Pediatric Dentist Portland & Oregon City » dentistry

Your Guide to Common Dental Terminology

Bill E. Kidd — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:01:53 +0000

If you are planning a visit to your dentist, or even if you are just curious about what all that chicken scratch in your dental chart means, you might be interested in brushing up on some common dental terminology. Here are some of the terms you may hear in the dentist’s office, along with their [...]

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Your Guide to Common Dental Terminology

How to Teach Your Child to Look Forward to Visiting a Kids Dentist

Bill E. Kidd — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:58:47 +0000

Many adults and quite a few children cringe at the mention of the word “dentist”. However, you can help your child learn to look forward to visiting the kid’s dentist by incorporating a few steps into your daily routine a few days before your scheduled appointment. Here’s how: 1. Play dentist. Let your child examine [...]

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How to Teach Your Child to Look Forward to Visiting a Kids Dentist

What You Need to Know About Dental Insurance

Bill E. Kidd — Sun, 30 May 2010 00:56:54 +0000

Good dental insurance is a lot like most other things in life, there are many policies available, but good ones are difficult to find. If your employer offers dental insurance, you may be wondering if it’s worth the cost and the hassle to sign up. The answer is generally yes, especially if you have children. [...]

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What You Need to Know About Dental Insurance

Dental Hygiene Tips for Kids

Bill E. Kidd — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:42:40 +0000

Getting your kids to take an interest in good dental hygiene can be a challenge. Brushing and flossing just aren’t as interesting as that cartoon on TV, mom’s make up, or that kickball begging for some attention. Kids consume large quantities of sugary snacks every day like fruit juices, popsicles, jelly, and cereal. These high-sugar [...]

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Dental Hygiene Tips for Kids

Tips For Parents Who Have Kids In Braces

Bill E. Kidd — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:40:57 +0000

Twenty years ago having braces was more embarrassing than anything else for a child. However, today braces are being seen as a fashion statement with people in Asia even buying prosthetic braces kits to apply at home for fashion reasons only. Although Invisalign does offer clear orthodontic care without the will need for wires, most [...]

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Tips For Parents Who Have Kids In Braces

Plaque in Portland

Mark Mutschler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:19:23 +0000

Most people have heard about dental plaque but not everyone knows what it is. Dental plaque is a thick sticky waterproof cream-colored coating that develops on teeth over time. It is made up of bacteria and their wastes with saliva components. Sticky mucopolysaccharides are the mortar of dental plaque. They protect the bacteria by gluing the [...]

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Plaque in Portland

Flossing Braces

Mark Mutschler — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:48:53 +0000

Keeping braces clean is so important to moving teeth that it bears repeating. Keeping braces clean is so important to moving teeth. Why is it important you ask? To completely correct a badly positioned tooth, the tooth must slide the brace along the wire in the brace only a few millimeters. That is NOT very [...]

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Flossing Braces

Tears & Fears

Mark Mutschler — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:59:34 +0000

As a pediatric dentist, I specialize in children and special needs patients. Nevertheless, a large part of my job is overcoming parental fears. Parents have an incredible influence on their children; both positively and negatively. Kids are so tuned into parental non-verbal communication that even if a mother does not say anything negative about an [...]

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Tears & Fears

Tartar or Calculus

Mark Mutschler — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:27:57 +0000

You know that hard stuff that seems to grow on your teeth and that sounds screechy but makes your teeth feel nice and smooth when the dental hygienist scrapes it off? That is calculus (Greek for ‘small stone’) and also called tartar (but has nothing to do with the sauce). Tartar forms by many days [...]

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Tartar or Calculus

Filling Materials

Mark Mutschler — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:40:48 +0000

When a tooth gets a cavity it must be filled or it will continue to decay and get worse – even to the point of death. What kind of materials are available to fix holes in teeth? The most common material for about a century has been silver and copper mixed with mercury with a [...]

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Filling Materials