April Showers Bring May Flowers Contest

Here, at Smiles For Kids Pediatric Dentistry, we’ve launched a new spring contest!

With all of the rain that has come our way this past month, we have a beautiful bouquet of flowers blooming in our waiting area!

Come by to guess how many flowers are hanging from the umbrella. The contest deadline is May 31^st. We will announce the winner on June 1^st. The patient that gets closest to the right number will win an amazing summer prize basket. It’s going to include a cool coloring book, bright crayons, fun bubbles, a jump rope, and an awesome movie ticket!

Good luck to all!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Traditional versus Electric Toothbrush

Should I switch to an electric brush? Does my child need a spin brush? Will it make his or her teeth cleaner?

Nowadays, there’s a huge range of toothbrushes available from ones that play your child’s favorite song, light up, or time his or her brushing. Some are manual, some battery-powered, and others can be recharged.

At Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry, we love all options! What works so well about these electric brushes is that they often motivate the patient. They can also help time the patient so that they get their full two minutes of brushing in.  So, if your child is more eager to brush with the one that spins and lights up, then we recommend that one! We know that kids rarely get excited about brushing so any little motivator is a positive in our book. In terms of actually getting the teeth clean, both a traditional and electric brush can do the same job.

Things to watch out for with these are that children need to be monitored. Small children should not be left to brush by themselves. They do not have the dexterity to effectively get their teeth clean. In addition, they can cause injuries to themselves and their delicate gum tissue.  Always make sure that they are using a soft brush. All kids should be brushing with a soft-bristled brush. Hard-bristled brushes can cause damage to the soft tissues and teeth.

As always, Dr. Lindhorst and Dr. Jadav recommend brushing two times a day for two minutes each time!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Silver Crown or White Crown?

When baby teeth have large decay, in some instances, they cannot be restored with a filling. When that is the case, Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry has choices as to what type of crown can be placed.  

The gold standard of our industry is the stainless steel crown. They have a proven track record and are very durable. Due to their thin, strong, and malleable metal, we can shape them to fit almost any tooth. They are more cost-effective than the white crowns. On the other hand, they are obviously not as aesthetic.

To many parents' relief, white crowns for baby teeth are now also available. They are made out of Zirconium: beautiful, white, but inflexible material. Their most obvious advantage is the aesthetics. Unfortunately, because of the hard material, we cannot get them to fit every tooth. We also have to remove more of the tooth structure to fit this thicker crown. Also, due to the nature of the material, it is more likely to break. They cost more than stainless steel crowns as the material, production of the crown, and tooth preparation are longer, harder, and more expensive.

There is no right or wrong choice in most cases. If Dr. Lindhorst and Dr. Jadav feel that one will be better for your child than another, they will specify. Otherwise, it is up to the parents to decide which one they prefer.  Parents make that decision based on location of the tooth in the mouth, aesthetics, duration of the tooth before it sheds, as well as cost.  We are always available to answer any questions about white versus silver crowns.

We hope this explains some of the pros and cons of silver versus white crowns!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Valentine’s Day Contest

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry has a new contest! It started earlier this week and will run until February 11th.All the kids have to do is to tell us why they love coming to the dentist. We will have hearts and stars for them to fill out in the reception area. Just have them write what they love! We have started decorating the office with these adorable entries!

Dr. Lindhorst and Dr. Jadav will announce one lucky winner on February 16th. He or she will get to take home an entire Valentine’s Day basket filled with a coloring book, crayons, a stuffed animal, and other goodies! We can’t wait to see all of your creative and cute ideas!

Dr. Jadav Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Over-retained Baby Teeth - “Shark Teeth”

One of the most common concerns we address at our office is kids having a double row of teeth when the new permanent ones come in. Parents often call it having “shark teeth”.

Most often, on the lower jaw, the permanent teeth come in on the tongue side of the baby teeth.

On the lower, the permanent teeth usually come in on the side of the roof of the mouth.

Sometimes the permanent tooth will not resorb the root of the baby tooth. The permanent tooth will then take the path of least resistance.

For these teeth, we recommend an evaluation by Dr. Lindhorst or Dr. Jadav. We can determine whether we would like the patient to try to wiggle out his or her baby tooth on their own. We typically give kids two weeks to wiggle them out. If they cannot do it in that time period, we will often recommend extraction of the over-retained baby tooth. We always need a current radiograph of the teeth to check on root structure, degree of root presence, and any possible anatomical obstacles for extraction. Given that there is enough space for the permanent tooth, it will likely move more into the arch. Possible outcomes of no treatment include gingival irritation/infection, gingival defects on permanent teeth such as recession, and permanent malpositioning of permanent teeth.

