April is well-known for hi jinks and tricks on the very first day, the beautiful blossoms on trees signifying the end of the cold winter months, and dewy cool mornings, however, did you also know that April is also the national awareness month for Autism Acceptance?
What is Autism?
Autism, also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ‘refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication’, according to the Autism Speaks foundation.
It’s important to note that not all children or adults with autism present the same behaviors. Nevertheless, children with autism regardless of where on the spectrum they fall can struggle with tasks that require socialization, strange sounds, or new environments. A trip to the dentist for any child can come with challenges. In fact, in December we wrote an article specifically addressing the unfortunate truth that many children experience nervousness or anxiety about a trip to the dentist. Therefore, it is completely understandable that a child with autism may experience anxiety or fear of a trip to the dentist as well.
In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, we’re writing this article for the parents of children on the Autism Spectrum. We’ve written before about the added value of attending a pediatric dentist for all your children instead of a general dentist. Nevertheless, this article specifically addresses the autistic community and the important reasons why a pediatric dentist is the best option for dental care for your autistic child or teen.
Reasons Why You Should Take Your Autistic Child to a Pediatric Dentist
1. Pediatric dentists complete additional training specific to child development, child psychology, children with special needs, and specialized tools and techniques that better serve children. We aren’t suggesting our dentists did a special weekend seminar. In fact, pediatric dentists complete an additional two, sometimes three years of training compared to general dentists.
This additional training means that you can be confident of a few specific and vital points:
We are dedicated to a positive dental office experience for all children.
When selecting our chosen career paths, we choseto work, specifically, with children.
We care about the dental health of all children.
2. We offer sedation dentistry. This point is specific to our three office practices. Each of our pediatric dentists and their offices is fully equipped to provide three different sedation dentistry options: oral sedation, nitrous oxide, and intravenous sedation. Together our pediatric dentists have performed over 30,000 in-office sedation procedures. We understand that despite good communication, an office tour, and explanations of the tools and what purpose they serve some kids will struggle with the sensory experience or even the period of time required for them to sit still. Sedation dentistry is a helpful support to provide necessary dental treatments or complicated procedures in a manner that is less stressful for your child.
Tips for Your Trip to the Pediatric Dentist
Each child with autism is different and has different challenges and specialties. This is a varied list of ideas that may be appropriate for some but not all children on the spectrum. You are the expert when it comes to your child, we hope you can find something on this list that could be helpful.
1. Visit the office before the appointment and take pictures. It may be helpful for your child to visit the office without the pressure of the dental appointment on the same day. Let them sit in the waiting room and discover the atmosphere of it. Take some pictures of the waiting room and staff. Later, at home, show them the pictures and discuss.
2. Stop over at your local library and ask for books about the dentist. Libraries are a fabulous source of reading literature that may not pop up on a Google search. Ask your librarian about videos or music on the topic as well. You might be surprised by what they can find for you.
3. Prioritize and habituate dental hygiene at home. Our children form habits now that can stay with them forever. This applies to children on the spectrum as well. Are you fostering dental hygiene habits at home?
4. Role-play a trip to the dentist. Parents should practice being the patient as well as taking a turn as the dentist. Practice lying down and holding your mouth wide open. Purchase rubber gloves, and a small dental mirror from a nearby pharmacy for a more in-depth role-play experience.
5. Bring a comfort item to the appointment. There is nothing wrong with allowing your child their comfort item for a dentist’s office visit. Whether it be a blanket, a toy, a stuffed animal, or some other item of personal importance, we encourage it.
6. Lay the groundwork for a positive experience. Ask to visit with the pediatric dentist ahead of time. Share with the staff and the pediatric dentist your child’s diagnosis, and specifics about his or her behaviors, ability to communicate, and any sensitivities to lights or sounds.
