charlotte children's dentist

Caring for your child’s mouth is important for their current health and long term tooth development. Keeping a clean mouth helps prevent cavities, infection and gum disease, and it also creates a healthy smile as they get older. However, your child’s oral care routine – and toothbrush – should change as over time as well. Below are some tips to help you clean their mouth as they age.

Babies 1 – 12 months

A baby’s first tooth doesn’t typically erupt until they are 8 months old, but it’s still important to keep their mouth clean. You can clean their gums by taking a damp cloth or gauze and gently rubbing it over their gums to remove any food debris. You may choose to use a very soft, baby toothbrush and lightly brush their gums using a very low amount of pressure to avoid upsetting their sensitive gums. However, a damp cloth works just as well.

Toddlers 13 – 24 months

After the first tooth emerges – usually around the 8 month mark – begin to use a toddler’s toothbrush to clean their mouth. When shopping for a toothbrush, look for one that has rounded bristles and a small head that can easily fit into their mouth. Find a toothbrush that has very soft bristles, without the hard rubber liners on the outside of the head (called burs). You can begin flossing their teeth once they have two teeth touching. Use flat, wide floss and apply very gentle pressure to clean all sides of the tooth.

Preschoolers 2 – 4 years

By now, they will be walking, talking and eager for a bit of independence. They should have most of their teeth, and be familiar with brushing and flossing. Now is the time to start letting them have some input into their oral care routine. Take them with you to pick out their next toothbrush. Children love to be included in making decisions, and by giving them a little bit of responsibility, you empower them to make a decision. Make sure that the head of the toothbrush easily fits inside of their mouth, and that it has soft bristles. Since children lack developed dexterity, look for a toothbrush with a large handle to help them grip it more easily and continue assisting them as they brush. At this stage, you should also still be helping them floss and using the flat, wide dental floss.

School-aged Children 5 – 8 years

Your child is a tooth-brushing master, and the only thing they need to keep making progress is the right toothbrush. Help them pick a toothbrush that has a longer neck, and a larger head than their preschool toothbrush, but still fits comfortably inside their mouth. See if you can help them find a toothbrush with their favorite cartoon character or superhero to keep them engaged and entertained while they brush. If you think they are ready, you can begin to let them floss on their own, but under your supervision. As they approach 8 years of age, they should be ready to brush and floss by themselves.

Aim for Comfort and Consistency

It’s important to buy them a toothbrush that they are comfortable using. Monitor their mouths for any minor bleeding, and ask them about how it felt to use their new toothbrush for the first time. To establish the healthiest oral care routine, be sure that they are brushing twice per day for two minutes at a time. Try to only buy toothbrushes and tooth paste that has the ADA seal of approval, so that they are is getting the best product possible for their oral health.

Visit our office if you have any questions about brushing your child’s teeth, or buying them a toothbrush. We will work with you to help them establish a healthy brushing routine, and teach them about the lifelong benefits of a healthy mouth.

Baby teeth are meant to be lost so that the incoming adult teeth can erupt without issue. Most of the time, baby teeth are lost naturally, or due to an impactful force common in childhood. However, sometimes a baby tooth must be pulled to make room for the incoming adult tooth to avoid crowding and misalignment. If your child has a tooth extracted, they can experience pain and sensitivity in the following days. Follow these tips to keep your child’s mouth clean – and pain free – after they’ve had a tooth pulled.

The Day of the Extraction

Discourage Sipping from a Straw and Swishing

For up to 24 hours after the extraction, the newly exposed socket is incredibly sensitive. To avoid losing the healthy blood clot, make sure your child doesn’t use a straw during this period. The suction created when slurping can cause the clot to dislodge, and lead to more bleeding. Additionally, they should not vigorously swish any liquids as this can also cause the clot to come loose.

Stick to Soft Food

The day of the extraction, only serve your child soft foods that require little or no chewing. The socket and the area surrounding it will be very sensitive, and chewing firm foods can cause them pain and discomfort. Food that can be eaten with a spoon like mashed potatoes, soup, scrambled eggs, yogurt, apple sauce or pancakes are perfect to serve them in the 24 hours following their pulled tooth. Try to make sure their food isn’t too hot or cold, since their gums will be very sensitive to extreme temperatures.

