Pediatric Dentistry (Healthy Start)

Pediatric Dentistry is the First Step to Lifelong Oral Health

Dentistry for children is a fun and exciting field. It takes a special attitude and set of skills to keep a child calm and engaged during dental services. Here at your family dentist office, we love that challenge, along with helping young people get cleaner teeth and better lifelong dental education. 

You can bring your children to us from the time their first teeth start to emerge—around one year of age. The dentist will ensure that their first teeth are growing in a healthy pattern and are not getting cavities. We can also check for other issues, such as a child being literally tongue-tied.

Bring your child to Discovery Dental clinic to get him or her familiar with the dentist office and team. We will treat your children well and help them get comfortable here. You can also set up an affordable dentistry appointment for several family members to get checkups in the same visit. 

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Dental Sealants Protect Teeth

A dental sealant is a thin layer of material covering a tooth. A preventive dentistry measure, it helps to protect a tooth from bacteria and food that can cause cavities, supplementing dental cleaning.

Children’s teeth have tiny grooves in them that are hard to keep completely clean. Children brush them but can’t remove all the food, even when they brush well. That’s why sealants can help. They cover teeth and prevent food from sticking in those small grooves.

If your children are about 6–14 years old, they are good candidates for dental sealants (and some adults are too). The process of getting sealants includes these steps at your local dentist office: 

1. We give the teeth a thorough cleaning.
2. We dry each tooth and keep it dry with an absorbent material.
3. We roughen the surface of the teeth to help them bond to the sealant.
4. We rinse and dry the teeth again. 
5. We apply a sealant to each tooth that needs protection and bond it in place.

Sealants only take a few minutes to add to each tooth in a comfortable process (no anesthetic needed). 

Fluoride Strengthens Teeth

A fluoride treatment at our dental practice adds a naturally-occurring mineral to the teeth, which strengthens the dental surface material, helping prevent plaque and cavities. It’s like extra insurance for your child’s teeth while they’re growing.

Fluoride exists in many foods, but it is not concentrated enough to strengthen the teeth. That’s why your holistic dentist Dr. Vanama approves of fluoride treatments for children. It can also help anyone with: 

• Dry mouth.
• Cracks in their teeth. 
• Exposed tooth roots.
• Hard-to-reach tooth areas. 
• Oral hygiene problems.
• Eating disorders.

What happens during a fluoride treatment at the dental clinic? In just a few minutes, the dental hygienist will give the patient a fluoride rinse or apply a gel. This will add a concentrated dose of fluoride to the teeth—much more than you can get in a fluoride toothpaste. 

Healthy Start

As your child’s teeth grow, Dr. Vanama can help guide them into healthy positions that will keep your child’s airway open without braces.

As many as 9 out of 10 children suffer from poor breathing while they sleep. The Healthy Start system guides tooth development from ages 4–12 to improve airflow and sleep quality, helping children rest better, concentrate, and live happier lives. 

Your child can wear a series of removable, comfortable oral appliances during sleep and for a small amount of time during the day. They can: 

• Reduce habits that can damage oral development.
• Guide teeth into healthy positions as they grow.
• Help permanent teeth grow straight, preventing crooked teeth.
• Align and resize the upper and lower jaw.

Instead of relying on the local orthodontist office and braces later, we aim to help your child’s teeth grow straight right now. Plus, better breathing and rest can reduce nightmares, attention problems, daytime drowsiness, snoring, and more.

Visit Discovery Dental for Comfortable Pediatric Dentistry

You can bring children to our family dental practice when they still have baby teeth. General dentistry services are vital to prevent bacterial infections, cavities, and extractions at any age through compassionate dental care. We also offer sedation dentistry to patients with anxiety or painful sensitivity.

Plus, at our local dentist office in Issaquah, we can help your child’s teeth grow in straight from the beginning. Call for an appointment at Discovery Dental for one family member or a whole group.

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