Fruit Juice and Baby Teeth

In a recent article, the American Association of Pediatrics has announced that children under the age of 1 year should not be given fruit juice. They propose that juice "offers no nutritional benefits early in life" and that the process of making juice strips fruit of its natural fibers while concentrating sugars. From a dental perspective, fruit juice proposes many threats to developing teeth and can contribute to rampant decay. 

One of the biggest problems with childhood juice consumption is the misconception that fruit juice is "healthy." Whether natural, organic, unfiltered or cold pressed, all commercially available juices are high in dietary sugar. In fact, most rival the sugar content of colas and other soft drinks. This, combined with juice's typically acidic content, makes it a perfect fuel for tooth decay. Liquids are excellent at bathing the teeth, while the sugar content feeds bacteria and acidity weakens enamel. This perfect storm leaves many children with a tell-tale pattern of cavities sometimes known as "Mountain Dew Mouth." 

Small servings of juice once a day (particularly when served with a meal) are generally acceptable from a dental perspective. Multiple servings, putting children to sleep with bottles full of juice and sipping on juice all day (regardless of actual quantity consumed) put a child's dental health at jeopardy. Remember, tooth decay relates to the duration of time consuming a sugary beverage rather than the actual amount of sugar consumed. If you would like to know more about tooth decay, preventing cavities in baby teeth or pediatric dentistry, please give our office a call!

Pediatric and Orthodontic Offices We Work With

Providing care for children is one of the most challenging and sensitive aspect of dentistry. Kids react to the office setting within an entire spectrum of behavior; from eager and inquisitive to scared and frustrated. We have designed our office to be as welcoming as possible for your young ones with toys, cable TV (Nick, Nick Jr., Disney, etc.) and even a dedicated kid's room (seen in the background of the title photo). Still, there are times that we need to rely on our network of specialists to best meet the needs of your individual child. 

We are proud to work with Dr. Ahsan Raza of 1000 Oaks Children's Dental Group. On top of specialized behavioral management techniques, Dr. Raza prides himself in being an extremely communicative and personal pediatric dentist. He uses a number of techniques, ranging from education to sedation to ensure the best possible dental outcomes. Your kids will love his spaceship themed office too!

In terms of orthodontic offices, we are proud to work with Doctors Nagel Sr. and Nagel Jr. of Nagel Orthodontics and Dr. William Hang of Face Focused Orthodontics. Norm and Jeffrey Nagel bring together over 40 years of experience in orthodontics and pride themselves in combining the best parts of digital and hands-on dentistry. Likewise, Dr. Hang has spent his career developing the Face Focused program, an orthodontic system that develops straight teeth while respecting posture and opening airways. 

If you would like to know more about our fantastic network of specialists, please give us a call. We want our patients to know they are in good hands, whether with us or one of our specialists.

Link to Dr. Raza's office

Link to Dr. Nagel and Nagel's office

Link to Dr. Hang's office

Happy Birthday Duke!

Duke will be turning one year old this week and already has 8 of his primary teeth! The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that all children have their first dental visit by 12 months to ensure that development is continuing normally. If your youngster needs his first checkup, give our office a call!

Specialist Spotlight- 1000 Oaks Childrens Dental Group

At Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry, we are proud of the network of skilled dental specialists we have created. Whether you are in our office or one of our associates’ offices, know that you will be treated with respect, kindness and experience. Today, we would like to highlight 1000 Oaks Childrens Dental Group, the office of Dr. Ahsan Raza.

As a pediatric dentist, Dr. Raza offers a wide variety of services and techniques that address the needs of younger patients. His office specializes in creating a positive experience that leaves children enthusiastic about their dental health. Dr. Raza prides himself on developing this environment through effective communication to both patients and parents. Education, personalized care and interactive treatment allow children to become relaxed and engaged throughout the dental appointment. For parents, a small office atmosphere and emphasis on safety and sterilization provide confidence and peace of mind.

Beyond communication, Dr. Raza manages children’s dental anxiety through a number of other techniques. The first thing you will notice upon entering his office is the fantastic and immersive spaceship theme. From the waiting room to the post-treatment toys, nearly every aspect of your child’s appointment will have an astronautical flavor. The extensive theming helps create a fun environment that distracts from the actual dentistry. The treatment rooms are also equipped with televisions, movies and video games to further entertain and divert attention. In addition, Dr. Raza will utilize a number of sedation methods for particularly fearful children. Nitrous oxide, oral sedation and IV sedation are all utilized to ensure the best possible treatment outcomes.

We love working with Dr. Raza because of his communication expertise and focus on prevention. This combination allows your child’s dental needs to be addressed appropriately and in a timely manner. If you would like to know more about 1000 Oaks Childrens Dental Group or any other of our fantastic specialists, please give us a call.  We want our patients to know they are in good hands, whether with us or one of our specialists.

Dental Sealants

    One of the most common preventative dental treatments available to growing kids and teens is dental sealants. Between 10% and 50% of all students will have at least one sealant at any given grade school in the United States. While many parents are well educated on the benefits of sealants, the whole picture is slightly less clear. What are they made out of? What exactly are they “sealing?” Are they designed to last forever? In this blog post, we will shed some light on commonly asked questions on dental sealants and how they can be excellent preventative tools in young teeth.