2 – 7 Days after Tooth Extraction

Use Icepacks to Fight Swelling

Your child may have swollen cheeks in the days immediately following their tooth extraction. A good way to ease your child’s pain and fight swelling is by using an ice pack every 2 – 3 hours, or as needed. Have your child wrap an ice pack in a thin towel or cloth, and apply it to the affected area for 15 minutes at a time.

Incorporate a Saltwater Rinse

After 24 hours, it’s ok to begin using a warm saltwater rinse to clean their exposed socket. You can make a saltwater rinse by combining 8 oz of warm water with 1 teaspoon of salt. Have your child gently swish the saltwater in their mouth for 30 seconds before spitting it out. Saltwater rinses clean their mouth and help ease pain in the affected area.

Encourage a “Hands Free” Policy

It’s important that your child does not touch the newly exposed area so that it can remain clean. They should avoid touching or picking at the extraction area so that don’t introduce any germs into the area and prolong the healing process.

Continue Brushing

Your child’s mouth will be very sensitive for a few days after the extraction, but they should continue brushing their teeth twice a day for 2 minutes at a time. They should be more gentle than usual, and avoid brushing the extraction site all together to prevent unnecessary bleeding. They should also continue flossing normally while being careful around the extraction site.

Does Your Child Need a Tooth Pulled?

As pediatric dentists, we understand the importance of proper tooth spacing for incoming adult teeth. If your child has adult teeth arriving directly behind their baby teeth, then visit our office. We will assess their mouth and determine whether or not a tooth extraction would benefit their overall oral health. We aim to make the process as friendly and painless as possible. We’ll guide you through the days and weeks following the extraction and monitor the health of the newly pulled tooth in a series of checkups.

Piercings are a trendy way for teenagers to fit in with their friends and express themselves. Teens can pierce just about any part of their body, but it can be particularly concerning when your child gets an oral piercing. Tongue, lip and cheek piercings can damage teeth, gums and cause infections that can lead to more serious illnesses. The bottom line is that oral piercings may look cool, but they can cause a lot of issues down the road.

Common Ailments Caused by Oral Piercings

Infection, Pain and Swelling

Mouths are full of millions of types of bacteria, and by exposing an open wound like an oral piercing to bacteria can lead to infection and pain. If not treated, an infection can spread and cause major illnesses down the road.

Nerve Damage

If your child gets their tongue pierced, they may get minor nerve damage. Simple nerve damage to the tongue will make their tongue feel numb for a few hours after the piercing. Sometimes, the numbness can last much longer and require an appointment with a doctor or dentist. Nerve damage can even affect their sense of taste.

Excessive Drooling

A tongue piercing can increase saliva production and cause excessive drooling. There’s nothing cooler than a constant stream of spittle on your shirt.

Chipped or Fractured Teeth

Hard metal oral piercings often clack against nearby teeth, and can cause serious damage. It is common for those with oral piercings to play with their piercing by moving it around with their tongue or clicking it against their teeth. This can cause them to chip, scratch or lose their teeth. Oral piercings can also damage dental filling and sealants.

Blood-borne Disease

The National Institutes of Health have identified oral piercings as a possible factor in transmitting hepatitis B, C, D and G.

Make Sure They Keep it Clean

To lower their risk of infection, have your child clean their oral piercing once per day. Make sure that before they clean it, they thoroughly wash their hands to avoid introducing any germs into their mouth. Unclean piercings can collect food debris and begin to smell, and taste awful.

Take it out before Sports

If they play sports make sure that they remove their piercing before hitting the field or court. Dental injuries are one of the most common injury in youth sports, and they can lower their risk of losing teeth by removing the metal clacking around in their mouth before participating.

Is Your Child Experiencing Pain Related to an Oral Piercing?

