Importance of Dental Health for Children

By Dr Lawitts

January 27, 2020

Category: Dental

Tags: Dental Health

Preventive dentistry is a branch of dentistry that emphasizes the importance of ongoing hygiene procedures and daily practices to prevent oral health issues. Here at the Syracuse office of kid's dentist Dr. Karen Lawitts, we offer a full range of dental services to their patients. Here are five reasons why dental health for children is so important:

1. Keep Your Child's Smile Healthy: Good oral hygiene and regular dental visits can keep your children's smile healthy for years to come. To accomplish this, take them to the dentist every six months for professional teeth cleanings and oral examinations.

2. Prevent Dental Diseases: During your child's checkup, the dentist will check for cavities and examine your child's mouth for signs of gum disease and other health problems, thus preventing further complications down the road.

3. Maintain Your Child's Overall Health: You may be risking your children's health if you don't take them to the dentist regularly. After all, research shows that poor dental care can greatly affect the body's general health. Consequently, good dental hygiene and oral health reduce the risks of serious health issues such as heart attack, pneumonia, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.

4. Prevent Teeth From Decaying: Dental plaque is a fact of life—everybody gets it. Plaque is a sticky, colorless biofilm that builds upon our teeth and contains bacteria. It's commonly found between the teeth, on the front of teeth, on chewing surfaces, behind teeth, and along the gumline. The bacteria in plaque causes dental decay and gum disease if it is not removed regularly through flossing, brushing, and professional teeth cleanings.

5. Prevent Premature Tooth Loss: Tooth loss is a process in which a tooth becomes loose and falls out. Some common causes of tooth loss include bad dental hygiene, illnesses, malnutrition, tobacco use, or injury to the teeth. Preventing tooth loss requires a long-term commitment to smart, healthy dental choices. Good oral hygiene and regular visits to your kid's dentist in Syracuse, NY, can help your children keep their teeth healthy as they grow older.

Schedule an appointment at Dr. Karen Lawitts's office in Syracuse, NY, today by dialing (315) 492-8138.

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Keep an Eye on Your Young Children's Fluoride Intake

By Dr Lawitts

January 23, 2020

Category: Oral Health

Tags: fluoride

KeepanEyeonYourYoungChildrensFluorideIntake

We've known for a long time that fluoride strengthens tooth enamel against decay. We've also learned that fluoride consumption early in life pays later dividends with healthier teeth.

But while fluoride has generally proven safe, too much ingested by young children could cause enamel fluorosis. This condition produces a mottled or streaked appearance in teeth ranging from faint white patches to darker, pitted staining. Fluorosis doesn't harm teeth, but it does make them less attractive.

To prevent this, it may be necessary with your dentist's help to monitor your infant's or young child's fluoride intake and keep it in check. That will depend in large part on where you live, as well as your child's hygiene and eating habits.

Like three-quarters of public water systems, your local utility may be adding fluoride to your drinking water. The amount is governed by federal guidelines, which currently recommend fluoride amounts of no more than 0.70 parts per million of water. The fluoride levels in your water could have an impact on your child's total fluoride intake. You can find out for sure how much fluoride is present in your water by contacting your water utility company.

Another major fluoride source is toothpaste and other hygiene products. You can control your child's fluoride exposure by limiting the amount of toothpaste on their brush. Children under two only need a “smear,” while those between two and six need only a pea-sized amount.

Processed foods can contain fluoride if fluoridated water was used in their production. In this case, replace as much of the processed food items in your family's diet as you can with fresh fruits, vegetables and other foods.

Along this line, if you have an infant you want to pay particular attention to feeding formula, especially the powdered form you mix with water. If you're concerned about the amount of fluoride in your water consider other infant feeding options. Besides breast-feeding in lieu of formula, you can also use ready-to-feed pre-mixed with water (usually lower in fluoride) or mix powdered formula with bottled water specifically labeled “de-ionized,” “purified,”Â “demineralized,” or “distilled.”

This can be a lot to keep up with but your dentist can advise you. Fluoride is still a potent weapon against tooth decay and a safeguard on your child's current and future dental health.

If you would like more information on the relationship between fluoride and your child's dental health, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Tooth Development and Infant Formula.”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

No Matter When the New Decade Begins, Be Sure You're Partnered With Us for Your Dental Care

By Dr Lawitts

January 18, 2020

Category: Oral Health

Tags: oral health

NoMatterWhentheNewDecadeBeginsBeSureYourePartneredWithUsforYourDentalCare

The 2020s are here, so throw those “new decade” parties! Well, maybe. Some of your party guests might insist the Twenties won't begin until January 1, 2021. For some reason, feelings can run hot on both sides of this “debate,” enough to warm up everyone's eggnog. Instead, steer the conversation to something a little less controversial: how to achieve the best possible dental health in the upcoming decade (whenever it comes!).

Sadly, many folks don't pay attention to their dental health until it's in dire need of attention. The better approach is to be proactive, not reactive: doing things now to ensure healthy teeth and gums years, and decades, later.

If you say brush and floss daily, you're already ahead of the game. Nothing you do personally promotes a healthy mouth more than dedicated oral hygiene. But there's one more critical piece to proactive dental care—a solid partnership with us, your dental professionals. Working together, we can help ensure you remain healthy dental-wise for the long term.

To understand the value of this partnership, it helps to think of dental care as a four-phased cycle:

Identifying your individual dental risks. Because of our individual physical and genetic makeup, each of us faces different sets of risks to our dental health. Over the course of regular dental visits, we can identify and assess those weaknesses, such as a propensity for gum disease or structural tooth problems due to past tooth decay.

