Starting to Brush Your Baby’s Teeth

What sets Pediatric Dental Specialists apart? We offer pediatric dentistry and orthodontics for children, teens, and patients with special healthcare needs in Long Beach, California and our surrounding communities. With years of education, hands-on training, and experience, our doctors and staff are uniquely able to meet the specific dental needs of our young patients.

You may be wondering when you should begin to brush your baby’s teeth or even how to. As your child’s teeth may be coming in, it is important to begin a great oral health care routine by caring for your child’s gums.

When the first baby teeth start to pop up, you can graduate to the use of a toothbrush. Choose one with a soft brush, small head and large handle.

At first, just wet the toothbrush. As soon as teeth erupt, you can start using a bit of training-toothpaste, about the size of a grain of rice. You can increase this to a peas sized amount of fluoride toothpaste when your child is 2 years old. Brush gently all around your child's baby teeth, front and back.

You should brush your baby's teeth until he or she is old enough to hold the brush. Continue to supervise the process until your child can rinse and spit without assistance. That usually happens at around age 6.

Thank You for 2018

To all our patients, vendors and folks who referred their friends and family members to our practice, we strive daily to exceed your expectations in pediatric and orthodontic care at Pediatric Dental Specialists. Your confidence in our practice is truly appreciated.

Dr. Cortez, Dr. Sanchez, Dr. Planells and all of the team members wish you, your family and friends a great holiday season.

Let's all have a banner year in 2019!!

3 Tips for Caring for Your Baby's Gum's

There is nothing quite like the first year of your baby's life. It is full of milestones and monumental moments. For a parent, there is nothing more joyous than seeing your baby's smile and seeing those first few sets of teeth coming in. If you take the time to care for your child's gums properly, you can set a precedent of a great oral health in his or her future.

Healthy gums are simple to maintain. It is important to remember oral health care begins before any signs of their teeth appearing. Healthy gums contribute to a healthy smile, before teething occurs.

1. Clean Your Baby's Gums
It's important to begin cleaning your child's mouth even before her teeth come in. Wipe the gums off after each feeding with a warm, wet washcloth or a dampened piece of gauze wrapped around your finger.

2. Avoid Tooth Decay
Most parents believe baby teeth are not as important because they will eventually be replaced by permanent teeth. This is further from the truth because baby teeth are preserving space for the permanent teeth and help your baby chew and speak.

You can avoid tooth decay in your child by not leaving them with a bottle in their mouth for long periods of time, or letting them fall sleep with their bottle.  Tooth decay in infants can occur when sugary liquids are left in your baby's mouth for a long time.

3. Avoid Sugary Foods
Just like in adults, foods that are high in sugar create an environment for bacteria to grow, which leads to tooth decay. When baby's begin to accept and eat solid foods, it is important to be cautions of sugary foods.

Bonus Tip: 
Schedule a dental exam. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that Baby get his first dental exam at age 1, or when his first tooth appears.

Open Wide and Say BOOO!

Halloween is around the corner and kids of all ages will be tempted to indulge in sugary treats. Here are some timely ‘tricks’ to safely enjoy those tempting ‘treats.’

Say ‘boo’ to sticky and chewy snacks such as caramel, gummies, taffy, jelly beans, bubblegum and popcorn.  Even if you don’t wear braces, aligners or other orthodontic “appliances,” be careful with these types of treats to prevent damage to your teeth.

While some candy is permissible, such as soft chocolates, peanut butter cups or other melt-in-your-mouth varieties, please remember to enjoy these goodies in moderation during the Halloween season and throughout the year.  Find orthodontic-friendly alternatives at https://www.aaoinfo.org/1/recipes

It’s also important to be especially vigilant about brushing and flossing during any holiday or celebration when you’ll be eating more sweets than usual.

