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We Are Now A Check-In 4 Charity Member

Pediatric Dental Specialists-Long Beach is now a Check-in 4 Charity member! Check-in 4 Charity is a program for businesses such as ours to partner with our patients by getting them to check-in on Facebook.  Each check-in helps us generate donations for different charities every month. It is fun, easy, free for you to participate in, and allows us to work together with you to achieve the goal of donating monthly to charities.

January Charity Of The Month 

This month, we've decided to support the Children's Dental Health Clinic! This clinic is a non-profit that provides dental care and health education to children ages 0-21 in the greater Long Beach areas. All you have to do is check-in at Pediatric Dental Specialists-Long Beach to help us make a difference. 

Keep Your Teeth Safe This Summer: Be Prepared!

June marks the official start of summer and for many parents it's filled with celebrations and graduations as children finish the school year. June is also the month where our pediatric dentists begin to see an increase in dental emergencies, many due to pool injuries. This past weekend, in fact, Dr. Cortez received an emergency phone call from a young patient who dove to the bottom of the pool and hit her front teeth. He and one of our staff came to the office on Saturday to provide emergency care to fix her chipped teeth. 

Statistics show that during the summer we spend more time outdoors participating in a wide variety of water sports and swimming activities. Taking some simple safety precautions can make for great fun over the summer months.  

Water related dental injuries

Diving and jumping into shallow water are major causes of serious injuries. Surfacing from a pool or swimming with eyes closed can lead to a fractured tooth by hitting the concrete wall at the edge of a pool. Other severe injuries result from falling on slippery walkways, decks, diving boards and ladders.

Here are some tips if an injury occurs:

   1. Call our office immediately if a tooth injury occur- as time is critical when trying to save a knocked out tooth.  Whether the injury occurs after hours or during holidays we are always here to assist when an emergency occurs.

   2. Chipped or Broken Teeth. If your child has chipped or broken his tooth, rinse his mouth with warm water, then use a cold compress to reduce swelling. Try to locate and save the tooth fragment that broke off. 

    3. Knocked out Teeth. If your child’s tooth has been knocked out, find the tooth and place the tooth in a clean container with milk. If milk is not available, place the tooth in a clean container with the patient's own saliva. Do not scrub or clean the tooth with soap.

 

 

Avoiding Tooth Injuries
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recently released a guide for parents to help them handle common childhood dental emergencies.

You can help your child avoid some dental emergencies. Remind children to avoid running around wet slippery surfaces. Avoid diving into shallow pools and surfacing with eyes closed. If your child plays contact sports, have him or her wear a mouth guard.

For more information about water safety speak with your pediatric dentist, pediatrician, or check out the  “Sun and Water Safety Tips”   from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry & Rosie Pope fighting Mouth Monsters!

Many of you have heard of Rosie Pope, the popular author and parenting adviser and mother of three! The American Association of PediatricDentistry is partnering with Rosie in an effort to raise awareness about the significant threat tooth decay has on a child’s health and welfare, long-term, recently reported in a publication. The “State of Little Teeth Report” reveals startling statistics regarding tooth decay gathered from surveys of parents and caregivers.

You may have heard of this fun and educational campaign already; "The Monster-Free Mouths' Movement!" You can find more information on this at www.mychildrensteeth.org. There are tools available for download for parents and caregivers and fun Mouth Monster materials to use with kids.  

Pediatric Dental Specialists

4 Tips to a Beautiful Healthy Smile

October is National Dental Hygiene Month and this year is the 100th Anniversary since the founding of the dental hygiene specialty. As part of National Dental Hygiene Month our own registered dental hygienist, Michelle Law, wants to share with parents some essential tips on how to keep a healthy smile, courtesy of the American Dental Hygiene Association and the American Dental Association.

1. Brush
Tooth brushing plays an important daily role for personal oral hygiene.  Whether you use a manual toothbrush or an electric toothbrush, brushing for at least 2 minutes twice a day is crucial.  Research shows that brushing for 2 minutes is the single most important method for reducing plaque and preventing cavities, gingivitis and other plaque related diseases.

2. Floss
Flossing is an essential  part of any oral health care routine.  By flossing daily, you help remove plaque from the areas between your teeth where the toothbrush can't reach.  This is important because plaque that is not removed by brushing and flossing can eventually harden into calcified deposits also know as tartar.  Flossing also helps prevent gum disease and cavities. And don't forget, children need to floss too!  Did you know that as soon as your child has a few teeth touch, its time to start flossing their teeth?  Because flossing demands more manual dexterity than very young children have, children are not usually able to floss well without parents help until they are age 10 or 11.