If your child has prolonged bleeding or pain related to their oral piercing, then make an appointment with our office immediately. They may have an infection, and it must be treated by a pediatric dentist.

Did you know that dental floss used to be made of silk thread? Or, that toothbrushes used to be made of bone and horse hair? Oral health care has a long and weird history that stretches back to ancient cultures and includes numerous ingredients and tools that have helped carve the path for modern dentistry. Today, we look at the origins of toothpaste and how it has evolved into the product we know today.

5000 – 3000 BC Ancient Egypt

As with many other tools, toothpaste originates in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians (particularly the pharaohs and wealthy) valued cleanliness and oral health and began experimenting with the first iteration of toothpaste. Their version of toothpaste consisted of rock salt, dried iris flowers, pepper and mint crushed into a fine paste with a bit of water. Some mixtures even included the ashes of ox hooves and burnt egg shells! This mixture led to bleeding gums, but it was surprisingly effective at cleaning teeth, even when compared to what was used just 100 years ago.

Greece and Rome

Around the same time as the Egyptians, Greek and Roman leaders were using the Egyptian mixture, but began experimenting with their own toothpaste. They added more abrasives to their mixture to increase the cleaning power, the most popular of which were crushed bones and oyster shells. The Romans added charcoal to help freshen their breath.

Around 500 BC, ancient China and India used a similar mixture, but added more flavoring ingredients like ginseng, herbal mints and salts.

1700’s gets Toasty

The ancient power cultures had pretty much perfected their form of toothpaste, and it remained popular and used by many upper class people for a long time. And then, toast was introduced. Used toast was ground into a fine powder and used to scrub teeth. While there is no clear origin of using toast as toothpaste, it was a very affordable option for a lot of people.

1824 – Let’s add Some Bubbles

In 1824, a dentist named Dr. Peabody decided to add soap to the ground up toast mixture to enhance the cleaning power. A few decades passed, and then toothpaste makers began adding chalk to their mixtures to create the creamy consistency that we’re familiar with today.

1873 – Mass Production

Colgate began producing toothpaste on a wide scale in 1873, and distributed their toothpaste in jars. In 1892, Dr. Washington Sheffield put toothpaste in a collapsible tube, like the ones used today. That same year, Colgate began distributing toothpaste in tubes similar to the ones we see today.

1914 Welcomes Fluoride

In 1914, it was discovered that fluoride significantly decreased dental cavities.  That same year, it was added into toothpastes to achieve better cleaning results. Soap was eventually phased out in favor of fluoride and sodium lauryl sulphate in the 1940’s.

1987 Edible Toothpaste

To help keep astronauts’ (yes, astronauts) teeth clean while in space, NASA invented an edible toothpaste that could be swallowed after brushing. Edible toothpaste was then repurposed for young children to use, because it did not present a risk if it was ingested.

1989 Shines Brighter

In 1989, Rembrandt marketed the first whitening toothpaste that would “whiten and brighten your smile.” Other toothpaste producers quickly followed suit and now whitening toothpaste is one of the most popular types available.

Toothpaste Today

We’ve come a long way from crushed oysters and ginseng mixtures. Now, there are countless types of toothpastes that have a variety of acute end-goals, and still clean your teeth. Navigating the toothpaste market can be a bit difficult, but we’re here to help. Schedule an appointment in our office to discuss the type of toothpaste that will work best for your child, and what would work best for our entire family.

The school year demands a lot of time commitments from both students and parents. Between altering morning commutes, trucking kids to and from extracurricular activities and unexpected overnights, schedules change and time seems to slip away. Sometimes, a jam-packed schedule can leave us with less time to take care of our teeth at home, which is why we’ve decided to create the tooth travel kit for those kids (and parents) with demanding schedules.

Toothbrush

This one is a no-brainer, but everyone should be brushing their teeth twice per day for two minutes at a time. Buy your child a new toothbrush with the ADA seal of approval on the package. Additionally, buy a small travel case or cover for the toothbrush to keep the head clean and the bristles in good shape.