We hope this sheds some light on a very common issue for our little ones!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Fun Finds on the Internet

Here, at Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry, we love to update our parents and patients on the latest and greatest in every way that we can. You can check out our website at www.smiles-for-kids.com for up-to-date information and advice on anything from your child’s first dental visit to which sugary drinks to avoid. Here are some very helpful websites that we’ve found along the way that you can browse during the holiday break.

Are you looking for some fun tunes for your little one to brush to? Check out http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/kids-brushing-playlist. They have a Sesame Street song, a nursery rhyme and even a zombie song for the older kids! Little things like this can make brushing a more enjoyable and less stressful time for your kids!

This next one is a real gem. It goes through the 8 secrets to a good dental check-up. It emphasizes planning ahead, practicing age-appropriate dental habits at home, timing it right, using one child as a model for another child, feeding your child a light meal prior to the appointment to avoid crankiness, leaving your own anxieties at the door, keeping cool if your child doesn’t cooperate, and grabbing a few business cards on your way out in case you need to contact your dentist. Check out more at http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/babies-and-kids/back-to-school.

The last one answers a lot of questions that parents often ask Dr. Lindhorst and Dr. Jadav. When will my son or daughter’s tooth fall out? When will the next one likely come in? We have a very helpful chart on our website at http://www.smiles-for-kids.com/eruptionCharts.aspx. Note that everything is a range and some kids teeth earlier than others. This will, however, give you a pretty good idea of what to expect!

We hope you enjoy these as much as we did! Happy Holidays!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Thanksgiving Time

We can’t believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner! We have special schedule that week to help accommodate our patients. We will be open Monday, November 23^rd through Wednesday, November 25^th. Monday and Tuesday we will have regular hours. On Wednesday, we are open until 3 pm. We can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces!  

When you come in, don’t forget to stop by the front desk. Kids can enter our contest by guessing how many M&Ms are in the jar. We’ve gotten quite a few very close guesses so far! If your little one guesses right, he or she could be the winner of a Target gift card! Second and third place winners get movie tickets! The last day to enter is Wednesday, November 25^th. The winner will be announced Tuesday, December 1^st.

Here, at Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry, we want to give thanks for all of our wonderful families! In case we don’t get to see you at the office, we want to wish each and every one of you a safe and memorable Thanksgiving holiday!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Braces & Healthy Smiles

As anyone who has had braces knows, keeping them clean requires more time, diligence, and attention. At Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry, we stress good oral hygiene during orthodontics. During hygiene appointments, we review brushing techniques and flossing. We answer any questions and give specific recommendations for every patient. We formulate an individualized preventive plan for every patient so that they not only come out with an amazing smile, but a very healthy one! If we notice a patient is having difficulty keeping their teeth clean, we will recommend a cleaning only appointment in 3 months before the next 6 month appointment. This way, we can assess how they are doing and help keep those smiles healthy! Some patients may also need fluoride rinses and/or fluoride gels as part of their plan.

Poor oral hygiene during braces can have a serious and lasting effect on a patient’s teeth and gums. Without optimal brushing and flossing, plaque tends to sit on the teeth. As the bacteria accumulate, it creates acid. This forms white spots and even cavities on the teeth. The gums become red and inflamed, which can cause gingivitis and bad breath.

These pictures above show what happens when you have poor oral hygiene during braces. As plaque accumulates around the brackets, we can see breakdown of the tooth. It starts out as faint white lines (permanent white spots) and can progress all the way to brown cavitations. This cannot be reversed!

At Smiles for Kids, Dr. Lindhorst and Dr. Jadav are dedicated to keeping your child’s teeth and gums healthy during orthodontics!

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Dr. Jadav

Halloween Candy Buy Back

The cooler, fall weather is finally here! That means that Halloween is right around the corner. Some of our kiddos are already thinking of cute costume ideas!

It’s almost time for our annual Halloween Candy Buy Back program! For the 4th year, Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry has joined Operation Gratitude in donating candy and toothbrushes to our troops.

