This newsletter is all about kids!  Kids teeth is an area we get asked lots of questions about.

  • Kids baby teeth enamel is very different to adult enamel.  Dental materials, like fillings, don’t stick very well so it is best that the teeth do not get holes in them.
  • Good dietary habits, oral health care and visiting your dental professional will help prevent baby teeth getting holes.
  • If a baby tooth has a hole and then has an abscess the abscess can damage the enamel formation of the developing adult tooth below.
  • Kids baby teeth are important as they allow the facial bones to grow into an adult form to facilitate the large adult teeth as they come up.
  • If a baby tooth is lost too early your dentist may place a space maintainer so the gap is available for the adult tooth to come up.
  • Kids usually lose their first baby teeth around 5 – 7 years old.  They usually lose the lower front teeth first and then the upper front teeth.
  • Sometimes the upper and lower front 4 teeth are a little crowded at first as we have adult teeth in a kid’s body.  When they are crowded they need extra special cleaning.
  • Kids usually gain their first molars around 6 years old.
  • The space for the baby eyetooth and baby molars is usually more that the space that the adult teeth take up so we can cadge some space here if teeth are crowded.
  • Baby teeth need to be cleaned morning and night.  Start early on with a wet cloth in the bath, then progress to a small head soft bristle tooth brush.  When the child can spit out properly then a very small pea size piece of children’s tooth paste is all you need.

If you have any questions about your children or grandchildren’s teeth we are more than happy to have an appointment to check them for you.  We will also probably (most likely) reinforce good brushing and dietary habit just to be safe!   We have special glasses and surprises for great work in the dental chair.  Just tell the littlies that the dentist or oral health therapist is going to count their teeth to make sure they are all there.  It seems to fascinate them!  We are also collecting for Backpacks for SA Kids.  http://backpacks4sakids.org/programs/backpacks If you would like to drop anything off at the clinic to add to the backpacks we would very much appreciate it!

Wow it is February already!  Are you ready for the 30 day flossing challenge?  Have you started your new flossing habit already?  That is fabulous if you have.  If not all is good.  You can start anytime making small steps into larger goals!  During February we will be updating Tina’s hygiene and oral health therapy room.  Please excuse the odd bang and crash as Dental Concepts professionals do their work.  We will have a couple of days out of the clinic so that they don’t disrupt you all too much especially when the flooring is laid.  We would like to thank Julie for being with us for 5 years and wish her well on her new career choice.  Sarah is joining the hygiene team and she has worked with Dr Nick Heide and Trudy for many years.  Welcome Sarah!

Call our friendly staff to book an appointment on (08) 8212 3880 today.

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