Children – Page 3 – Steveston Smiles

Your Child’s Baby Teeth Are Important
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Your Child’s Baby Teeth Are Important

Children

Your Child’s Baby Teeth Are Important

“DO I NEED TO FIX my child’s baby tooth since it’s going to fall out anyway?” This is a question we get asked a lot as dental professionals. The answer is a resounding YES! Primary, or “baby,” teeth serve an important purpose in your child’s present and future oral health. Baby Teeth Have Three Main Functions Besides providing an aesthetic appeal to your child’s smile and boosting their self-esteem, primary teeth have three main functions: They aid in proper chewing, fostering good nutrition They promote proper speech development They reserve a space for permanent teeth to grow in If a primary tooth falls out or must be removed before its time due to decay, the surrounding teeth may shift into the gap, causing dental crowding and future orthodontic problems. In some cases, untreated infections in baby teeth [...]

By Steveston Smiles|2019-05-07T21:57:52-07:00July 14th, 2016|Children|Comments Off

How Breastfeeding Affects Your Child’s Oral Health
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How Breastfeeding Affects Your Child’s Oral Health

Children, Oral Health

How Breastfeeding Affects Your Child’s Oral Health

CHOOSING TO BREASTFEED a child is a personal and special decision for a mother. Not only does nursing provide a valuable bonding experience for mother and baby, it also has many health benefits, such as decreasing the child’s risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and lowering the chances of mom developing breast and ovarian cancer. But what effect can breastfeeding have on baby’s oral health and development? Breastfeeding Aids in Bite Alignment You may not have known that the sucking mechanisms are different for bottle-fed and breastfed babies. Breastfeeding stimulates muscle tone in the jaw because it requires the use of the jaw muscles more so than bottle-feeding. A study published in “Pediatrics” also showed that babies who were exclusively breastfed for six months were 72 percent less likely to have [...]

By Steveston Smiles|2017-08-13T15:28:59-07:00June 2nd, 2016|Children, Oral Health|Comments Off

Happy Halloween

Its that time of year again, our annual Sweet Swap; bring us your leftover candy for a chance to win an iPad Mini! We want everyone to have a happy, safe Halloween and enjoy your candy but we don’t want to be feeding those “sugar bugs” for weeks to come. Sugar bugs is the term we use for the bacteria (streptococus mutans) that lives in your mouth and uses carbohydrates to produce the acid which causes cavities. Sugar bugs prefer simple carbohydrates like sugar as they break down easier but they can use any kind of carbohydrate as fuel. Your teeth are most affected not by total amount of sugar you eat but by the frequency and timing that you consume sugar. As an exaggerated example, it would be [...]

By Steveston Smiles|2015-10-30T09:25:35-07:00October 30th, 2015|Children, Office news|Comments Off

Oral Health Month

Every April at Steveston Smiles we celebrate Oral Health Month by going out into the community to educate kids about oral health with out famous Tooth Talks. Kids are important to us and we are passionate about educating kids and their parents about proper oral care. We want the kids in our community to have strong healthy teeth and mouths for a lifetime. Countless studies have shown that children pick up their oral habits early and that they are hard to break. The goal of our tooth talks is for children to know the importance of oral care and help set them up for a lifetime of good oral health. I am surprised every year as to how many kids do not know about floss, brush without help from an [...]

By Steveston Smiles|2015-05-04T11:28:25-07:00May 4th, 2015|Children, Office news|Comments Off

10 Facts about Baby Teeth

Often parents think don’t worry those are baby teeth and they will fall out – this is incorrect baby teeth are important for many reasons; they hold the space open for permanent teeth, helping to guide them into position, as well as allowing your child to chew food and speak properly and have a healthy smile The importance of your child's baby teeth and oral health is often underestimated and misunderstood. Here are the facts: A healthy mouth is as important as a healthy body Pain from cavities can affect sleep, diet and the ability to grow Tooth decay is the #1 most common chronic childhood disease - 5x more common than asthma and 7x more common than hay fever How cavities form: If plaque and food residue are not [...]

By Steveston Smiles|2015-04-09T14:37:21-07:00April 9th, 2015|Children|Comments Off

Sweet Swap Winner

Congratulations to our 2014 Sweep Swap winner Maddie! Children’s oral health is a priority to us. Teaching parents and kids about oral health when they are young can change a child’s oral health for a lifetime. One of the most important lessons is regarding sugar. Your teeth are most affected not by the amount of sugar you consume but more importantly by the frequency. Having that candy around for weeks is worse than eating as much as you can in a few days and then getting rid of it. It is important to limit the amount of sugar you consume in general for your overall health as well. Don’t get me wrong we are big fans of Halloween here at Steveston Smiles; We want you to have a fun, [...]

By Steveston Smiles|2014-11-12T15:04:03-08:00November 12th, 2014|Children|Comments Off