Every child is eligible to receive $1 per pound for all unopened, uneaten Halloween candy. We encourage all of our participants to also write a nice note or letter to the troops so that we can deliver them alongside toothbrushes and the candy. We will have pen and paper ready for you at the front desk if you forget to do it at home. The program goes for 2 weeks, starts on Tuesday, November 3^rd and ends on Friday, November 13^th.

We hope you have a safe and fun time trick or treating! We look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces come by the office soon! We will have the scale ready for weighting and money ready to exchange for your CANDY.

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

ENAMEL HYPOPLASIA

What is enamel hypoplasia? It is a tooth defect that results in less quantity of enamel than normal. It ranges from very small areas to an entire tooth being discolored or disfigured. Sometimes, it is only an aesthetic concern. Other times, these teeth can be sensitive and may be more susceptible to cavities.

What does it look like?

It can change the color, size, shape or texture of the tooth. All or part of the tooth may look more white or brown as compared to other teeth.

What causes it?

It is difficult to pinpoint the cause but it is thought that environmental and genetic factors during tooth formation cause this condition. This includes trauma to the tooth during formation, infections during pregnancy or infancy, hypoxia, and genetic conditions.

What needs to be done about it?

Treatment depends on the severity of the hypoplasia and if the patient is having symptoms. In some cases, careful observation is enough. In minor cases, we can place sealants. Dr. Lindhorst or Dr. Jadav may need to do a filling or place a stainless steel crown to help protect the tooth. When the patient is older, he or she may need a full coverage porcelain crown or veneers.

Your Child's First Dental Visit

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry both recommend that your child’s first dental visit be on or before his or her first birthday. You may be wondering what we do at a first visit and why it’s so important to start early.  So here is an overview of what we do and talk about during those early visits. ORAL DEVELOPMENT - A lot of changes happen in a child’s mouth from when they are born until they get their full set of baby teeth. It is important for us to let parents know what to expect. We will talk about timing of new teeth coming in, what to expect when they are erupting, and how many of them are left to come in. Dr. Lindhorst or Dr. Jadav will show you if your child has any variations of normal with their teeth and what that means for your child such as teeth that have extreme sizes, missing or extra teeth.  By starting early, we can let you know if we see any early signs of decay. Many times, when we see these very early signs, we can suggest diet or oral hygiene changes that can prevent having to do treatment on these teeth. Aside from his or her teeth, we will be checking the tongue, cheeks, jaws, and tonsils. We want to make sure every aspect of your child’s mouth, bite, and jaws look healthy!

ORAL HYGIENE - Parents often ask when to start brushing and how to brush their little ones. We will review and demonstrate when to start, how to position them, and what toothpaste to use.  At our office, we rate oral hygiene on a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best. That way, you can see how well you are brushing at home.

DIET – Diet plays a major component in cavity formation. For babies, we will review bottle use. For toddlers, we talk about gummy snacks, sippy cups, and juices. For older kids, we will review the types of foods (ooey, gooey, sticky) to try to avoid. Sippy cups, juices, and candy are just a few of the nutrition topics we will cover.

HABITS - We will talk about habits that your little one may have like thumb sucking, a pacifier use, or nail biting. Although a lot of these habits are age appropriate, we will review long term changes that they can cause in terms of his or her bite and when is a good time to wean the kids off of them.  We will also discuss in detail methods and tools that can help parents facilitate this process.

TRAUMA - We will review what to do if and when your child ever has any trauma to the teeth. It’s very common as the kids are starting to walk, run and climb and we want parents to know what to look for, when to call us, or when to come see us in the office.

Most of all, we want you and your child to be very comfortable here. The more your child visits for these early, easy "well baby" appointments, the more likely that he or she will realize that coming to the dentist is fun! We can’t wait to meet your little one!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Fish, Flip Flops and Sunshine!

We are so excited that summer is here at Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry. We love hearing about all the fun adventures our patients are taking. We can’t wait to see all of our amazing kids over the next few weeks!

Come by and enter our summer contest starting Tuesday, July 14^th when we are back from our summer vacation. Bring out your inner artist! We’ll have fish, flip flops and suns to decorate. Every kid can choose one and make it their own while they are here. With each piece of artwork, we’ll decorate our waiting room with a summer scene. Please don’t forget to have the kids write their names on their masterpieces so that we can let them know if they win. We’re on the hunt for the most creative, spunkiest, and coolest decorations! The winner gets a fantastic summer movie fun pack for the whole family! It will be filled with movie tickets, popcorn, and summer goodies! The winner will be announced Tuesday, August 18^th.