7. Practice with visual sequencing cards (and bring them to the appointment). The National Museum of Dentistry put together a comprehensive guide for families with children on the spectrum. This guide covers topics supporting at-home dental hygiene, preparation for a trip to the dentist, and even includes visual sequencing cards that you can print and cut out. Find and download the guide, here.
Utah Pediatric Dentists Welcome Families with Autism
At Utah Pediatric Dentists, we welcome kids with special needs. Each of our dentists is dedicated, compassionate, loving father. Our support staff is selected because of their dedication to our mission and vision. We believe that all children have the right to healthy teeth and happy smiles.
Please call us and share your child’s diagnosis and needs. We will take the necessary steps to provide you and your autistic child with comfort, understanding, and compassion for a positive dental office experience.
This month we’re here to hit the topic of nutrition in light of the fact that March is the national nutrition awareness campaign. Nutrition is tightly bound to dental health in all of us, regardless of age. Nevertheless, in our children, the cyclical nature of nutrition and dental hygiene is perhaps of even higher importance on the grounds that the habits they form now and tastes that they develop now will have a lasting impact on their entire lives.
It’s no secret that sugary sweets and sodas are terrible for our bodies, they serve no nutritional value for our bodies. Moreover, they are horrible assailants on the enamel of our teeth. The enamel, which is the stronger than bone surface of our teeth, is unfortunately vulnerable to the very substance that we love to consume.
According to Lisa Bodnar, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences, “Children who are fed diets high in added sugars are more likely than children with lower sugar intakes to have a number of negative health consequences as they develop, including childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease and tooth decay.”
So, we know added sugars are the ‘big bad’ but that leaves much of food left unaccounted for. What should you be encouraging your kids to eat?
Recommended Healthy Snacks
Vitamin A, casein, calcium, and phosphorous are all nutrients that work to maintain, strengthen, and protect tooth enamel, while vitamin D works to help your body absorb calcium. Folic acid is another goodie that is essential for healthy gums. Here’s a quick list of foods that contain a few or all these nutrients:
Celery
Carrots
Spinach
Kale
Broccoli
Eggs
Milk
Yogurt
Cashews
Almonds
Peanuts
Apples
Pears
The majority of the foods on this list are crunchy in their natural state, and that is a positive and helpful aspect. These crunchy foods serve an additional benefit to the nutrients they provide by their deliciously crunchy nature; they help to clean your teeth while you eat. They will scrape along the enamel of your teeth and pull free the harmful bacteria and sugar that hide out in the valley and in-betweens of the teeth. Of course, they won’t replace the necessity of floss or routine brushing of the teeth, but they help all the same.
Nutrition Tips for Parents
So how can you help your little ones develop healthy eating habits that provide nutrition and flavor? Here’s six basic tips:
1. Control what is available in your home. You hold the power of the grocery list in your hand, literally. If you are committed to a nutritional menu of snacks and meals in your home for your family, then you can start by limiting the availability of unhealthy foods. It’s harder for your kids to eat junk foods as a snack when they aren’t even available in your pantry of cupboards.
2. Repetition is key. It’s not unusual whatsoever if your kids say they don’t like the taste of unsweetened foods. The entire food group of vegetables is constantly maligned considering it doesn’t possess the natural sweetness that its sister group fruits does. Brave parents, do not give up! Research shows that trying vegetables repeatedly can bear fruit (pardon the pun). Some experts say they need to try it 12 times, others say ten times will do the trick. Take heart from this, dear parents. Our children from infancy are biologically predisposed to not like the bitter flavors of vegetables. To overcome that disposition, repetition and patience is necessary.
3. Watch out for hidden sugars. Our food industry has cleverly moved to sugar-free and low sugar labels, but this doesn’t automatically mean you are buying what you think. Sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup, saccharin, aspartame may be found in the ingredients list in the tiny writing of these sugar-free labels. Perhaps the utmost surprising offender for this is yogurt. We generally consider yogurt to be a healthy breakfast or snack food. Nevertheless, it is often packed with sugar or sweeteners while frequently the low-fat options are the worst culprits. If you can’t hop on board with plain yogurt, look for yogurts with 10 grams or less of sugar per serving.