Designing your personal care program. Depending on your risk profile assessment, we can develop an ongoing personal care program to minimize those risks. Part of this risk-lowering plan will be identifying recommended prevention measures like enhanced fluoride applications or areas that need correction or treatment.

Treating dental problems promptly. The key to the best possible dental health is treating any arising problems as soon as possible. Diseases like tooth decay or gum disease only get worse with time and cause more damage the longer they go untreated. Treatment, though, can also extend to less urgent matters: Straightening crooked teeth, for example, can make it easier to keep them clean.

Maintaining your optimum level of health. Through comprehensive treatment and care, we can help you reach “a good place” in your dental health. But we can't stop there: We'll continue to monitor for health changes and maintain the good practices we've already established through regular care. And with any new developments, we begin the cycle again to keep you focused on optimum dental health.

No one knows what their life will be like passing through the next decade. But one thing's for certain: A dental care partnership with us can help you achieve the health you desire for your teeth and gums.

If you would like more information about ongoing dental care, please contact us or schedule an appointment. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Successful Dental Treatment” and “Cost-Saving Treatment Alternatives.”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Veneers May Not Be the Best Option for Your Teenager's Teeth

By Dr Lawitts

January 13, 2020

Category: Dental Procedures

Tags: veneers

VeneersMayNotBetheBestOptionforYourTeenagersTeeth

Just like adults, teenagers experience chipped, stained or disfigured teeth. And during a life stage where issues with appearance can be acutely painful, these defects call out for a solution.

And, there is one: porcelain veneers. These thin wafers of custom-made porcelain are bonded to the front of teeth to cover dental flaws. They’re one of the least invasive—and most affordable—methods for smile enhancement.

There is one caveat, though: The affected teeth will most likely need alteration. Veneers can look bulky when bonded directly to teeth, so we compensate for this by removing some of the surface enamel. This changes the tooth permanently, to the point that it will always require a veneer or some other form of restoration.

But although this may be a minor issue for an adult, it could pose a problem for a teenager. That’s because the pulp, the innermost layer of a tooth containing nerves and blood vessels, is larger in a younger adolescent tooth than in an older adult tooth. Because of its size, it’s closer to the tooth’s surface. During enamel reduction for veneers on a young tooth, this could lead to inadvertent nerve damage. If that happens, the tooth may need a root canal treatment to preserve it.

If the adolescent tooth needing a “facelift” has already been root canaled or sustained significant structural damage, then altering it for veneers may not be too concerning. Likewise, if the teeth are smaller than normal, the bulkiness of a veneer may actually improve appearance and not require alteration. We’ll need to examine a young patient first before making any recommendations.

There are also alternatives to veneers for improving smile appearance. Enamel staining could be enhanced temporarily with teeth whitening. Small chips can be repaired with bonded dental material, or in skilled hands be used to “build” a veneer one layer at a time with no enamel reduction. Although not as durable as regular veneers, these bonding techniques could buy time until the tooth is more mature for veneers.

Whichever path we take, there are effective ways to transform a teenager’s flawed tooth. And that can make for an even better smile.

If you would like more information on dental restorations for teenagers, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Veneers for Teenagers.”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Dental Care During Pregnancy is Safe and Essential

By Dr Lawitts

January 08, 2020

Category: Oral Health

Tags: oral health pregnancy

DentalCareDuringPregnancyisSafeandEssential

When a woman learns she's pregnant, her first thought is often to do everything possible to protect the new life inside her. That may mean making lifestyle changes like avoiding alcohol or quitting smoking.

Some women may also become concerned that their regular dental visits could pose a risk to their baby. But both the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Dental Association say it's safe for pregnant women to undergo dental exams and cleanings—in fact, they're particularly important during pregnancy.

That's because pregnant women are more susceptible to dental infections, particularly periodontal (gum) disease, because of hormonal changes during pregnancy. The most common, occurring in about 40% of expectant mothers, is a form of gum disease known as pregnancy gingivitis. Women usually encounter this infection that leaves the gums tender, swollen and easy to bleed between the second and eighth month of pregnancy.

Untreated, pregnancy gingivitis could potentially advance below the gum line and infect the roots. It could also have an unhealthy effect on the baby: some studies show women with severe gum disease are more prone to give birth to premature or underweight babies than women with healthy gums.

But it can be stopped effectively, especially if it's treated early. Regular dental checkups and cleanings (at least every six months or more frequently if your dentist recommends) can help an expectant mother stay ahead of a developing gum infection.

With that said, though, your dentist's approach to your care may change somewhat during pregnancy. While there's little concern over essential procedures like gum disease treatment or root canal therapy, elective restorations that are cosmetic in nature might best be postponed until after the baby's birth.

So, if you've just found out you're pregnant, let your dentist know so they can adjust your care depending on your condition and history. And don't be concerned about keeping up your regular dental visits—it's a great thing to do for both you and your baby.

If you would like more information on dental care during pregnancy, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Dental Care During Pregnancy: Maintaining Good Oral Hygiene Is More Important Than Ever.”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Find Us

My Blog

Archive:

Tags

Categories:

Dentist Blog

Importance of Dental Health for Children

Keep an Eye on Your Young Children's Fluoride Intake

No Matter When the New Decade Begins, Be Sure You're Partnered With Us for Your Dental Care

Veneers May Not Be the Best Option for Your Teenager's Teeth

Dental Care During Pregnancy is Safe and Essential

Meet the Doctor

Dr. Karen Lawitts

Contact Us

	Dr. Karen Lawitts
	Dr. Lawitts was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. She received her Bachelor of Science and D.D.S degree from Northwestern University in Chicago.

Read more about Dr. Karen Lawitts