With all of your creativity, we know we will be able to decorat  e our office with a splash of fun!

Summertime 2015 at Smiles For Kids!

Hello sunshine, swimming, and vacations! We’re so excited to hear about all the kids’ summer camps, vacations, and adventures. It looks like the kiddos are going to some really cool places this summer! We have patients going to local summer camps, lake houses a drive away, and far away destinations like Singapore! Take your Smiles for Kids shirt and snap a picture. You can email it to us and we can share it on our Facebook page! Keep your eyes peeled for our annual summer contest!

When you come in, you might notice that we have a few extra helpers to make the summer flow smoothly. You’ll see Alexander’s smiling face at the front desk. Victor is our seasoned summer helper who lends a hand behind the scenes. They’re both wonderful additions to the Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry team and we’re so happy to have them!

Summer is a great time to get the kids in for their cleanings and check-ups before school starts up. We’ve adjusted our scheduling to accommodate our patients. Give us a call to get your summer appointment before it gets filled up! We can’t wait to see you!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles For Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Staying Hydrated this Summer

As the Houston heat is setting in, Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry wanted to remind everyone about staying hydrated this summer.  It is super important for our kids to get plenty of fluids especially with the onset of intense summer heat and summer activities coming up. It seems like there are a million and one options these days at the grocery store when it comes to drinks for our kids. Here’s a quick guide to help you make the best choices for your little one. Juice

Juice is loaded with sugar, which will only accelerate the cavity process! Even 100% organic juices have lots of sugar. We have to be very careful to limit juices. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting juice intake to less than 4-6 oz per day for children ages 1-6. The constant exposure to sugar and acid can quickly break down teeth.  Because of all the sugar and acid, juice is also not a good choice for hydration.  It actually causes more thirst! We recommend giving children fresh fruit slices to get their daily fruit intake. A fun idea for summer is to freeze grapes for a fun, juicy, and healthy afternoon snack!

Sports Drinks

Sports drinks are not recommended for young children. Having them often increases your child’s risk for obesity. They can cause dental erosion because they are acidic. All the sugar will increase their risk for cavities, too.

Sodas

Soda, as we all know, is bad for our teeth and bodies. Drinking soda can be as bad as having battery acid in our kid’s mouth. The acidity can quickly cause breakdown and weakening of teeth.

Keep in mind that frequency is key. It’s worse to sip on a juice drink all day than to just have it during a meal when it comes to your teeth. We recommend that kids should only use sippy cups if they have not mastered using a cup. If it’s not for mealtime, there should only be water in it. All in all, the best option is always water! It will keep our little ones hydrated without all the side effects that juices, sports drinks, and sodas have.  Not to mention that it is much less pricy!

Look at how much sugar these drinks have in them! We would never let our kids eat sugar cubes so why give them drinks loaded with this much sugar?

Happy Summer!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

My child is a thumb (finger, pacifier) sucker!!! What should I do???

One of the most common questions we get from young parents is about navigating the maze of a "sucking habit".  The so called "non-nutritive sucking" is a natural way of comforting themselves for many young ones.  You are one lucky parent if you have a child who does not suck on hands, thumbs, fingers, blankets, shirts, or stuffed animals.  Most of us however are not this lucky and we spend years trying to figure out what to do about it.  So let me put your mind at ease and give your some dental guidelines on when and what do.   But most of all, I want you to know that all these habits will stop at some point.  I don't have any patients who got to high school or college sucking on anything and any dental problems they had self inflicted because of the habit are all fixed by now.  Some naturally go back to what the jaw wants to look like and some need a little help from a friendly orthodontist.  But nevertheless all our patients will eventually have beautiful smiles.All that said, we do want our patients to go through as little trouble because of sucking habits as possible. But each child is very different and so is each family.  So here are the guidelines and you will need to adapt them to your own situation.  My children have been humbling me each and every day of my life and picking your battles is a very tricky game!

PACIFIERS:

These useful little calming devices are many parents' best friends early in life.  They let us sleep a little which is such a luxury! So if your little one likes a pacifier, let them have it and don't stress about it.  There are many different types of pacifiers and just as many articles on which one of them works best.  But in reality, it's not the pacifier that will determine your little ones bite, it's the force of suction which is each child's individual preference.  One advice we have is to use pacifiers for what they are designed.  If you let your little one rely on it all day you will not only create a habit that is hard to stop, but the amount of time your child is sucking on that pacifier will increase the chances of making big changes in the structure of the jaw.  So our advice is to make them a bed only device.  Keep them in the crib or bed and do not allow them at any other times.  Not only is that dentally desirable but also developmentally important as kids must learn how to self calm without relying on external devices.