4. Switch to making your own smoothies and fruit juices. When we buy fruit juice in the supermarket, we may feel like we’re opting for a healthier drink juice for our kids instead of soda. Unfortunately, numerous fruit juices available are high in sugar just like their soda compatriots. Do you have a blender in the kitchen? You can create your own fruit juices or smoothies by simply combining washed fresh fruits (or plain frozen fruits) with milk or water in your blender.
5. Alter the typical party menu. Birthday parties and events always have a food and drink component. While it might identify your parties as different than those of your neighbors or friends, you can alter the menu to suit your nutritional goals. If you’re baking your own cake, consider reducing the amount of sugar you use in the recipe or using whole grain flour instead of the typical white flour. Offer your home-blended fruit juices or smoothies instead of soda or chocolate milk. Instead of plates of cookies and candies, offer plates of fresh fruits and crunchy vegetables.
6. Brush at least twice per day and floss once per day. You thought we wouldn’t mention this part? Dental health is directly linked to our overall health. As the American Dental Association says, ‘ Healthy mouth, healthy body’. While you’re working to instill healthy nutrition habits in your home, include dental hygiene habits as a part of it as well.
Is it Time for a Cleaning?
Have your kids had their first biannual cleaning of the year yet? Nearly all dental insurance plans cover biannual dental cleanings. Give us a call today to schedule your kid’s dental cleaning appointment!
Have you heard of lasers being utilized in pediatric dentistry? We aren’t talking about the red security alarm lasers that make the burning hiss sound in Mission Impossible movies when Tom Cruise is conducting international spy feats that boggle the mind. Instead, we’re talking about highly specialized, cutting-edge technology that is specifically designed for soft tissue procedures and treatments. These exceptional lasers are called CO2 lasers, carbon dioxide lasers, and they serve specific and important purposes in the world of pediatric dentistry.
Lasers have been a documented part of dentistry practice since the 1980s, although some sources indicate even as far back as the 1960s or 1970s. Certain dental procedures require cutting of the soft tissue, and lasers developed to be more accurate, less painful, and quicker to utilize than the traditional knife and scalpel.
In laser dentistry, there are basically three different types of lasers available. The dental diode laser, the erbium laser, and the carbon dioxide laser. The carbon dioxide laser has been used in dentistry procedures since 1991. In our pediatric dental offices, we have the carbon dioxide LightScalpel laser, and its use has helped countless children swallow, eat, and breastfeed more easily via lip and tongue tie releases, also known as frenectomies.
What is a Carbon Dioxide Laser?
The diode lasers are more common due to the fact that they are a more economical purchase for a practice. However, the diode laser tip will become white hot to burn the tissue for the procedure and is not particularly fast. A procedure for an upper lip tie can take anywhere from 60 seconds up to two full minutes.
Erbium lasers possess the capability to perform both soft tissue and hard tissue procedures, however, the bleeding that accompanies erbium laser use in a soft tissue procedure exceeds the accompanying bleeding when a carbon dioxide laser is used.
Carbon dioxide lasers work to cut soft tissue by vaporizing instead of burning. CO2 lasers vaporize the intended area and in conjunction coagulate the tissue, resulting in little to no bleeding, and work quickly to get the job completed. An upper lip tie procedure with the CO2 laser can be completed as quickly as 20 seconds. Treatments with the CO2 lasers are less invasive because they are quick and able to be incredibly accurate without disturbing the surrounding tissue, furthermore, they do not generate heat such as the diode lasers do.
For What Procedures Do We Utilize the CO2 Laser in Our Offices?
We employ the CO2 laser to perform a frenectomy. What is a frenectomy? A frenectomy is the name of the procedure we perform to release a lip tie or a tongue tie. This begs the questions, ‘what is a lip tie?’ and ‘what is a tongue tie?’
