Dental decay is a disease. It is actually the most common contagious disease of childhood. It’s hard to believe it’s more common than the common cold, but these are two different kinds of diseases. When you catch a cold, you get over it. Cavities leave a hole in your tooth that you never get over. Even after it is filled, a part of the tooth is missing and it can’t grow back. We are at a point in dental care where we can prevent most cavities for children. You can expect more from dentistry than you are accustomed to having provided at regular visits. It gives a whole new look to dental care and dental visits. I hope you come to us with your questions and help us create a new generation of kids without cavities.

Will we ever be Cavity Free??? It's in the future!

I saw a plaque that read “you are entering a stress-free zone”.  I want a plaque outside my office that reads “you are entering a cavity-free zone”.  But I won’t just make such a plaque, we have to earn it.  I think we can focus our practice on that goal.  There are other more lofty goals like ending world hunger, but this is one I think is within our ability to affect.  Too many pre-school children grow too many cavities that have to be restored.  Let’s change that.

Will we ever witness an end to dental cavities?

Will we ever witness an end to dental cavities?  Will we be able to prevent tooth decay? 

We are close.  Researchers at UCLA and other institutions around the world are focusing their attention solely on finding the cause of, and the solution to, this devastating disease of childhood.  As pediatric dentists, we see the devastation in our offices each day.  I don’t speak of devastation on the level of a typhoon that recently hit Philippines.  But cavities leave scars, both physical and emotional.

Personally, my greatest reward is seeing my patients come and go with smiling faces.  It is disturbing to me personally that some children will come with smiles and leave with tears because our services include numbing their mouths and drilling tiny holes in their heads.  I don’t believe that any child enjoys dental work when a “drill” is involved.   Some may be pretty good at ignoring the discomfort of noise and vibration, but at some level they all hurt at least a little.  Children of five and under haven’t learned to ignore the discomfort and usually let us know loudly and clearly.  There can be no mistake…a child of four or five crying and resisting during dental treatment is crying for help.

What can we do?  With moms and dads on board, we can make a difference today.  We can test for a child’s risk for developing cavities.  We can use minerals directly applied to tooth surfaces at home to reduce the progression of decay.  We can alter eating habits by replacing acidic foods with foods that will reduce the activity of decay-causing bacteria in the mouth and reduce acidity.  Where there is no acid, there is no decay.  It works, we have seen it work.  We just have to get past the notion that cavities are inevitable and not preventable and to the knowledge that cavities can, and should, be eliminated.  

Robert R. Smith, DDS

Kids have accidents and often the teeth are involved. What do you do?

The safest answer is... call us!

What we will want to know are the child's age and the extent of the injury to the tooth, or teeth.

In all cases a quick photo with your phone will enable us to view the injury quickly from the office or from home and advise the next action to take. Please email the photo to info@toothclub.com. If you are calling from the emergency hot line we will give you a phone number you can text it to or an alternate email address.

Age is a factor in our treatment advice. Children under six have most likely injured a primary or "baby" tooth, and treatment is in most cases of little urgency. However, if the front teeth are displaced making biting difficult or impossible, urgent attention should be considered.
If the permanent teeth are involved, the type of injury must be assessed quickly. Usually, injury results in a fracture of the enamel and dentin components of the crown of the tooth. These fractures can be small enough to ignore, but are often large enough to warrant sealing of the fractured surface within the first twenty-four hours. Many times the fragment that is fractured from the tooth can be bonded back into position. Esthetically, the restoration of these fractures is excellent. You want to do this very soon after the accident and be sure and bring the fragment with you to the office so we can put it all back together.

If a permanent tooth is knocked out of the mouth, time is CRITICAL. Someone must put the tooth back into its socket within the first half hour, preferable immediately. If you are courageous enough to this yourself, do not wash the tooth. You may rinse it gently, but do not scrub the surface. Place the tooth in the position that looks normal to you and transport the patient to a dentist ASAP! The dentist will make sure the tooth is positioned correctly and then splint it for up to ten days. Antibiotics may be prescribed. A root canal procedure may follow, but not always. If you are not courageous enough to do the re-implantation yourself, keep the tooth moist in mile or saline water and get to the nearest dentist immediately.
Primary or "baby" teeth cannot be re-implanted.