What have we been up to?

Hello Everyone,

This is Dr. Tim. I am one of the pediatric dentists at Affiliated Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics. Welcome to our Blog. I want to share with you some exciting things we have been up to the past year.

This September was the Arizona Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Fall meeting. I am currently the Secretary/Treasurer for the academy and arranged for internationally known, Dr. Kevin Donly to speak to our members. Dr. Chaet also gave a presentation on new technologies for restoration.

Dr. Chaet recently spoke with the family practitioner residents at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn. He spoke with them about the importance of baby oral health and fluoride varnish. The residence valued his presentation so much that he has been asked to come back to speak again.

In June, I drove to Tucson and met with a number of Arizona Academy of Pediatric Dentistry members. We had dinner and discussed many issues relevant to improving the oral health care of children in Arizona.

Dr. Julie, Lesley and myself traveled to Sedona and presented an educational poster to the American Academy of Pediatrics Arizona Chapter. This meeting was the Arizona AAP's annual convention. Our presentation included educational information on infant oral hygiene and fluoride varnish applications. The doctors were well received and look forward to attending the meeting again next year. Here we are with Dr. Ron Fischler, who is the President for the Arizona AAP.

This past April, I was joined by Dr. Feinberg, Nancy and Lisa at the Doll House's Safety Saturday. The Doll House is a toy store located in the Promenade at Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright. Police cruisers, fire trucks and kids were in abundance. Fire properly checked and buckled car seats for parents, while APDO gave out toothbrushes, stickers and toys.

Our lead assistant, Nancy, painted children's faces. Do you like the sun on my face?

Halloween 2008 spooked Dr. Julie, Lisa and myself. We were hanging out at Desert Sun's Fall Festival. I lurked behind the bean bag toss. We gave prizes to pixie hollow fairies, zombies, robots and more. I am the one dressed as Cat in the Hat. My daughter Ally was Cinderella. Nancy's husband Doug, made our tooth shaped board. While Nancy sewed together Star Wars bean bags for the toss.

When and Why should I bring my child to the dentist?

When should I bring my child to the dentist is a frequent question asked by parents to their health care providers such as pediatricians, family practice physicians, and dentists. The typical answer is "around 3 or 4 years of age" or "when little Billy or Susie can sit in the dental chair." However, if your Billy or Susie develops cavities at 18 months of age, perhaps these were not the best answers. The appropriate reply is when your infant's teeth start erupting between 6 months to 1 year of age.

The reason for such an early dental visit is simple-PREVENTION. Dental disease is very common in young children, 5 times more common than asthma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 40% of the population of children entering kindergarten has cavities.

Everyone knows that sugar "causes" cavities, but why do some children get cavities and others, who eat similar diets, do not? The partial answer begins by understanding that all of us have a normal, healthy relationship with the flora (bacteria) that is on our bodies and in our mouths. This flora is important to our very existence and in the case of infants; it begins to be established in the mouth when the first tooth starts erupting. The mother is the source for the flora approximately 71% of the time in the dental population and 88% of the time in breastfed infants.

It has been recognized that high levels of cavities fun in families and are passed down from mother to child. Yet, it is not as simple as that since we all know the story of the child in the family that does "everything wrong" and never has a cavity, while your "perfect brush and eater" has lots of cavities. The reason is that not everyone's bacteria are created equal. Some children have fairly harmless flora while others have bacteria that consistently produce higher levels of of acid (when exposed to sugary foods) that dissolve the outer enamel of the tooth.

Another important variable when discussing cavity potential is the fact that the formation of the cavity is determined by many factors. For example, diet, oral hygiene, fluoride exposure, salivary glands, etc. will play a role in cavity activity. Modification of a child's diet, better tooth brushing and flossing, and optimal exposure to fluoride may help prevent cavities by reducing the more active acid producing bacteria.

It can now be seen why early dental visits are important to help prevent cavities because the process starts as soon as teeth erupt. The only way to help a parent prevent cavities in their infant and toddlers is to discuss the mothers past dental history, review the cavity producing process, and offer preventative suggestions.