Take a moment to consider the anatomy of your mouth. Inside the top of your lip, and also the bottom of your lip, there is a thin flap of tissue that bridges your lip to the gum line. This is called the labial frenulum. Similarly, there is a thin flap of tissue connecting the floor of your mouth to the underneath of your tongue, this is referred to as the lingual frenulum.
The labial frenulum should be thin and have some stretch to allow your lips to puff out a bit. Additionally, a long and thin lingual frenulum allows the tongue the mobility necessary to swallow and move chewed foods around in our mouths. However, some of us are born with a labial frenulum or lingual frenulum that is short and/or tight which in turn impedes mobility and movement. To be clear, a short or tight labial or lingual frenulum isn’t automatically a problem. Nevertheless, if your baby is having trouble creating a proper latch for breastfeeding, or your toddler is experiencing difficulty with chewing and swallowing you should ask your pediatric dentist for a consult on the matter.
What is the Healing Process After a CO2 Laser Frenectomy?
The actual procedure is very quick, but we don’t just send you on your way with a pat on the back and well wishes. The healing process is quicker than it would have been with a diode laser or a scalpel, but here’s what you can expect:
You will observe a wound in the area where the frenulum was, typically in the shape of a diamond. This wound, over time, will reform a new frenulum that should be longer and allow greater mobility.
As you take note of the diamond-shaped wound, over the course of a few days it will form what is called a “wet scab”. The wound (wet scab) will turn white, yellow, and even a greenish color. Do not be alarmed by the green, this is not a sign of infection, merely the natural part of the healing process for a wound inside of the mouth.
You can expect the healing process to take a few weeks. We will remain with you every step of the way, providing wound management, and education about exercises for the lips and tongue post-procedure that enhance success. Call us today to schedule your child’s dental appointment at one of our three clinics in Bountiful, Taylorsville, or Herriman.
Are CO2 Lasers Safe?
Unequivocally, yes. Our LightScalpel CO2 Laser is FDA cleared for various dental laser surgeries including frenectomies. Thousands of parents in the South Davis County area, and from beyond have trusted us with their little ones to make this treatment as quick and painless as possible.
If you believe your child has a lip tie or tongue tie that is impacting their mouth motor functioning, give us a call! Our pediatric dentists are specially trained in the use of the CO2 LightScalpel Laser and compassionate to the concerns of parents. Come in for a consultation and we can discuss whether a frenectomy is an appropriate course of action for your child.
A major part of maintaining dental health for both kids and adults is prevention. Prevention encompasses the daily routines of brushing and flossing that are vital, and furthermore prevention includes biannual checkups and professional cleanings.
Unfortunately, the longer you put off trips to the dentist, the more likely your child is to need even more dental work. Is fear, anxiety, or dread preventing your kids from receiving the dental care you know they need? Sedation dentistry may be exactly what your child needs. Here, we’ve lined out the five major reasons why sedation dentistry can help your kids (all these reasons can be applied to adults suffering dental anxiety as well).
1. Sedation Can Quell a Sensitive Gag Reflex
The gag reflex is a protective instinct of our bodies. It serves to protect the airway from choking and help expel any food or substance that our body believes may be dangerous. While gagging has a natural learning curve as our children begin eating solid foods, some kids have a more sensitive gag reflex than others.
A sensitive gag reflex can inhibit even simple dental procedures such as a cleaning and make the experience deeply uncomfortable for your child and more time consuming because of the interruption and necessary moment for recovery. Even a low level of sedation can help suppress the sensitivity of the gag reflex thereby allowing your pediatric dentist and/or dental hygienist to work carefully and quickly with the minimum amount of discomfort for your child.
If you know or suspect that your child has a sensitive gag reflex, please tell us about it. We can inform you about available sedation options that are appropriate to address this concern.