Deep enamel pockets in the biting surfaces of molars can create difficult-to-clean teeth. 

    The principle behind dental sealants (also known as pit and fissure sealants) is very simple. In young children and teens, tooth anatomy can be deep and varied. In the molars, these “pits” (natural dips in the teeth) and “fissures” (natural troughs in the teeth) are prone to collect bacteria and acidic food particles. Unfortunately, these groves are often too big for toothbrush bristles to invade and clean. The result is a perfect pocket of food and bacteria that can sit unharmed even after a perfect brushing session.

    Sealants come into play by making these ridges and pockets shallower by using a specialized filling material. We typically place sealants on adult teeth once they are fully erupted and show signs of deep tooth anatomy. Baby teeth are usually shallow enough that sealing them is an unnecessary measure. The necessity and appropriateness of sealants are typically determined at a regular cleaning/exam appointment.

    In placing a sealant, we first use air abrasion technology to gently roughen the tooth surface around the pits and fissures. This process is extremely gentle; your normal saliva flow has strong enough remineralization powers to reverse the effects of air abrasion. After the tooth is prepared, we place a hard material called glass ionomer into the pits and grooves. We love glass ionomer because it is engineered to provide prolonged fluoride release, making it perfect for this application. Once the material is hardened and set, we perform a final adjustment to make sure the sealant isn’t interfering with normal biting and chewing. The entire appointment takes about 30 minutes for one tooth, with 15 extra minutes for each additional tooth.

A typical before (left) and after (right) of dental sealants. 

    Since we are only placing material in near-microscopic grooves (thinner than a toothbrush bristle!), the resulting “filling” is incredibly shallow and thin. Likewise, sealants can fall out or break after a number of years. This is a completely natural and expected part of the sealant life cycle. However, many of our patients have their sealants last for near lifetimes. When a sealant does fall out, we note it during a regular exam and consider the options. We can replace a sealant at any age, but changes in tooth structure often make this step unnecessary.

     For most people, extreme molar anatomy is exclusively a childhood problem. Children's teeth grow in at different paces and will often be in a position where they have nothing to hit against while chewing. This lack of constant contact makes these pockets of bacteria and food even harder to displace.  However, we can and will place sealants in adults, if necessary.

    Please note that sealants are not the same as fillings on the biting (“occlusal”) surfaces of your back teeth. If there is active decay in the pits and fissures, we must place a filling to reverse it’s progress. However, deep anatomy can usually be caught and adressed before actual decay sets in. If you have any further questions about dental sealants, how they work or why we place them, please feel free to call our office. We want all of our patients to be well educated on the best preventative services available to them and their children.

Dentistry Through the Ages: Infants and Newborns

Greetings and welcome to our on-going blog series, Dentistry Through the Ages. In these blog posts, we will cover age-group specific dental needs and concerns. Your life is constantly changing, and we want to equip you with the best information possible to keep your teeth healthy!

    Today, we want to address the dental concerns of families with newborns and infants. We know this can be an exciting and stressful time, with childcare advice coming from many (sometimes conflicting) sources. Hence, we want to ease your mind with our professional and scientifically proven advice on proper newborn dental care.

    Infant dental concerns actually begin during the prenatal months. Studies have shown that women with periodontal disease are at a higher risk for low birth weight and early term infants. It is important to minimize this concern by keeping up with your regular dental cleanings before and during pregnancy. Additionally, hormonal changes, increased snacking and morning sickness all put pregnant women at a significantly higher risk for tooth decay. We recommend that all of our pregnant patients pay special attention to their oral health and consider supplementing their current home care with further preventative products, such as xylitol rinses or chews.

    You can start your newborn on the path to great oral hygiene even before their teeth start to erupt. An important fact to remember is that oral bacteria is often transferred from caregivers to their children. Avoid sharing saliva with your infant, as your bacteria can start to colonize their mouth and cause tooth decay at a very young age. In fact, studies show that the bacterial profile of mothers and children match, even before the baby teeth come in! Once teeth begin to show through the gums, you can clean them using a washcloth or xylitol wipes. After two or more teeth “touch,” you should start to floss between them.   

    Once the teeth begin to develop, it is important to never put your infant to sleep with a milk bottle. The milk will sit on the teeth all night and eventually cause rampant decay. In fact, the decay pattern of night time milk bottles is so characteristic, it has earned itself the title of “bottle mouth.”

The unfortunate consequences of "bottle mouth."

    Beyond toothcare, infancy is a period of rapid craniofacial development. While much of this will occur naturally, proper development can be encouraged. Breastfeeding has been shown to be beneficial to proper facial growth. Global studies show that breastfeeding during the first four months of infancy are particularly critical to lower jaw development.

    Your babies teeth need to stay healthy for as long as 13 years. Thus, it is very important that you protect them right from the beginning. On top of proper home care, we recommend you bring your child in for their first check up at 12 months. This can allow us to catch decay and developmental problems before they become a much larger issue. At Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry, we are prepared to see all of your family members, no matter what the age!