Tooth Paste

You can’t really brush your teeth without toothpaste, so toothpaste is a must for any oral health care kit! Look for a travel-sized tube that can easily fit in a small storage bag, and check to make sure that the toothpaste contains fluoride to enhance its cleaning power. Again, look for the ADA seal of approval to ensure that it has been thoroughly evaluated, and find a flavor that your child likes.

Floss

Brushing only cleans about 1/3 of the total surface area of teeth which leaves most of the teeth unclean! Your child should floss once per day, and clean between every space in their teeth. Your tooth travel kit should contain a small pack of travel floss for them, or a set of floss picks to encourage them to regularly floss.

Xylitol Gum

Chewing gum that is sweetened with Xylitol is a great way for your child to freshen their breath and help protect their enamel after a meal. Gum sweetened with Xylitol can help protect enamel by stimulating saliva production that can clear teeth of residual acid from a recent meal.

Bottled Water

Water is one of the best tools we have in keeping our mouths clean, especially fluoridated water, which helps make teeth more resistant to acidic foods. When packing your child’s tooth travel kit, pack a bottle of water, and encourage your kids to drink water instead of juice or soda. Also, swishing water helps remove debris caught in teeth that can lead to enamel loss and acid buildup.

Visit Our Office

We love helping busy parents find solutions that keep their families’ oral health in focus. Schedule an appointment in our office so that we can thoroughly evaluate your child’s smile, and provide them with oral health tips and treatment options that work.

Childhood cavities are the most prevalent childhood illness in the united states, and they are almost entirely preventable. One big way you can help your kids avoid cavities is by limiting the amount of foods that are destructive to their teeth. Below are some foods that you should limit – or cut – from their diets to help keep cavities at bay.

Starchy Snacks

We don’t often consider snacks to be unhealthy for teeth, but starchy snacks like crackers, chips and cookies can damage teeth. Starchy foods can get stuck between teeth and stick around long after a meal concludes, and that’s the problem – starchy foods stuck on teeth provide bad bacteria with sugar, which powers the bacteria to multiply and attack enamel. Regular brushing and flossing usually takes care of sticky starches, but have your child swish cool water in their mouth 30 minutes after they snack to get rid of any food debris that can lead to cavities.

Sugary Fruit Juice

Fruit juice may seem like a good alternative to sodas and other sugary beverages, but fruit juice often contains as much – if not more – sugar than some of the leading sodas. Fruit juice has been extracted from the fruit, and in the process, it loses a lot of its nutritional value. After the fiber has been taken out of juice, what’s left is essentially sugar and water. Limit the amount of sugary fruit juices your child consumes, or, dilute juice with some water to reduce the sugar concentration.

Fruit Packed in Syrup

Fruit is always good, right? Well, not necessarily. A lot of canned fruit is packed in a syrup that contains unhealthy amounts of sugar. The added sugar can lead to cavities, and many more health issues if your child eats it too frequently and in large quantities. When you are shopping for canned fruit, look for those that have no added sugar or those packed in 100% fruit juice. But the healthiest way to enjoy fruit is by eating fruit that hasn’t been altered in any way.

Ask Us about Mouth-Healthy Dietary Choices

It can be challenging to design a healthy diet that your children enjoy, but we’re here to help. Schedule an appointment with our office, and ask us about the best foods for optimal oral health.

Cheers! Charlotte children’s dentist Dr. Marcela Mujica would like to raise her glass and toast your children with a wish for happiness and health. One of the things you can do to help your children enjoy healthy smiles is to make sure they always have healthy beverages to drink when they raise a glass. Read on to find out what drinks are healthy for kids and what drinks are best avoided.

What Drinks to Offer

Water. Good old clear cool water is absolutely the best beverage for young children and teenagers. Water keeps a body hydrated and does not add calories, fat or sugar to a diet. If your child prefers flavored beverages then try adding some natural flavors to the water. Mint leaves, berries, apples or a cinnamon stick can all add a tasty twist to water.