Quitting time... From a dental stand point pacifiers should be put away around 18-24 months of age.  This gives the young, growing, flexible jaws plenty of time to reshape themselves and cause as little long term damage as possible.  The good news is that parents have complete power over the pacifiers. That's also the bad news.  That puts the ball in our court :). There is no magic bullet on taking away that paci.  It takes parental will power and couple of short, loud and slightly upsetting nights.  But children are amazing and after two to three nights they find a way of soothing themselves without that long term friend.  You can try cutting off the tip of the paci. Your little one is smart enough to know that it is no longer working and will ask for another one.  That's again where your will power comes in.  You can donate the paci to a cause worthy to your child.  This could be a new baby cousin, puppies or kittens or baby princesses. Anything that rocks his or her boat will work.  The most important part however is that parental resolve. We will be happy to support you in the endeavor, but the hard part is making that leap.

THUMBS/FINGERS AND OTHER BODY PARTS:

This is where real work starts as you cannot take away this handy device!  Kids who want to suck their thumbs will not be tricked with pacifiers so don't worry that you didn't push that pacifier hard enough when they were babies.  We do not advise parents to worry about it  until past the age of three.  We use potty training as a good indicator or readiness. At three years of age we start discussing this habit with both parents and kids.

STEP ONE: between ages of three and four we advise lots of positive encouragement and positive reinforcement with stickers, prizes, example of people and characters they love and respect who do not suck thumbs and promised rewards for quitting.  The goal is to make your child aware of all the wonderful things that can and will happen when they are done with the habit.  Only a small percentage of kids will actually quit at that time, but many will know that they should. If the habit is propelled by a "lovee" of any kind such as a  blanket or stuffed animal, you will have to think about a good time to part with that.  This goes back to parental will power and readiness.  :)

STEP TWO: after four years of age it's time to get a little more serious.  This is the time when some physical barriers such as gloves worn in times most likely leading to sucking (such as during TV time, in the car or during the night time routine) should be engaged.  There is a series of devices sold in kids' stores as well as on the Internet that can help.  But simple bandaids, gloves, or those nasty tasting nail polishes will do the same job for a lot less money.  Of course all of these can be taken off so they must be used in conjunction with all the previous incentives. Your little one must be a willing participant and this work is hard for both them and parents. But don't be discouraged! We are also here to help providing additional prizes, incentives and the wall of fame for all our brave souls who finally quit the habit!  At this point the "lovee" must be gone to achieve any success.

STEP THREE: if your little one is still sucking his or her fingers shortly before the eruption of permanent teeth, well into that 5th year of life, we strongly encourage parents to consider a dental appliance that will assist your little one in getting rid of that  habit.  The appliance is small, fits inside the mouth and causes no pain in fabrication or placement. It's role is not to hurt the fingers or thumbs but to create a permanent barrier that will not allow any suction, which is what causes the satisfaction in sucking those fingers.  Kids do great with that device and it gives us the greatest chance of getting rid of the habit.  We will be happy to show both parents and kids the appliance and discuss its creation.  We advise parents to keep it in for around 6 months to ensure success. Well... Now that we've given you the good, the bad, and the ugly it's time to figure out where your family is in the scheme of readiness.  We are here to provide you moral and emotional support and to be your cheerleaders!

Holiday Time 2014 at Smiles For Kids

It's hard to believe that the Holiday Season of 2014/2015 is over! It went by too fast.  We had a blast at Smiles For Kids with all the different  exciting events of December.  We started the fun during the week of Thanksgiving.  It's always such a busy week for us in the office with so many kiddos being out of school and many of our college age patients visiting.  We worked hard that week, but it was worth it! So much fun. Right after Thanksgiving we saw one of our former assistants, now all grown up with a college degree to her name and grad school ahead of her, get married.  Melissa worked with us for many of her high school and college years and it was so exciting to see her enter with such happiness into marriage. After Thanksgiving we came back to work excited about December.  Aside from all the fun events we participate in, we always think about holiday cheer we could spread to the ones in need.  Every year we adopt a family in need from a local school and shop for them for Christmas.  We fulfill their Christmas wants and needs and this year that included school uniforms, shoes, dishes, toys and gift cards.  Our whole team participated and everyone pulled together to make it an unforgettable Christmas for this family of six.  We also continued our tradition of collecting toys for The Star of Hope.  We love that our amazing patients and their families participate and help us make many little ones happy!