3. Rinse
Mouth rinses are used for a variety of reasons: to freshen breath, to help prevent or control tooth decay, to reduce plaque, to prevent or reduce gingivitis, to reduce the speed that tarter forms on the teeth, or to produce a combination of these effects. Please remember, anti-microbial rinses are not recommended for children under the age of 6.  Most studies indicate that its safe for children age 6 and above because they are able to spit, therefore, unlikely to swallow the mouthwash.

4. Gum Chewing
It's true, the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs awarded the Seal to several  brands of chewing gum after finding that the physical action of chewing certain sugarless gums for 20 minutes after eating, stimulates saliva flow, which helps prevent cavities by reducing acids thereby making teeth more resistant to decay. It is not recommended that children under age 4 chew gum as they are more likely to swallow it.

Help us celebrate this month and beyond, 100 years of advancements in oral healthcare, by adding these easy and effective tips to (you and) your children's daily routine. Michelle looks forward to seeing great results at your child's next visit.

4 TIPS FOR A HEALTHY SMILE THIS HALLOWEEN

Halloween and its accompanying candy can be a scary time for teeth. October is National Orthodontic Health Month, celebrated by orthodontists throughout the U.S.  The doctors at Pediatric Dental Specialists want to remind patients and the entire community that even though Halloween treats can play tricks on orthodontic treatment, there are a few quick tips to keep teeth safe from decay, and protect braces, orthodontic “appliances” during the Halloween season.

1. AVOID STICKY SITUATIONS WITH YOUR BRACES

Stay away from hard, sticky, crunchy or chewy candy and snacks. These include hard or chewy candies, caramel, licorice, taffy, bubblegum (even the sugarless kind) and jelly beans.

2. CAREFUL WITH CRUNCHINESS
Patients want to steer away from hard-shelled peanut candies, nuts or nut-filled candies, taco chips and popcorn (especially unpopped kernels). And whether in orthodontic treatment or not, Dr. Planells says no one should ever chew ice.

3. NOT ALL HALLOWEEN CANDY IS OFF LIMITS.
Good alternatives include soft chocolates, peanut butter cups or other melt-in-your-mouth varieties. The American Association of Orthodontists even offers orthodontic-friendly recipes for Halloween on the website FamilyCorner.com

4. DON'T FORGET TO BRUSH AND FLOSS
Brushing and flossing are more important than ever during the Halloween season, when teeth may receive more exposure to sweets that can cause cavities. Orthodontic patients should be especially conscientious about brushing and flossing after consuming sugary or starchy foods.

It is possible to enjoy some traditional candies at Halloween without causing problems with braces. Everyone really wants to have fun on this holiday, and we encourage patients to enjoy treats that are acceptable, rather than feel that they are missing out.   It’s important to remember that when patients’ orthodontic treatment is complete, and they see their new smiles in the mirror, they will know all of their efforts now were worthwhile.

10 Summer Water Safety Tips

As summer approaches, statistics show we spend more time outdoors participating in a wide variety of sports, a good portion of those are water sports, sprinklers, and swimming activities. Taking some simple safety precautions can make for great fun over the summer months.  Second to drowning accidents, more dental injuries occur to both kids and adults during this time. The National Safety Council states 75% of the injured will involve persons 19 years and under, and almost twice as many boys as girls will be hurt. 

Water related dental injuries

Many severe injuries result from falling on slippery walkways and decks and falling from diving boards and ladders. Diving and jumping into shallow water also are major causes of serious injuries, as well as swimming laps with eyes closed can lead to a fractured tooth by hitting the concrete wall at the end of the pool. The good news is that the majority of these injuries are preventable.

Here are 10 water safety tips to avoid dental and bodily injuries this summer:

    1. Walk, don’t run.

   2. Make the pool deck non-slippery as possible.

   3. Install barriers around the pool.

   4. Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.

   5. Always swim with a buddy.

   6. Ensure that everyone in the family learns to swim well. 

   7.  Never leave a young child unattended near water.         

   8.  Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear life jackets.

   9. Cover the pool properly.

  10. Wear a custom-made mouth guard and goggles when diving to prevent dental trauma.

For more information about water safety speak with your dentist, pediatrician, or check out the  “Sun and Water Safety Tips” from the American Academy of Pediatrics .