Exploring Dental Tool Improvements

Hi, it's Mia Armonde here to talk to you about family dentistry. As my small family grew into a large one, I found myself at the dental office on a regular basis. Every six months, the kids would go into the dentist for a cleaning or repairs to their teeth. During that time, I took an interest in the various ways the dental tools were evolving. Tools used in the dental industry have grown in leaps and bounds in the last few decades. For example, my kids went from hearing the dental drill to wearing headphones that completely canceled out the sound. Each time we go back into the dentist, I take a close look at the improvements that have arisen since the last visit. The results are astounding. I will cover my findings on this site, so you can also enjoy the improvements to dental tools and techniques.

The First Lost Tooth: Do's And Don'ts For Parents

Dentist Blog

You probably remember losing your first tooth when you were five or six years old. It's an entirely different experience when you are the parent and your child is the one losing their first tooth. This process usually goes more smoothly than parents expect, but just to ensure the experience is a good one, follow these do's and don'ts as your child loses their first tooth.

Do: Tell your child what is to come.

Your child is a lot less likely to be traumatized by the experience of losing their first tooth if they know what will happen. So, tell them as far in advance as possible that they will lose all of their baby teeth. Reassure them that this is normal; it happened to you, too. Explain that they need to get new, adult teeth that are bigger and better at chewing, and assure them that the tooth loss won't be painful.

Don't: Wiggle or encourage your child's tooth.

Your child might play with their loose tooth with their finger or tongue, and this is okay. You, however, should not play with the tooth. Your child will be able to tell when they need to stop wiggling the tooth based on pain and discomfort, but you can't made this judgment and are likely to put too much pressure on the tooth, causing your child pain.

Do: Celebrate the tooth loss in some way.

Whether or not you choose to engage in the tooth fairy tradition, at least take some time out to celebrate your child's first lost tooth as a rite of passage. That's really what the tooth fairy is about, after all. You might take your child to a special park to play, let them have a friend over, or even enjoy a special dessert together as a family in celebration.

Don't: Ignore a tooth that gets knocked out early.

Sometimes a child's tooth might get knocked out by accident (this is common when playing sports) rather than falling out of the mouth naturally. While it is okay to let your child think this is their first "lost tooth" to lessen the trauma of the experience, you should not deal with this in the same manner you would a tooth that was lost naturally. Do schedule a checkup with the dentist. Sometimes when a tooth is knocked out, some of the tooth material may be retained in the jaw bone, requiring careful removal by the dentist.

Contact a pediatric dentist at an office like Sunnyside Dentistry for Children for additional information.

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20 September 2017