Welcome to Little Smiles Pediatric Dentistry
At Little Smiles
Pediatric Dentistry we are dedicated to providing specialized and
comprehensive dental care for infants, children and adolescents in a
friendly and safe environment with a focus on prevention and
education. Our goal is to provide children with a healthy
smile and positive attitude toward dental care.
Philosophy of Care
Children and
dentistry can be a challenging combination - sort of like giving a
cat a bath. Some will barely tolerate the exam while others will try
to get out of the situation by any means possible.
Each child's personality and mental development is different
depending on the child's age, life experiences, and genes. Our approach is to treat each child based on the child's temperament and emotional development. Thus, sedation medications, hospital treatment &
other treatment solutions recommended are based on our impression of
the ability of the child to handle dental treatment both mentally
and physically.
We do not want to traumatize a child. There are situations such as
emergencies which require restraint of a child without the
convenience of conscious sedation medication.
"I treat each child
as I would treat my own child!"
The
following guidelines are used as recommendations made to
parent/guardian regarding their child's dental needs. These
decisions are to be made together with Dr. Barlow & the child's
parent/guardian. Treatment recommendations to the parent/guardian
are usually based on how much dental work the child needs, the
child's age & mental development and capacity.
A younger child is
usually less able to cope well with dental treatment. If
considerable dental work is needed on many teeth, a young child
(especially 1-5 years old) usually does not cope well with dental
treatment. An older child (6 years & older) will usually have more mental and emotional development or capacity.
For younger children,
we prefer limiting dental treatment visits (for fillings & more
extensive treatment) to 1-2 appointments. If a young child (1-5 year
olds) has extensive treatment needs. (8-20 teeth need treatment),
one appointment in the operating room is much easier on the child
due to their mental development & capacity. Outpatient treatment in
the hospital is a quick and safe treatment alternative.
A sedation appointment
usually allows for treatment of 1-5 teeth depending on how well the
child reacts to the sedation medications.
Ideally, for older
children (6 year olds & older), we prefer to keep the number of
treatment appointments to 2 or 3 visits for fillings & more
extensive treatment. "It has been my observation through experience
that after 2-3 appointments, a child's behavior declines very
quickly. They have usually had enough. We can reduce the number of
appointments by sedating a patient. This makes coping with treatment
easier."
"The
kindest way to restrain a child is usually to sedate them first in
order to help them emotionally cope with dental treatments"
"It is my strong
recommendation that during dental treatment, parents remain in the
waiting room. A child tends to act out when parents are in the room.
Treatment is more successful when a child focuses on the dentist,
his staff & the work that needs to be done."
A parent and dentist
should be able to trust one another. We trust that you will allow us
to help you treat your child with your child's best interest in
mind. We expect the parents to trust our team... we will always do
what's best for your child!
During the treatment
appointment, we discuss any issues or changes in treatment options
with the parents.
Children's dental
health is very important to overall health and well being. It can
affect day-to-day living, eating habits, sleeping patterns and mood.
Major dental treatment
for a child should not be postponed. Large or numerous cavities can eventually turn into facial infections which could become very dangerous. In some instances, these dental infections become very
large and are at risk to spread to the child's airway or brain. This
is a serious emergency situation!
We invite parents to
communicate openly with us regarding their child's dental health.
Every parent may not agree with our approach to treatment. We
believe in the philosophy outlined here is tried and tested in our
experience in working with children & their families. We hope you
will communicate with us any concerns or questions you may have. If
you feel it necessary to seek consultation elsewhere, please let us
know.
We hope to be able to
work with you in taking care of your child's dental needs. Thank you
for putting your trust in us!
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