And then of course it's time of celebration! We celebrate a lot of things in our practice every day and during the month of December we share the fun.  We dress up in our best Christmas attire each Friday and spread the joy of the season.

Since this is also the season of reflexion on the past year, we always thank all our referral sources such as pediatricians and other doctors who send us amazing patients with a holiday gift.  This year we had fun dental coaster made for each of the doctors and we treated their teams with lots of chocolate! We also love to spend time with each other and celebrate with a holiday party.  This year we decided on lunch time party at a local restaurant with yummy Italian fare and we shared our Secret Santa gifts (blenders, socks, sweaters, boots... You name it!) as well as our crazy game of White Elephant. After this lovely meal and after sharing a ton of laughter we walked over to Kendra Scott and had a jewelry making party. So many beautiful things were made!!!  So much fun!

The last few days of December were super busy here.  We again welcomed all the kiddos who were out of school and hanging out with us.  We love hearing all the stories  of finals, college acceptance, SATs taken, friends made, upcoming trips, and holiday preparations.  You guys are such important parts of our lives. We are so thankful for having you!

Our last, but not least, joy of 2014 came after Christmas.  As our team was sharing the joy of the holidays with friends and family at home (we close the office in this time because we believe that nothing is as important as family), dr. Jadav was in her final days of pregnancy and her sweet princess, her bundle of joy, Meera, joined us on December 30th.  We are so excited about that and can't wait to meet her!

Our team is excited to enter 2015 and we hope to see you guys very soon.  Thanks for sharing 2014 with us!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bye, Bye Miss Sugarbug

As many of you know, Miss Sugar Bug is retiring. We’re so thankful for your votes and comments on Facebook for our new mascot. You may be wondering what exactly our mascot does at Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry. Miss Sugar Bug helps get the word out about brushing, flossing, foods/drinks that cause cavities, and what we can do to have a healthy smile! Here are some of the events that our Miss Sugar Bug visits! School Visits

Mrs. Yvette does presentations at local elementary schools, Montessori schools and day cares to help promote healthy smiles! Here are some cute photos of Mrs. Yvette and Miss Sugar Bug in action!

Spring Valley Fall Festival

Most recently, Mrs. Yvette has been taking Miss Sugar Bug on her last few rounds around town! Here are a few photos from the Spring Valley Fall Festival. Mrs. Martina and Mrs. Kasia also had fun at the festival!

Here are a few photos from last year’s Spring Valley Fall Festival.

The Heights Bike Rally

Miss Sugar Bug had fun getting some fresh air and spreading the word about sugar bugs!

Exxon Mobil Health Fair

Check out Mrs. Kasia and Miss Sugar Bug at their awesome booth!

Keep your eyes peeled for the new Smiles for Kids mascot!

Take care,

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

Fall for Fun at Smiles For Kids!

With the beautiful fall weather coming our way, we have started decorating for fall and wanted to spread the word about a few of our October events!

 Candy Corn Contest

Come by the front desk to guess how many candy corn candies are in our jar. The closest guess will win a LEGO set! Second and third place winners will get gift cards. The deadline to enter is October 30^th so come on by!

 

Halloween Candy Buy Back

It’s almost time for our annual Halloween Candy Buy Back program! Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry has joined Operation Gratitude in donating candy and toothbrushes to our troops.

Each child is eligible to receive $1 per pound for all unopened, uneaten Halloween candy. We encourage all of our participants to also write a nice note or letter to the troops so that we can deliver them alongside toothbrushes and the candy. The program starts on Tuesday, November 4^th and ends on Friday, November 14^th.

New Mascot

Help us choose our new mascot! We’re retiring Miss Sugar Bug and need your help choosing a new, fluffy friend to help spread the word about sugar bugs! We will post the contenders on our Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smiles-For-Kids-Pediatric-Dentistry/341764944515). “Like” the one that you want to win by Tuesday, November 4^th. We will announce the winner Wednesday, November 5^th. Look out for our Demand Force update for more details.

We can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces here soon! We hope you enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!

