Virginia Beach Preventative Dentistry
According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, all children should begin a dental routine around the age of 1, or six months after their baby teeth begin to erupt. At this point, you should start bringing them to Dr. Elleni Kapoor at General Dentistry 4 Kids in Virginia Beach, VA, for routine checkups and cleanings. The sooner you establish a dental routine with your child, the easier it will be to prevent decay and other dental problems from affecting your little one’s health.
Routine Exams
One of the ways, your Virginia Beach, VA, pediatric dental team can protect your child from cavities, gum disease, and other issues is to examine their teeth twice a year. During these visits, Dr. Kapoor will clean their teeth, exam their mouths, and run x-rays to make sure that everything is developing as it should.
These checkups are often the only way to detect problems early on when they are much easier to treat. Once your child turns one year old, it’s time to schedule their first appointment at General Dentistry 4 Kids.
Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are another way to protect your child’s smile from cavities. Since cavities are the most common dental disorder to affect kids, our goal, as your pediatric dentist, is to provide your child with the preventive dentistry care that they need upfront, so they don’t have to deal with these problems in the future.
One way to protect your child’s molars from cavities is to place dental sealants, which are clear plastic coatings that are bonded to the chewing surfaces of your child’s back teeth to keep bacteria from harboring within the crevices of these surfaces and causing decay. Dental sealants can be placed once the first set of molars erupt (usually around 6 or 7 years old), and again, once the second set of molars come in (usually around 11 or 12 years old).
Mouthguard
Is your child ready to play sports? If so, it might be time to schedule a quick dental visit with us. Why? To make sure your child has a custom-made mouthguard to protect their teeth from sports-related injuries. Studies have found that almost 50 percent of children will experience some type of dental injury during childhood that could have been prevented.
One way to prevent a cracked or knocked-out tooth is by making sure your child has and wears a mouthguard every time they play sports. We would be happy to create a customized mouthguard to provide superior protection when out on the field.