Milk. Dairy products are an important component of almost everyone’s diet and milk is an excellent source. Milk provides calcium, vitamin D and protein. Your child should have around 16 to 24 ounces of milk a day. If they cannot digest milk, then choose an unsweetened milk alternative such as almond, soy or coconut milk. Your pediatrician can help you decide whether whole, reduced or fat free milk is best for your child.

What Drinks to Avoid

Soft drinks. Whether you grew up calling them sodas or pop, these carbonated beverages are filled with sugar and offer almost no benefits. When children have too many soft drinks, the results are always negative. Some of the consequences include weight gain, type 2 diabetes and, of course, poor dental health.

Fruit drinks. Lemonade, fruit punch, powdered mixes, orange juice and apple juice are primarily—you guessed it—sugar water. Just because the package says “100 percent vitamin C in every serving” doesn’t mean you are giving your child something healthy to drink. If your child is eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables daily, then you don’t have to worry about their intake of vitamin C.

Chocolate milk. Tastes good and it does have all the goodness of milk. However, chocolate milk and other flavored milks typically contain around four teaspoons of sugar per serving, which is not good for your child’s teeth or his body.

Vitamin Water. Must be healthy if it has vitamins, right? Wrong. One 20-ounce serving of the popular brand Vitaminwater contains about 120 calories and 31 grams of sugar.

Contact Your Charlotte Children’s Dentist Today

For more information about good nutrition for your child’s oral health, call All Kids Pediatric Dentistry in Charlotte today.

If you counted all things that you make your kids do—for their own good!—you’d be busy all day. And you’re busy enough. So, Charlotte children’s dentist Dr. Mujica at All Kids Pediatric Dentistry would like to help you convince your kids to floss. Here are five tips that will make any kid a flossing fan!

Give ‘Em a Gold Star

You have a chart for when they clean their rooms and when they finish their homework, so why not a chart for when they floss, too? You can draw a chart together with your child, or there are many options online that you can download. To track the days they floss, let your son or daughter affix a sticker. You decide how many days in row they need to floss in order to receive a reward—maybe a later bedtime one night on the weekend.

Let’s Do the Floss!

Make flossing a fun activity for children. Find a song they like and let your kids floss to the music. Something with a slow and steady beat works best so they don’t get too aggressive with flossing, which can hurt delicate gum tissue.

Flossing and Math

Most people don’t think to put flossing and math together, but this is a great opportunity to help young children learn how to count. You little one has 20 teeth in his or her mouth. While you floss for them or when they attempt to do it themselves, the two of you can count teeth as you progress from one to the next.

Once Upon a Time…

Use your imagination to create a magical story about those naughty bacteria that try to hurt your child’s teeth and the hero that comes to the rescue. Floss! While you capture their attention, the time it takes to floss will go by more quickly.

Make Flossing Easy

Sometimes a long string of floss can be difficult for little hands to manage. Instead, buy a package of floss sticks, which are available in many colors. They’re small and have a short piece of floss anchored between two plastic tips. Have your child use one for their upper teeth and one for the lower.

Good Job!

Every time you child flosses, be sure to pile on the praise. With your approval and encouragement, good oral hygiene that includes flossing will become a lifelong habit.

Contact Our Office Today

For more advice on you can help your children enjoy healthy and beautiful smiles, call All Kids Pediatric Dentistry today.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that parents bring their children to see the dentist by the time they are one year old. Why so young? First of all, at this early age Charlotte children’s dentist Dr. Mujica is able to check on their dental development and possibly avert any potential problems. Beyond that, bringing young children to the dentist regularly helps them establish good oral habits for life and increases the likelihood that will have healthy and fewer dental problems.

Education with Your Children’s Dentist in Charlotte

From the time your child is born until he or she is around seven years old, you need to be the primary smile caretaker. Brushing and flossing are too important to leave to little hands that can’t reach every spot or to little bodies that quickly grow impatient!

Once they’re older, we’ll be glad to help you teach your children how best to brush and floss their teeth. When they are seated in the dentist’s exam chair, Charlotte children’s dentist Dr. Mujica and her team will take the time to show them how they should brush. The more instruction your children receive at a young age, the more likely they will be to brush well for long into the future.

