Diagnosis and Treatment planning
Dental radiographs (x-rays) are an important part of a thorough dental exam. X-rays help diagnose conditions that cannot be detected visually such as inter-proximal cavities, infection, dental anomalies of primary and permanent teeth, anomalies in eruption of teeth and bone diseases. During your child's initial exam it will be determined if x-rays are necessary.
In our clinic we use digital radiography which gives instant, clearer X-ray with less radiation exposure to your child. In some cases you may be asked to get a larger jaw X-ray like OPG.
With the help of clinical examination and radiographs, the diagnosis of your child's oral condition will be made and you will be explained entire plan of the treatment.
Assessing Risk For Dental Decay
We use an assessment method to evaluate the risk your child has to develop decay in future. Accordingly, you will be recommended a specific plan of clinic-based and home-based techniques that your child needs to follow to reduce the risk of decay.
Based on your child?s decay risk, various at home and in-clinic procedures will be recommended for your child.
Crowns
A crown is a prefabricated crown (cap) that covers the entire visible portion of the tooth. They are used to restore the tooth when a large portion of the tooth is lost due to decay or a fracture and after pulp (nerve) treatment. The crown will provide strength back to the tooth so that the tooth can sustain normal biting forces.
Procedure involves numbing the tooth followed by tooth preparation. We use imported crowns that are selected and fitted to the tooth on the same day. We provide both metal crowns (stainless steel crowns, 3M, USA) and tooth-coloured crowns (Zirconia crowns). Problems like dislodgement of crown are almost nil if all the precautions are followed. Capped tooth sheds normally without causing any problems.
Extractions
The teeth that are absolutely unsalvageable need to be removed (extracted) as long-standing infections in such teeth would cause damage to the developing permanent teeth. Removal of the teeth is usually a last resort. Sometimes milk teeth may have to removed to make space for erupting permanent teeth. Removal of teeth in children does not cause any harm to the eye-sight or brain.
Please exercise certain rules like not discussing the scheduled procedure in front of the child. Child should have sufficient food before the appointment as he/she may not be able to eat immediately following the procedure. Tooth will be made numb with a local anesthetic injection so that child does not feel any pain during removal. We take great care not to show any offensive instruments, injection syringe-needle, blood-soaked cotton to the child.
Post-operative instructions:
After the procedure your child will be asked to hold cotton between teeth for 20-30 minutes. He/she should not spit or touch the area. Ice can be applied on the cheek. After 30 minutes ice-cream or cold milk may be given followed by pain medication prescribed by us. It may take almost 2 hours for the numbness to wear off. Till then your child may consume liquids. Eating foods that require much chewing should be avoided. A soft food diet may be recommended. Monitor your child closely so that he/she does not bite their tongue, cheeks or lips. You may have to give only soft, room temperature food for the entire day. Brushing may have to be avoided on this day.
Fillings
For cavities (decayed tooth) where the tooth pulp (nerve) is not damaged, can be restored with a ?filling? after removing decay. In our clinic we use tooth-coloured fillings like glass ionomer fillings and composite fillings using best of the products available. These fillings require less of sound tooth structure to be removed and therefore maintain the tooth?s strength. In most cases, numbing of the tooth with local anesthesia will not be required for this procedure as it is painless.
Flouride Varnish
Fluoride is effective in preventing and reversing the early signs of dental caries (tooth decay). Researchers have shown that there are several ways through which fluoride achieves its decay preventive effects. Fluoride is incorporated into the tooth structure and makes it stronger resulting in teeth that are more resistant to decay. Fluoride also acts to repair or remineralize areas in which calcium from tooth has already come out making the tooth more prone to decay. Fluoride varnish application is part of your child?s comprehensive preventive program at our clinic. The frequency of fluoride varnish application depends on your child's susceptibility to dental decay.
The procedure of fluoride varnish application involves applying the fluoride liquid with a small painting brush on your child's teeth and will require less than a minute.
Hospital Dentistry
Fluoride is effective in preventing and reversing the early signs of dental caries (tooth decay). Researchers have shown that there are several ways through which fluoride achieves its decay preventive effects. Fluoride is incorporated into the tooth structure and makes it stronger resulting in teeth that are more resistant to decay. Fluoride also acts to repair or remineralize areas in which calcium from tooth has already come out making the tooth more prone to decay. Fluoride varnish application is part of your child?s comprehensive preventive program at our clinic. The frequency of fluoride varnish application depends on your child's susceptibility to dental decay.
