top-rated pediatric dentist in ardsley, ny
Did you know…
The #1 most common childhood disease is tooth decay.
What to expect at your child’s first appointment
Thorough Cleaning
After your child is introduced to our dentist and team, a dental hygienist will gently clean your child’s teeth and gums, removing plaque and bacteria, polishing each tooth, and then giving them a thorough floss.
Necessary X-Rays
X-rays may be recommended if your child has never had them before, if it’s been a few years since their last set of x-rays, or if the dentist suspects oral development issues or a hidden oral health problem. As the parent or guardian, you will be asked to approve x-rays before they are taken.
Comprehensive Exam
The dentist will examine your child’s mouth, teeth and x-rays to ensure your kid is free of cavities and that their smile is developing properly. If the parent did not sit in with the child during their exam, the dentist will bring parents into the room at this point to discuss their findings.
Treatment Plan
Next, the dentist will provide a recommendation for further treatment if needed. Some treatments, like fluoride treatments or dental sealants, can usually be applied at the first appointment and may be recommended during regular cleanings. Other treatments, like filling cavities, may require a second appointment.
Schedule Follow-Up Appointment
If additional treatment is needed to keep your child’s smile healthy, we’re happy to schedule follow-up appointments before you head out. We also recommend that you schedule your child’s next oral exam and teeth cleaning at this time.
Pediatric Treatments
Pediatric Cleanings & Exams
For our pediatric patients, preventative care is extremely important! During each preventative visit with our young patients, we not only provide thorough cleanings and examination to find any problems, we also educate. As a young patient visits us throughout their childhood, we have a chance to teach them how to protect their teeth.
Here are some of the ways we can help them or their parents avoid future problems:
* Give instructions on brushing and flossing properly
* Explain to parents and children why thumb-sucking can damage the child's bite
* Provide BPA- free sealants or fluoride treatments to prevent decay
* Recommend athletic mouthguards for children involved in sports
* Teach which foods will support dental health and which will damage it
* Make early referrals for orthodontic care
Regular, thorough twice-annual dental cleanings are essential for your child's dental health. Dr. Rose uses special instruments and procedures to assure sparkling-clean teeth! Tartar deposits between teeth are removed with tooth that also smooth the tooth surfaces and a paste is placed on the teeth with a hand tool to polish the child's teeth. Then, a flavored fluoride varnish is applied to the teeth.
Most children enjoy a trip to the dentist when a cleaning is involved. Regular daily flossing minimizes the need for tartar removal, reduces discomfort and results in a shorter-visit something all kids like!
fluoride treatments & sealants
Fluoride Treatment
A fluoride treatment in the form of a varnish (a sticky coating that minimizes ingestion) will be applied to your child's teeth at the end of each check up visit or more often depending on their cavity risk. Your child will be able to eat and drink right away, just nothing that is hard, sticky, or too hot for 4-6 hours.
Fluoride is a safe and effective way to help your child's teeth stay strong and cavity-free. We will also discuss optimal fluoride intake from all sources, (i.e. fluoridated water, toothpaste, and mouth rinses), to help keep your child's teeth strong while minimizing risk of fluorosis (white or brown spots) on their developing adult teeth.
Sealants
Ardsley Family Dental focuses strongly on prevention and wants to help our patients grow cavity-free. We strongly encourage you to have your child's teeth sealed because it is one of the most effective and easy ways to help prevent tooth decay.
Dental sealants act as a barrier to prevent cavities and can be applied to baby molars as well as adult premolars and molars. They should be applied as early as possible after the adult tooth erupts, before cavities get a chance to form. The chewing surfaces are the most likely areas to get cavities and toothbrush bristles cannot reach all the way into the depressions and grooves of back teeth. Sealants protect these vulnerable areas by "sealing out" plaque and food. Sealants generally last several years and the cost of sealants is very low compared to getting cavities fixed.
Stainless Steel Crowns
For children with cavities, the proper treatment is a white filling which may, for some of our young patients, be followed by a stainless steel or white crown.
White Fillings
The most common service our pediatric patients receive is a white filling. They preserve the whiteness of a child's smiles while correcting decay. As dental technology has advanced, these filling have become more durable which means they can last for many years.The other advantage to these fillings is that they require less drilling than the fillings you might received years ago. Less drilling means a shorter appointment and less discomfort for your child.