Halloween falls during National Orthodontic Health Month and the American Association of Orthodontists and I encourage everyone to have a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Helpful Dental Tricks and Tips for a Happy Halloween

The Fall season is here, and it is an exciting time of year for many children as they prepare for Halloween festivities and trick or treating. Here are a few “tricks” and tips from the team at Pediatric Dental Specialists that may help protect your children’s oral health.

Inspecting Candy:
An adult should inspect the candy and discard any items that display the following: unusual appearance, tears/ holes in the wrappers, anything homemade should be discarded unless you know who personally gave it to them. For young children, discard any choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies, or small toys.

Moderation is Key:
After trick-or-treating, set a specific treat time with your child for when they can eat a treat. The best time to have a treat is following a meal such as lunch or dinner. Saliva production increases during and after a meal, and the extra saliva can help wash away sugars and clean the teeth. If your children are eating candy throughout the day they may be at increased risk for tooth decay.

Choose the Correct Candy:

Select candy that won’t be as harmful to teeth. Hard candies can chip or crack teeth. It is best to allow these treats to melt in the mouth. Avoid giving your children sticky candies as they tend to dislodge fillings and crowns and stay in the grooves of back teeth. Plain chocolate bars melt quickly, are softer, and the least harmful to teeth.

Good Oral Hygiene:

It’s important that your children brush their teeth twice daily for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste. Flossing is also recommended to help keep the sugar bugs away where the toothbrush can’t reach. Good oral hygiene will help keep your children’s mouth healthy.

Candy Buy Back:

Consider donating Halloween candy or else join us for our buy back. We want your Halloween candy and will pay you for it! We will give our patients $1 per pound of candy up to 50 pounds of candy. All candy donors will also be entered into a raffle to win a gift card. Come by the office from 11/1 to 11/7 to make the candy switch. Check our website for drop off dates.

Different Types of Mouthwashes

Mouthwash is an essential part of a good oral hygiene routine, that often goes unnoticed. But did you know there are multiple types of mouthwash? Each also has a different function and works in different ways to help your teeth.

Fluoride Mouthwash: You’ve heard how fluoride helps your teeth. Well fluoride in mouthwashes, does just that and helps protect your teeth from cavities and tooth decay. Be careful when using this type of mouthwash because an intake of too much fluoride is not good.

Antiseptic Mouthwash: This is the most common type of mouthwash, you probably have some in your cabinet. This type of mouthwash contains alcohol and used to eliminate bad breath and fight infections in your mouth. Along with brushing your teeth and flossing, all three work together to fight bad breath and bacteria.

Cosmetic Mouthwash: The only benefit of this mouthwash, to your oral health care is to mask bad breath.

Natural Mouthwash: Natural mouthwash has the same functions of all the other mouthwash, except their ingredients are natural. It is the popular alternative to alcohol-free mouthwash.

If you have any questions about what type of oral hygiene products to use during and after your orthodontic treatment, please do not hesitate to ask us.

When Should I Take my Child to the Dentist?

Our commitment at Pediatric Dental Specialist is to providing the highest quality oral health care services and education for infants, children and teenagers including those with special needs. Our qualified professional team is dedicated to guiding our patients to obtain optimal oral health in a nurturing and friendly environment.

We recommend that children as young as one-year old have their teeth evaluated by a pediatric dentist. The earlier you start, the better chance we have to prevent any potential problems. In addition to checking for decay and other conditions, our staff will teach you how to clean your child’s teeth properly, identify your child’s risk for cavities, and offer you helpful advice that will help your child build a lifetime of good dental habits.

By 2 1/2 - 3 years old, most children have all their baby teeth in place. This is a perfect time to introduce them to a healthy routine of brushing their teeth, flossing and eating the right foods. Baby teeth hold space for permanent teeth, and they are just as essential for oral hygiene and a key component of maintaining healthy adult teeth.

It is best that kids see us on their first birthday and twice-yearly after that. These combined with the right home care will keep those teeth healthy all through childhood.

During the first exam, we will check all of your child’s existing teeth for decay, examine their bite and look for any other potential issues with the gums, jaw and oral tissue.