2. Sedation Helps Dental Procedures Proceed More Quickly
We are committed to providing your child with a positive dental experience. We demonstrate that by the time and thought we invested in creating an inviting atmosphere in our offices, and selecting staff who love children and have completed the appropriate training and certifications to work in a pediatric dentistry. We spend time, gladly, to provide for the comfort and reassurance of your child while in our offices. This is our job and we do not begrudge the time necessary to ensure your child feels secure. Nevertheless, for children who are anxious, or who struggle to sit still for a procedure, sedation dentistry is typically a time saver. Sedation dentist will allow the procedure to move along smoothly with little to no disturbances or interruptions.
3. Sedation Can Have a Positive Side Effect of Anterograde Amnesia
You may be wondering why amnesia can be considered a positive side effect. For some kids the combination of fear and anxiety about a dental procedure in conjunction with the noises necessary for certain procedures is incredibly stressful. Anterograde amnesia is a desired outcome because it prevents the brain from constructing a memory of the procedure thereby precluding the potential for new fear to build on top of the existing fears.
4. Sedation Provides Relief from Pain
When your child is under sedation for a dental procedure, they literally will not feel any pain. Fear of pain is a major factor in both adults and children in regard to dental care avoidance and that is such a lamentable and avoidable truth. Our pediatric dentists have all completed years of extra training to provide dental care to children painlessly. If fear of pain is keeping your child from routine dental checkups and cleanings, please talk to us.
5. Sedation Dentistry Can Reduce Your Number of Office Visits
Using sedation for dental procedures can also reduce the number of visits necessary for your child. For example, some dental procedures are rather complex, and children, even teenagers can only sit still for long under their own power. When a complex procedure may need to be drawn out over a couple of days in order not to overly tax your child’s patience, instead we should discuss sedation options. Utilizing dental sedation will allow us to complete those complex procedures in one sitting, thereby eliminating the discomfort of a day or two of only a partially completed procedure. Another added benefit? It’s easier scheduling for parents as well; find one afternoon in your schedule instead of two in a row.
Sedation Dentistry is a Term that Encompasses Multiple Levels and Options
Each of our pediatric dentistry offices offers three different sedation dentistry options:
Oral Sedation (medicines prescribed by our pediatric dentists)
Nitrous Oxide (also known as laughing gas)
Intravenous Sedation
Oral Sedation is often (although not always) used in conjunction with nitrous oxide for an effect that allows your child to relax yet remain awake for the dental appointment. Intravenous sedation injects sedation directly to the blood stream, yet does not automatically indicate a deep sedation.
Sedation Dentistry is a Conversation for Your Pediatric Dentist
If you are interested in how utilizing some form of sedation dentistry can help your child have a better experience, please reach out. Each and everyone one of our pediatric dentists are specially trained and experienced in performing office sedation dentistry. Combined, they have completed more than 30,000 sedation procedures. Your child is in safe hands with us.
If your child suffers from anxiety or fear of the dentist, sedation dentistry could be the answer for your situation. For tips on how to address your child’s fears of the dentist, check out our recent article, ‘How We Help Kids Conquer Fear of the Dentist Office‘.
Schedule Your Kids’ Cleanings with Utah Pediatric Dentists
It’s a new year, and after the holiday crush, it’s an excellent time to get back on track with your kids’ dental care. Schedule a checkup at any of our convenient locations. Each office is staffed and equipped for dental sedation, so choose the location best for you and call us today!
February is the month of: candied chalky hearts, gummy jelly beans, valentines, romance, the disappearing and reappearing 29th (leap year), and children’s dental health awareness. How’s that for a bit of irony? In the month of the holiday that literally only celebrates love through chocolate and candy is also the month that as a nation, we take the time to focus our awareness and attention on the dental health of our youthful generations.