Crowns for Children
When a crown has been placed, we can expect even a badly- decayed tooth to last until the child's permanent tooth comes in. Please call us if you have any questions about filling or crowns for children or to schedule an appointment.
baby root canals a.k.a. Pulpotomies
A cavity that involved the nerve (pulp) of the tooth may cause a child to experience intense pain. Although the pain may actually subside for a period of time using ibuprofen or antibiotics, it will return unless the tooth is properly treated. When the nerve of the tooth is infected, it must be treated to restore the child to good dental health.
A pediatric root canal procedure is referred as a "pulpotomy." The purpose of root canal treatment is to maintain the vitality of the affected tooth so that the tooth will not be lost early. Early loss of posterior (back) primary teeth may cause future problems with the eruption of permanent teeth. Therefore, is best to avoid early loss of primary molars by properly treating the nerve of infected teeth with a pulpotomy.
Dental caries and traumatic injury are the main reasons for a tooth to require pulp therapy. The pulpotomy root canal procedure removes the infected pulp tissue within the crown of the tooth. A medication is placed to calm the nerve of the tooth and prevent bacterial growth. The pulpotomy is followed with a final restoration such as a filling, a white zirconia crown, or a stainless steel crown. After the pulpotomy is complete, your child should feel much better. We expect all pain to subside either immediately or within a few days of the procedure.
Silver Diamine Fluoride & SMART Technique
Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF)
We are one of the few dental offices in Westchester to offer this revolutionary treatment option for the management of tooth decay. Silver Diamine Fluoride is an antimicrobial liquid that is able to treat cavities in a non-invasive, fast, affordable, and painless manner.
Compared to a traditional filling that requires shots of local anesthesia and drilling of the tooth surface, this treatment is non-invasive and more comfortable for the patient. It is a liquid that is simply brushed on to the cavity that can stop current decay and also prevent new decay in the future.
SDF permanently stains cavities black. SDF does not restore tooth form or function, so large holes that trap food may still eventually require a SMART filling or traditional restorations. SDF requires repeat application for maximum efficacy. SDF can not be used in the presence of infection or decay of the nerve.
SMART Technique
Silver Modified Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (SMART) is a minimally invasive treatment option for cavities treated by Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) that uses Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC)
Space Maintainers & Mouthguards
Space Maintainers
A space maintainer may be required if your child loses a baby tooth early. This dental prosthetic is made to sit between your child’s healthy teeth, resting in the gap where their missing tooth used to be.
By doing so, the space maintainer prevents the surrounding teeth from shifting toward the now-empty socket, which is common after tooth loss. This ensures that your child’s permanent tooth will erupt properly when it’s ready. Without a space maintainer after premature tooth loss, your child may experience oral development issues that may require orthodontic intervention.
Sports Mouth Guards
Once your child starts playing competitive sports such as hockey, basketball, football, etc., we strongly recommend that they wear a sports mouth guard to protect their adult teeth from fracturing due to trauma. While over-the-counter sports guards are readily available, the comfort and fit of custom-made sports guard is unparalleled.
Did you know…
Cavities can be caused by the transmission of bacteria from a mother to her infant.
Have questions about pediatric dentistry? Find answers here.
When Should My Child Start Going to The Dentist?
The answer may surprise you. It’s typically recommended by the AAPD (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) that children start seeing the dentist when they’re 1 year old, or whenever their first tooth erupts.
Is your child a little older? You should bring them to the dentist for an appointment as soon as you can to ensure their teeth and mouth are healthy and strong.
Why should children see the dentist so early?
Going to the dentist early and regularly helps your child become more familiar with the process of regular dental visits, making them less likely to be anxious about going to the dentist as they grow up. Seeing the same dentist regularly throughout your child’s early years will also allow the doctor to become more familiar with your child’s teeth. They’ll be able to identify any potential oral development issues early, and take the proper action to ensure their teeth stay strong and healthy. These regular appointments also encourage children to build better life-long oral health habits.
How do I prepare my child for their first dental visit?
The most important thing you can do to prepare your child to see the dentist is to speak about it positively. They don’t have any experiences with the dentist yet, so this is an opportunity to help the doctor make a good first impression.
- First, talk to your child about the importance of dental care and how it’s the dentist’s job to teach them how to take good care of their teeth.
- When describing what to expect at their appointment, tell them that the doctor will clean and count their teeth to make sure that they are healthy.
- When you introduce your child to the dentist and the team, introduce them as friends. Because we are!
Did you know…
Drinking a bottle of milk or breastfeeding right before bed puts your child at a higher risk for tooth decay.