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Concerned parents often ask Drs. Paul Pasternack, Chara Pasternack, and Christine Biondi about which kinds of snacks are best for a child's teeth. While most know that candy isn't always the best choice, many parents are confused about which kinds of after-school snacks can actually be beneficial for teeth. Left to their own devices, children might pick the sugary snack that comes in colorful packaging. There are, however, choices that are much better for your child's teeth.

Go Natural

The foods that are best for your children's teeth are also the best for their overall health. Choosing whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables, is always the best option for snacks. Try sticks of celery and let your kids dip it into all-natural peanut butter, or a juicy and crunchy apple cut into wedges.

Lean Proteins

Lean protein, such as chicken breast, fish, turkey, and lean cuts of pork also make good snacking options. For the best overall health, avoid giving your child a lot of lunch meats, because such products are often higher in sodium. However, these proteins are also low in sugar, which is always a preferable choice when it comes to teeth.

Avoid Packaged Foods

Sugars are unhealthy partly because they stick more readily to the surface of the teeth. Even foods that appear to be healthy, such as many brands of granola bars, can in fact be loaded with hidden sugars. Sugar can also be found in higher concentrations in dried fruit, honey, and syrups. The rule is that if a foodstuff has been altered in any way from its original state then there are perhaps better choices.

Beverages

Drinks are another murky area. Parents often presume that fruit juices are an acceptable beverage when in reality many of them are loaded with excessive sugar as well. The best beverages for your child's teeth are water and low-fat milk. Milk has the added benefit of containing calcium, which is highly beneficial for the bone structure that supports the teeth.

An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but it is also a great snack to keep teeth healthy. The next time your children are looking for an after-school snack, guide them toward healthier, low-sugar options that are beneficial to their overall health and their teeth.

Just like that, it’s Spring, and the world looks brighter! The skies are sunnier. Daylight in Vorhees lasts longer. And your family’s smiles can be brighter, too—with a little bit of spring cleaning.

After all, sometimes dental habits become routine, and we start to skip a few steps. Children might not brush as long as they should, or forget to floss every day. Busy lives might mean your family is behind schedule for an exam and cleaning.

You want the best for your child’s dental health, so we have some easy-to-follow steps to help keep young smiles their cleanest and brightest.

Assemble the right tools.

• Use soft-bristled toothbrushes, because anything firmer can be hard on small (and grown-up!) teeth and gums. If your child is having trouble cleaning away food particles and plaque, especially around braces, an electric toothbrush might be a game changer.
• Find the right floss. If your child is skipping this important step because it’s difficult, there are lots of options available to make flossing easier and more successful. Whether it’s a different type of floss, floss picks, interproximal brushes, or water flossers, Drs. Paul Pasternack, Chara Pasternack, and Christine Biondi can recommend the best products for your child.
• Choose fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride not only helps prevent cavities by creating an unfavorable environment for cavity-causing bacteria, it also actually strengthens tooth enamel as well. Win/win!

Use those tools!

• You’ll probably need to monitor your child’s brushing until around age 8. Make sure all the surfaces of the teeth are brushed, inside, outside, and the tops of molars. Show your child how to brush along the gumline at a 45˚ angle to prevent plaque buildup, which can harden into tartar.
• Dentists generally recommend brushing twice a day, for two minutes each time. If your child wears braces, food particles and plaque can collect around brackets and wires, so brushing more often might be recommended. 
• When children wear aligners, retainers, mouthguards, nightguards, or other appliances, it’s important to brush before wearing them. No one wants food particles or bacteria trapped in their appliance!
• Help children floss at least once a day, or as often as recommended, until they are capable of flossing independently (somewhere around ages eight to 11).

Make sure your dental products are in top shape.

• Replace your child’s toothbrush as often as necessary. After three months or so, bristles start to fray. They don’t clean as effectively, and they could be abrasive to gum tissue. Change out toothbrushes every three to four months, including the heads on electric brushes. A good way to remember is to change family brushes with the change of seasons. 
• Check the date(s)! Many toothpastes, mouthwashes, and other oral supplies come with a “best used by” date, ensuring that your products remain safe and effective.
• Choose the right toothbrush holder. Brushes should air-dry upright, because bacteria and other germs thrive in closed, damp environments. And the holder shouldn’t allow family members’ brushes to touch, to prevent sharing bacteria and viruses. Clean your brush holder regularly to remove toothpaste residue and germs.
• Make sure your child cleans retainers, mouthguards, night guards, and/or cases for appliances as recommended. Bits of food, bacteria, viruses, and other germs collect there as well.

Work with the experts for the brightest family smiles.

• See Drs. Paul Pasternack, Chara Pasternack, and Christine Biondi regularly. You’ll discover any problems which might be dimming your child’s smile, and you’ll discover them early.
• Proper brushing and flossing can be difficult for children, especially with braces, so ask any member of the Pasternack Pediatric Dental team to demonstrate the best brushing and flossing tools and techniques.
• Schedule cleanings with exams to eliminate the built-up plaque and tartar which brushing can’t. The team at Pasternack Pediatric Dental uses tools such as ultrasonic or hand scalers and polishers to remove stubborn plaque, tartar, and surface stains for whiter enamel and a brighter smile.

Easy steps, yes? Step up your family’s cleaning routines, and you’ll enjoy a Springtime filled with not just brighter smiles, but healthier ones, too!