Oral prophylaxis (Cleaning)
Oral prophylaxis involves cleaning teeth with a soft brush and does not cause any pain. It is important to remove a layer of plaque that develops on the teeth. If your child has tartar (hard deposits), that will be removed with scaling as tartar damages gums. This procedure does not make teeth loose. The frequency of cleaning will be decided on your child's susceptibility to develop decay and tartar.
Local anesthesia
For certain dental procedure like root canal treatment, extractions, some deep filling; which may cause pain, the tooth is made numb with local anesthetic injection. We use a disposable single-use cartridge and very fine needle to administer the injection. Administration of the local anesthetic technique causes minimal pain. We also use anesthetic jelly and other distraction techniques to reduce the sensation before local anesthetic injection.
We urge you not to discuss the procedure in front of your child. We will tell the child what he/she needs to know. We take great care to keep everything out of the view of the patient and remove his/her focus from the procedure being performed. Most children do not even realize what is going on!
Post-operative instructions:
The sensation of being numb after the appointment is the most challenging aspect for a child to understand. It may take almost 2 hours for the numbness to wear off. Till then your child may consume liquids, ice-cream. Eating foods that require much chewing should be avoided for at least 2 hours. A soft food diet may be recommended. Monitor your child closely so that he/she does not bite their tongue, cheeks or lips.
Mal-aligned Teeth
Treatment of mal-aligned teeth may be performed in two stages. Many jaw-related problems need to be addressed at a very early stage even before braces are started. Dr. Dixit and her team are well trained in diagnosing conditions that require early treatment. Your child's smile and bite will be evaluated at every recall visit in order to detect any current or anticipated problems. Treatment will be recommended if necessary. Early orthodontic treatment planned according to your child's needs helps ensure the greatest result with the least amount of time and expense.
We also offer orthodontic treatment with metal as well as invisible (tooth-coloured) braces for adolescents.
Pulp (Nerve) treatments
A 'pulpotomy' (partial root canal treatment) or 'pulpectomy' (complete root canal treatment) are performed when decay is deep and has damaged the nerve of a tooth. These procedures are performed to remove the infected pulp tissue in a hope of saving the tooth until it sheds naturally. The tooth is numbed, infected pulp tissue is removed partially or completely, the root canal is sterilized and a filling is placed inside the pulp cavity. The tooth is finally restored by placing a crown, covering the remaining tooth structure and providing strength to the tooth to withstand the biting forces.
In most instances, Dr. Dixit and her team performs entire pulp treatment and the crown in a single appointment. Tooth remains symptom-free once the treatment is done.
Sealants
Newly erupted permanent molars in your child are prone to decay for several reasons. One reason being, they may have deep grooves on the chewing surfaces, which harbor plaque and food. Such narrow and deep grooves are not accessible to tooth brush bristles and therefore cannot be cleaned thoroughly, making them vulnerable to dental decay. Dental sealants act as a barrier to dental decay by sealing these groves from food and plaque. They should be applied as early as possible after the permanent molar erupts and before cavities get a chance to form. Sometimes even the milk molars might require sealants. The process of applying sealant is as simple as painting a tooth surface and is painless as no drilling is required. Once applied, sealants usually last for several years and help protect the molars from dental decay.
Prevention
Dental decay is an infectious disease (which means it can spread to other teeth in the mouth or to other people at home). However, there is good news as well!! Dental decay can be prevented. Preventive procedures and their frequencies are based on your child?s needs. They include cleaning or oral prophylaxis, fluoride treatment, sealants, etc. You also will be asked to follow oral hygiene and diet care for your child at home. Special tooth conditioners that provide essential minerals to increase toughness of enamel may also be recommended. Regular check-ups and preventive procedures are essential in our fight with dental decay.
Sports Mouth Guard
Your child?s participation in competitive sports makes them prone to small accidents and falls. We strongly recommend that they wear a sports mouth guard, which is a specially designed plate for you child, to protect their teeth from fracturing during such incidents.
Treatment for Oral Habits
Your child?s participation in competitive sports makes them prone to small accidents and falls. We strongly recommend that they wear a sports mouth guard, which is a specially designed plate for you child, to protect their teeth from fracturing during such incidents.
Space Maintainers
Primary (baby) teeth are not only important for holding space for the un-erupted permanent tooth but also they help in other important functions like chewing, growth and development of the jaws, esthetics, etc.
However sometimes when infection in the tooth dictates removal of the tooth, the neighboring teeth may tip or drift into the space, leaving little or no space for the permanent tooth to erupt. A spacer is recommended to preserve the space and prevent this from happening.
There are several different types of space maintainers, and they are custom made to fit the space of the tooth loss. Once placed, permanent tooth eruption will be monitored and the spacer will be removed when needed; therefore it is important for your child to follow-up with us for routine check-up appointments.