Dr. Jadav

Smiles for Kids Pediatric Dentistry

PATIENTS' APPRECIATION PARTY 2014

Wow that was fun!  We had such a blast with our patients and parents at our Annual Patients' Appreciation Party.  As we have done in the past 3 years, we rented out Studio Movie Grill in Town and Country for our patients.  Sunday afternoons seem to work very well for everyone so at 2:30pm on Sunday September 21st we welcomed around 150 guests to our party.  We start with fun games for everyone.  Stefanie and Kasia led our Bingo Team.  Kids who won got gift cards to Toys R Us.  That looked like a lot of fun.

We also had our Spinner Game with lots of fun prizes to chose from, Pin A Cavity On A Tooth game led by Yvette and our Bean Bag Toss with Dani as the boss.

 

And of course we always enjoy face painting that Malgosia, Brittney and Anitra took on this year.  They did a great job with ladybugs, snakes, rainbows, flowers and other fun creations.

We invited our special guests this year as well.  Our two balloon artists were fantastic.  They did an amazing job with Frozen characters, swords, Spiderman and they even made us our signature airplane!  So cool!

Idea Lab Kids brought their project as well.  This year they had kids make slime and that was a hit!  We partied hard for about an hour until it was time for food.  Yummy pizza definitely hit the spot with all of us.  Before we started the movie, we did our door prize drawings and both kids and parents got to win gift cards to the movies, Toys R Us or dinners.

Speaking of the movie, this year we watched Wreck It Ralph while munching on popcorn.  That's such a fun movie for everyone.  Fun was had by all!!!  Thanks for coming to celebrate with us.  We truly love our patients and all the parents.

Lift that lip!!!

We love out babies to pieces!  We love those sweet googly eyes, those tiny little ears, those velvety feet and delicious smelling rolls!  We gaze for hours at those adorable little creatures, but somehow baby teeth seem forgotten in the admiration we give them.   Many parents ask us why exactly are we so stuck on those baby teeth.  "Aren't they coming out anyway?" Oh yes they are!  At least we hope so.  But meantime they serve a very important role and we want moms and dads to be well educated about the merits of baby teeth.  We want those teeth to be admired as much as the rest of those fluffy little ones.  So exactly, why are they important?  Well... they help kids eat well and grow strong.  They assist kids in speech development and pronunciation.  They guide permanent teeth into the right position and they provide them with a healthy, adorable smile.  Front baby teeth stay in until six to eight years of age and the back ones do not come out until twelve!  I don't even want to mention the distress that cavities, abscesses, infections, fillings, crowns or extractions cause both parents and kids! Cavities are caused by bacteria in baby's mouth that is fed by sugars from common foods and drinks such as juice, milk, sweets, crackers etc.  Let me show you a picture or two...

But the coolest thing about cavities is that they are preventable!  What would you say if we gave you tools on prevention and early detection?  Wouldn't it be wonderful if you little one's smile always looked like this?

So here are easy prevention tips:

1. Clean and brush your little one's teeth as soon as you see them.  Use soft toothbrush and add toothpaste around 18 months of age.

2. Do not allow your baby to sleep with a bottle filled with anything different than water.  Milk and juice at night will cause cavities.

3. Do not let your toddler snack or crackers, cereal or drink milk or juice all day long.  Have designated snack times.

4. Form good habits by showing your little one your own good oral hygiene, brushing and flossing daily.

5. Find a pediatric dentist and make your first appointment by 1 year of age.

But in all honesty... how will you know if your baby is starting to get cavities?  In order to know for sure  you need to find your baby a dental home by one year of age.  Meantime however, parents and care takers can check by LIFTING THAT LIP!  Lay your little one in your lap once every few weeks and lift the lip up gently.  You can see a lot by gazing at those front pearly whites.  Check for any white lines along the gums, check for dark spots between the teeth or close to the gums, check for any fractures or discoloration.  If you see anything of concern, call your pediatric dentist and set up an appointment.  Here are a few pictures with examples of what you are looking for:

This is how you LIFT THE LIP

Examples of early dental decay: white lines along the gums and early cavitations as well as cavities on the back side of the upper front teeth.

So now that you know, LIFT THAT LIP often, brush, floss, use good judgement on snacks and come see us every six months.  We will help with checking on the back teeth, making sure there are no cavities between the teeth and guiding you through great oral hygiene habits as well as answering any other questions you might have about those adorable smiles!