you might have about this device.

This is a question I get a lot. With the new school year starting it is important to get the facts about mouthguards.  The truth is there is actually a big difference between the two types of mouthguards.  A mouthguard should be worn for any contact sport (football, soccer, wrestling, basketball, etc).  The ones sold in stores are stock mouthguards and may not correctly conform to your child’s mouth.  The mouthguard provides protection by conforming to the teeth and having a certain level of thickness.  If the mouthguard does not conform to the teeth then your child will have to bite on it to keep it in place.  Biting on the mouthguard can interfere with the athlete’s breathing, therefore, interfering with sports performance.  If the mouthguard is too thin then it will not protect the teeth adequately. Stock mouthguards can also be very bulky.  Avoid trimming them because in doing so you further reduce the protective coverage.

Custom ones made by your dentist conform to your child’s teeth.  They provide superior protection and retention so breathing and thus athletic performance is not impaired. Their thickness is customized based on the sport and level of protection that is needed for that sport.  Although mouthguards made by your dentist cost more they provide a superior level of protection, they are more comfortable increasing the chances that your child will wear it, they are custom made, and they last longer.

Your child should see a dentist when he/she has their first tooth or by his/her first birthday.

This is very common.  Sometimes the baby teeth will be pushed out of the way by the adult tooth as it comes in the mouth, however, sometimes the baby tooth gets stuck in there.  When this happens it can make it very difficult to remove the tooth without the help of your dentist.

When your gums bleed it is a sign that you have inflammation. This could be gingivitis or it could be a sign of gum disease.  In order to determine if you have gum disease it is important to see your dentist.  Your dentist will need to take x-rays and measurements in order to determine if gum disease is present.  Although you cannot cure gum disease you can stabilize the disease and decrease the chance that you will lose teeth due to this disease process. You along with your dentist will come up with a plan and hygiene routine.

He/she only drinks milk and juice.  Although juice contains a lot of water it also contains a lot of sugar.  There is also a significant amount of sugar in milk as well.  Children should have milk or juice with meals and water in between meals.  Children should never be allowed to walk around with milk or juice in a bottle or sippy cup. If you have questions about this call us and make an appointment 317-336-8478 (DENTIST).

• A 12 oz serving of Coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar
• 12 oz serving of orange juice has 8 teaspoons of sugar
• 12 oz serving of apple juice has 10 tsp of sugar
• 12 oz serving of grape juice has 15 tsp of sugar
• 12 oz serving of milk has 6 tsp of sugar

Any toothbrush will work, however, there are certain guidelines you should follow:

• It should have soft bristles.
• It should be a size that fits your child’s mouth.  Most toothbrushes have the age recommendation on the toothbrush packaging.
• Replace your toothbrush every 3 months.
• If you have gum disease, be sure to replace it every 4-6 weeks.
• Replace your toothbrush after you have gotten over a cold.
• Electric toothbrushes have been proven to be more effective. This is typically due to the fact that most electric toothbrushes have timers to increase compliance and the toothbrush spins.  A manual toothbrush can be effective as well, but you must know how to brush properly.  The key is to brush in a circular motion.  We would be happy to show you this technique just call 317-336-8478 (DENTIST).

Do not place the tooth back in the mouth because doing so could damage the adult tooth.  See your dentist.  If the tooth is lost too early, space maintenance might be required to save room for the adult tooth.

The best thing to do is to reimplant the tooth (place it back into the socket).  The tooth will have the best success is if the tooth is placed back into the socket within 5 minutes.  If there is debris on the tooth take care to hold the tooth by the crown and not by the root and then gently rinse the tooth off with water or milk.  If you are unable to place the tooth into the socket it is best to store the tooth in milk.  DO NOT store in water.  Follow-up with your dentist immediately in either case as the tooth might require additional treatment.