Water picks, sometimes called “oral irrigators,” make an excellent addition to your regular home care regimen of brushing and flossing. Especially helpful to those who suffer from periodontal disease and those patients of ours undergoing orthodontic treatment with full-bracketed braces, water picks use powerful tiny bursts of water to dislodge food scraps, bacteria, and other debris nestled in the crevices of your mouth. Children undergoing orthodontic treatment may find using a water pick is beneficial if their toothbrush bristles tend to get caught on their wires or brackets.

When you use a water pick, you’re not only dislodging any particles or debris and bacteria you might have missed when brushing, you are also gently massaging the gums, which helps promote blood flow in the gums and keeps them healthy. While water picks are an excellent addition to your daily fight against gingivitis and other periodontal diseases, they are incapable of fully removing plaque, which is why Drs. Paul Pasternack, Chara Pasternack, and Christine Biondi and our team at Pasternack Pediatric Dental want to remind you to keep brushing and flossing every day.

If you have sensitive teeth or gums and find it uncomfortable to floss daily, water picks are a good alternative to reduce discomfort while effectively cleaning between teeth. Diabetics sometimes prefer water picks to flossing because they don't cause bleeding of the gums, which can be a problem with floss. If you have a permanent bridge, crowns, or other dental restoration, you may find that a water pick helps you keep the area around the restorations clean.

So how do you choose the right water pick?

Water picks are available for home or portable use. The home versions tend to be larger and use standard electrical outlets, while portable models use batteries. Aside from the size difference, they work in the same manner, both using pulsating water streams. A more crucial difference between water picks is the ability to adjust the pressure. Most home models will let you choose from several pressure settings, depending on how sensitive your teeth and gums are. Most portable models have only one pressure setting. If you want to use mouthwash or a dental rinse in your water pick, check the label first; some models suggest using water only.

Please give us a call at our Vorhees office if you have any questions about water picks, or ask Drs. Paul Pasternack, Chara Pasternack, and Christine Biondi during your next visit!

Children’s baby teeth generally start to fall out when the adult teeth underneath them are ready to arrive. Visits from the Tooth Fairy begin around the age of six, and continue until the last baby molar is gone.

But sometimes, we can’t wait for nature to take its course, and children need a dentist’s assistance to remove a primary tooth before it falls out on its own. Here are some common situations where extracting a baby tooth is best for a child’s present—and future—dental health.

• Serious Decay

Dentists make every effort to save teeth, and this includes baby teeth. A filling or even the baby tooth version of a root canal can be used to save little teeth when a cavity appears.

But severe decay could mean that there’s not enough healthy tooth structure left to fill. Or that bacteria have caused infection inside the tooth. Left untreated, infections can spread to other tissues in the body and can become quite serious. When a primary tooth is seriously decayed or infected, an extraction is often the healthiest choice.

• Trauma

Sometimes a baby tooth will recover on its own if it’s been jarred by an impact. Sometimes an injured tooth can be repaired with treatment. If there’s serious damage, though, a baby tooth is at risk for abscess and infection, and, sometimes, can cause harm to the adult tooth beneath it. In cases like these, an extraction is the safest option.

When an injury causes a broken or dislodged tooth, call Drs. Paul Pasternack and Chara Pasternack immediately. Whether the tooth can be saved or should be extracted depends on how serious the injury is and how soon you can get your child to the dentist’s office or the emergency room.

Whenever a child loses a primary tooth early, a pediatric dentist will be on the lookout for potential orthodontic problems. Remaining baby teeth tend to shift to fill any empty spot. Without the proper space to come in, the adult tooth can erupt out of place or at an awkward angle. Drs. Paul Pasternack and Chara Pasternack might recommend a space maintainer to keep baby teeth aligned properly and to make sure the right spot stays open for the permanent tooth when it’s ready to erupt.

We’ve talked about primary teeth which are lost early, but it’s also problematic . . .

• When a Baby Tooth Doesn’t Fall Out

Usually, a wiggly baby tooth is a clue that the adult tooth underneath has started pushing its way up and out. The baby tooth’s root is gradually absorbed as the adult tooth moves into place. Without an intact root to hold it in place, the baby tooth grows looser and looser until it falls out. Now the permanent tooth has the perfect open space ready for its arrival.

But when baby teeth don’t fall out on their own, this can be another source of orthodontic difficulties.

Stubborn baby teeth can mean adult teeth erupt behind them, creating a double row of teeth (colorfully known as “shark teeth”) and risking crowding and misalignment. Or a baby tooth can block an adult tooth from erupting at all. When that baby tooth just isn’t budging, an extraction will create space for the permanent tooth to erupt.

If an extraction is scheduled, consult with Drs. Paul Pasternack and Chara Pasternack about these important topics in advance:

• Preparing for the Procedure

A pediatric dentist is an expert not just in caring for little teeth, but in caring for little patients as well. Because extractions can be scary for children, talk to our Vorhees dental team to learn how to prepare your child for the procedure in an informative, comforting, and age-appropriate way.

• Sedation Options

A local anesthetic could be all that’s necessary for a simple extraction. If sedation is recommended for an extraction, or if you feel sedation is better for your child’s needs, discuss nitrous oxide, oral medication, and other options with your dentist.

• Aftercare

Whether it’s how to protect the area around the extraction, which foods and drinks are best over the days following, or how to treat pain and swelling, you’ll be given clear instructions by your pediatric dental team to help your child recover comfortably and quickly.

Little teeth can take different paths on their way to the Tooth Fairy. Your pediatric dentist is an expert both in treating children’s dental needs and in making sure their oral development is on schedule. If your dentist has recommended an extraction, it’s because this is the very best way to protect your child’s immediate oral health while ensuring a healthy future adult smile.