Oregon

Things to Know about Invisalign Braces

Invisalign is a popular and innovative teeth straightening system created to straighten teeth over time. The process doesn’t use the traditional metal brackets associated with braces but instead uses clear aligners that search much like removable mouthpieces. The new Invisalign for Teens is appropriate for kids and teens and offers the same benefits as the Invisalign system that has been used on adults for years successfully.

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Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 Braces No Comments

Baby Juice Bottles

Parents who come into my Portland, Oregon pediatric dental practice often tell me, “My baby loves juice and I just cannot take it away, so I water it down.”

These parents love their babies and want them to have all the good things in life.  Juice is sweet and delicious and healthy too.  Right?

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Sunday, March 28th, 2010 Education, Prevention, health No Comments

When to Start Kids Braces?

Most of my Portland patients ask me when to start braces for their kids.  I have been practicing orthodontics in Portland since 1995 and so I have seen many of my pediatric dental patients grow up from infancy through their teens.

Some orthodontists recommend treating crooked teeth or teeth that do not occlude (bite together properly) in two phases or treatment steps.  The first phase usually starts around second or third grade and a second phase around sixth grade.

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Sunday, December 20th, 2009 Braces, Education, Esthestics, health No Comments

Tears & Fears

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 upcoming dental visit, their own worries and fears will cause their child to worry too.

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Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 Education, New Patients No Comments

Molar Sealants

Permanent molars usually have very deep pits, grooves, and fissures on the biting surface.  These holes can be very difficult to keep clean so they are the most common place to get cavities.

In the 1970′s dentists started cleaning out these pits and fissures then squirting runny plastic into the cleaned out grooves to keep bacteria from growing there.  This procedure is called a dental pit and fissure sealant.

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Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 Prevention No Comments

Cavity Infections

Some people tell me that “weak teeth” run in the family.  I respond that everyone in the family most likely have an aggressive type of plaque on their teeth. Because cavities are caused by bacteria, they are the result of infection.

Infection with a specific type of bacteria is more likely to lead to a cavity than other types of bacteria.  One of the most aggressive bacteria is called Streptococcus mutans.  It is related to Strep throat bacteria but grows especially well on teeth.

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Sunday, August 16th, 2009 Prevention No Comments

Spotty Teeth

Many kids or their parents ask me about spots they see on teeth.

There are several different types of spots found on teeth:

  • white spots
  • chalky yellow spots
  • chalky brown spots
  • dark brown spots
  • black spots

Each of these have different causes but most have similar treatment: Treatment is either leaving it, polishing off the surface of the tooth or placing a filling of some sort.

White spots can be caused by:

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Thursday, August 6th, 2009 Esthestics No Comments

Brushing Braces

One of the hardest things to do as an adolescent is to brush your teeth.  We give brushing instructions but when you have braces, it becomes much, much, much harder to do a good job.

Brushing teeth and especially brushing around braces requires attention to detail and taking enough time to do it well.  These are not traits that teens are famous for.

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Monday, July 27th, 2009 Prevention No Comments

Oral Conscious Sedation

Some children need help coping with the fear of the unknown or anxiety of the known. A five year old boy from Milwaukie, Oregon recently needed oral sedation for his dental care.

This child had several decayed molars and the cavity on one tooth was especially deep. Since his older sister had told him that we were going to use a big shot and yank out his tooth, he got really scared.

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Saturday, March 28th, 2009 Sedation No Comments