Preparing your Child for Dental Appointments
Parents often are unsure how to mentally prepare their children for dental appointments, sometimes forgetting that their own anxiety can be passed down unintentionally. Children remember intimidating stories and words such as ‘pain’, ‘scared’, or ‘needle’ and might associate these fears with dentistry throughout adulthood. The truth is if we start off right, most children will have a healthy outlook and positive experiences at the dentist.
As a local Calgary dentist, we would love to share some tips for our patients to prepare children for their dental visits:
- Keep explanations simple! Don’t go into detail about freezing, needles, and cavities. Instead try something like “The dentist is going to fix your tooth and he will show you how he does it at the appointment.”
- Present check-ups as an exciting event. Instead of saying “The dentist is going to check for cavities” try saying “The dentist will count all of your teeth and take pictures to see how healthy they are!”
- Promote proper home care! Preventing cavities is the easiest way to make dental visits easy. Please don’t threaten children with dental appointments and cavities when they refuse to brush. Make it a goal to ‘show the dentist how clean you keep your teeth’. We even carry some children’s toothbrushes that play different sounds the longer you brush, and have changeable face plates!
These are just a few of the steps to make dental appointments easier for kids. We have a free information guide with more tips available here at the office; please contact us for a copy!
Clean teeth are happy teeth!
Kaitlin B
The Benefits of Dental Insurance
Dental insurance can be very helpful to patients who require frequent appointments at the dentist. These benefits may be paid for by your employer, but it is important to not let them go to waste. Most insurance companies have a yearly dollar limit, and if that amount is not used it will not carry over and accumulate into the next year.
A common phrase I hear from patients is “I have dental insurance, but I don’t like going to the dentist.” That is like paying for car insurance but never driving your car! Dental insurance is a present your employer gives you because they care about you, and there are a lot of people who do not have this wonderful opportunity. Everyone values their car and it will last longer if you take it in for regular tune-ups. The same can be said for your teeth, with the exception that replacing teeth is much harder to do.
Regular check-ups using intra-oral photos and digital x-rays can detect and prevent future problems, and catch existing problems before they cause pain. Please do not delay your check-ups and be sure to take advantage of your dental benefits!
Happy flossing!
Yvonne M, RDH
Gold Fillings a Thing of the Past?
In the modern world of cosmetic dentistry, more and more patients are choosing white porcelain and composite resin (white) fillings. However there is another material that is far stronger and lasts longer. Cast gold restorations (inlays, onlays and full gold crowns) are used less frequently because they are not tooth-coloured. However, the gold colour can be very aesthetic, as the yellow tone blends in with the tooth quite well. If you are looking for an alternative, cast gold is the longest lasting dental material available. The longevity of a properly done cast gold restoration has always exceeded that of tooth-coloured materials and has been used to restore teeth for thousands of years. Below are some of the advantages of using gold to restore back teeth:
- Gold will not oxidize and discolor the teeth.
- Fragile areas of tooth structure remaining can be protected by covering them with a thin layer of gold. Gold will not fracture even when it is thin.
- The cast gold restoration will not fracture in the middle or other areas.
- The junction between the tooth and gold are nearly imperceptible if handled properly, and will not be so likely to harbor plaque, and should consistently contribute to better tissue health.
- Contact areas can be placed and polished for ease in the use of dental floss, thus promoting better tissue health.
- Gold can be polished and finished to a higher degree than other materials.
- Gold castings can be used to “bind the tooth together” and prevent tooth fracture, or relieve sensitivity from small tooth fractures.
- The normal tooth anatomy can be more nearly reproduced with a casting.
- Cast gold wears more nearly the same as tooth structure. Precise fitting castings will prevent chipping and fracturing at the margins and minimizes the possibility of leakage and bacterial invasion.
- Gold castings expand and contract very similarly to tooth structure.
- A well-placed gold casting will last much longer than other filling materials used today.
- The sensory acceptance of gold by the tongue and the feel during chewing is enhanced by the smoothness and anatomical replication of the missing tooth structure.
If you think a cast gold restoration may be for you, come in for a consultation today!
By Dr. Henry Lam, DMD, BA
References
R.V. Tucker Study Groups. (2011). Advantages of gold. Retrieved from
http://www.arvtsc.org/index.php?id=13
Small, B.W. (2008). Cast gold: The standard of care for operative dentistry. Inside
Dentistry, 66-71.
Small, B.W. (2010). Intracoronal cast gold restorations. General Dentistry, 58(2), 91-93.
Welcome to our new Deer Valley Blog
We have been serving Calgary with extended hours dentistry for 27 years and take great pride in the role we have played in the community during this time.
With 13 dentists and close to 50 support staff we are a tremendous resource of dental knowledge and we are excited to be able to share it with you.
As your partners in helping you keep your teeth healthy and attractive for life, we felt that sharing what we know on-line can help us to help you much more effectively.
So we are going to tap into the knowledge of each and every one of our dentists and staff. We are going to take turns writing an issue with ideas and suggestions for improving your dental health, sharing what’s new in dentistry, helping you manage your dental insurance, or just keeping you up to date with what is going on in our office.
Whether you are interested in cosmetic dentistry, the best toothbrush to use, or how to take care of a dental emergency we will do our best to educate and inform you with the latest in our rapidly progressing profession.
One tip I should pass on is that most dental plans allow a certain amount of dental treatment each year and it expires at the end of December with most plans. If you know you need something done, you are better off getting it done now and using up this year’s coverage, leaving a clean slate for next year in case something else crops up.
We are trying to accommodate everyone so call us and we will try to get you in if you need something done before year end.
I should also point out that we are open almost every day throughout the holiday period so if you or someone you know has a dental emergency we are there to take care of it.
Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year to all.
Dr Dave Robertson