Children’s dental health awareness started as merely a day of observance, the 8th of February, by the American Dental Association (ADA) in 1949, and in 1981 it was lengthened to the entire month! Maybe as Valentine’s Day candy furor intensified over the years the entire month was decided upon as necessary to counter the cavity consequences?
Regardless of the motivation behind the month, as pediatric dentists in South Davis and the surrounding area, we love this topic. Our vision is to see happy and healthy smiles in all the children of our communities. That no child be prevented from receiving dental care due to fear, anxiety, cost, accessibility, or convenience. Knowing that, surely you aren’t surprised.
Every year, the ADA announces a theme for the month of awareness, and this year the theme is: ‘Sealants Make Sense’.
Sealants Make Sense
Dental sealants are an important part of children’s dental health that are a preventative measure taken primarily for children. Perhaps in part because they cannot be applied to any teeth that already have fillings, but also due to the fact that statistically cavities are still very common in children.
About 1 of 5 (20%) children aged 5 to 11 years have at least one untreated decayed tooth.1
1 of 7 (13%) adolescents aged 12 to 19 years have at least one untreated decayed tooth.1
Children aged 5 to 19 years from low-income families are twice as likely (25%) to have cavities, compared with children from higher-income households (11%).1
So, why do sealants make sense? On the grounds that cavities are more statistically likely to occur in your children’s teeth than yours (you are a routine tooth brushing and flossing adult, right?) sealants are an effective protection that is applied directly to the enamel of the tooth by covering and sealing to the tooth thereby preventing any lingering food or bacteria from causing decay of the enamel. The molars are the most frequent beneficiaries for sealants: owing to the pits, grooves, and fissures along the top that conduct the arduous and integral work of chewing and grinding up our food.
Those pits, grooves, and fissures are favorite hiding spots for bacteria, plaque, and bits of food. While it’s absolutely important that you teach your little ones the correct brushing technique, through the age of six, you really should also take a turn as well. Nevertheless, dental sealants are typically covered by most (although not all, sadly) dental insurance and dental health plans as a result of evidence based studies and clinical trials that have shown a staggering effect on reducing the risk of cavities.
Science Says Sealants Make Sense
Let’s explore a little further the aforementioned staggering impact dental sealants have on dental health. What does the science say about sealants?
“Participants who received sealants had a reduced risk of developing cavities in permanent molars by 80% when compared with those who did not receive sealants.
When compared with fluoride varnishes, the authors found that sealants reduced the incidence of cavities after 7 or more years of follow-up.
The evidence base supporting sealants suggests that they are effective and safe to prevent or arrest the progression of cavities compared with a control without sealants or fluoride varnishes.”
Sealants Are Easy to Apply and a Pain Free Procedure
Once you’ve decided sealants make sense for your kids, it’s a quick process. First, we clean the chosen teeth thoroughly. Once the teeth are cleaner than ever, a gel is applied that will abrade the surface slightly to allow the sealant to make a truly tenacious bond. The sealant itself we apply in liquid form and then utilize blue light activation to harden it which completes the procedure.
Suggestions for Dental Health Awareness Activities with Your Kids
We’ve said it before, yet we truly must emphasize how the attitude of the parent towards dental health directly impacts the attitude of the child. When you apply time, energy, and focus to prioritizing dental health not only for your kids but yourself as well, they will notice. You don’t have to be a dentist or a school employee to take up the mantel of sharing dental health awareness with your kids and/or community.
The ADA has created several printable PDF documents of coloring pages and word games that you can print for your kids: find them by clicking here. Share them with your daycare, preschool, church, and community center.
Make an Appointment for Dental Sealants
Don’t wait until your next scheduled cleaning to do dental sealants for your kids. If they have molars, baby or permanent, then they have pits and grooves tempting those bacteria and food bits. We apply dental sealants to both baby and permanent teeth because proper care for your child’s baby teeth is just as important as it is for their permanent teeth. Give us a call today and we’ll make an appointment that works for your family.
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