Healthy Diet for Happy Smiles

We know that parents do their best to give their children the nutritious foods they need to grow. However, we also know that sometimes you can use backup help. That’s why we’re here. Dr. Mujica can talk to your kids about the importance of following a healthy diet not only for the health of their bodies, but for the health of their smiles, too.

By a certain age, children are able to understand that foods high in sugar and carbohydrates promote tooth decay, which means they’ll likely need to have a cavity filled. And no one wants that! Dr. Mujica will be able to offer your children tips on how they should eat to have healthier teeth.

Regular Dental Checkups with Charlotte Children’s Dentist

Finally, scheduling regular dental checkups every six months for your children establishes an important life pattern. If they begin seeing the dentist routinely from a young age, then they are much more likely to continue this pattern as they mature. With dental cleanings and exams, dental checkups are your children’s and everyone’s key to preventing dental problems and enjoying a lifetime of healthy and beautiful smiles.

Contact Our Office Today

If you would like to schedule an appointment for your children to see Charlotte children’s dentist Dr. Mujica, call us today. We want to put your kids on the path to a lifetime of smiles!

Seeing your child smile makes your day -- and you know what? It makes our day, too. That’s why All Kids Pediatric Dentistry is your trusted Charlotte dentist. Dr. Marcela Mujica, D.M.D, M.S.D. and her whole team want to keep your child smiling now, and for many years to come -- and to do that, we need to protect their young teeth from decay. That’s especially important during the halloween and holiday season. Listen up -- this morning, Dr. Mujica is in with some key tips for preventing cavities this month, and all year long!

Your Child’s Oral Health A Factor in Overall Health, Too

When your child has a healthy mouth, free from infection and decay, he is far more likely to be healthier overall. Poor oral health contributes to a number of problems in young children -- from malnutrition to loss of sleep and a higher risk of future orthodontic issues. To prevent cavities and other oral problems, keep the following tips in mind.

#1: Monitor Her Cleaning Techniques

Once your child reaches age six, she should be ready to start brushing her teeth on her own. That doesn’t mean it’s time for you to step down, though -- Dr. Mujica says it’s just as important for you to be beside her as she brushes, making sure each quadrant of the mouth gets a full clean. Emphasize the importance of brushing for two minutes, twice a day, and flossing once a day.

#2: Set Some House Rules

Your child’s teeth are especially vulnerable during the halloween and holiday season, when candy and special treats are all around. It’s important to establish some rules to prevent frequent snacking at home -- one good one is banning candy in the bedroom. When treats are relegated to a specific area, like the kitchen, little ones are far less likely to indulge all day long or fall asleep with candy in their mouth, a huge cause of tooth decay in kids.

#3: And Some Lifestyle Rules, Too

Help your child understand that eating a healthy, balanced diet is good for their teeth, too. Halloween can be a great time to talk about this, says Dr. Mujica. Let them know you understand it’s exciting to have lots of candy, but that moderation is key. Encourage them to rinse their mouth out after eating or drinking sugary items, too. If they do it often enough it’ll become a clean feeling they’ll crave -- and their teeth will be healthier as a result.

#4: Set the Example They Need

Your child looks up to you for everything, and it’s no different with their oral health. Make sure you’re setting an excellent oral hygiene example by brushing and flossing consistently, and staying on top of your twice annual visits to the dentist. Talk positively about the dentist and oral health, and if your child dreads oral hygiene tasks, you can try making them a family event -- she’ll be far more excited to brush and floss if everyone is doing it at the same time.

Schedule a Post-Halloween, Pre-Holiday Checkup Today

If it’s been six months or more since your child’s last dental checkup and cleaning, schedule an appointment at All Kids Pediatric Dentistry today. Good oral hygiene is especially important this time of year, so make sure your child is starting the holiday season off cavity-free with a visit to the dentist in Charlotte -- we’ll work to help their teeth stay healthy today, and for years to come. Call us to schedule your child’s dental appointment today.