Pediatric Restorative Dentistry – Coppell, TX
Getting Smiles Ready for the Red Carpet!
As hard as Dr. Linda and our team work to prevent oral health issues from harming your child’s smile, tooth decay and damage can still occur. In fact, tooth decay is the most common childhood disease in the United States. The good news is that an experienced pediatric dentist like Dr. Linda can treat cavities and dental damage without compromising the natural appearance of their pearly whites. We’ll make sure your child is comfortable the entire time; with our relaxing dental office decked out like a movie theater, it’s hard not to be! Keep reading to learn more about pediatric restorative dentistry in our Coppell, TX dental office.
Why Choose Linda A. Steele, DDS for Pediatric Restorative Dentistry?
- Experienced, Pediatric Dentist
- Safe Dental Sedation for Kids Available
- Fun Dental Office Atmosphere with a Movie Theater Theme
Dental Fillings
If a cavity rears its ugly head, we can usually treat it in the early stages with a simple filling. Rather than old-fashioned metal fillings, Dr. Linda prefers tooth-colored fillings made from composite resin. This material is not only more flexible, but it can also be shaded to match the exact shade of your child’s tooth. Once placed, even your child shouldn’t be able to tell where their natural tooth ends and the filling begins!
Learn More About Tooth-Colored Fillings
Dental Crowns
For more severe cases of decay, we can preserve the remaining tooth structure and restore it to full function with a metal-free zirconia or stainless steel dental crown. These restorations fit snugly over the visible section of a tooth. Like fillings, crowns are designed with the unique color of a patient’s smile in mind. With our personalized crowns made from lifelike materials, your child can get their smile healed while still feeling confident enough to strut the red carpet!
Learn More About Dental Crowns
Pulpotomy
Does your son or daughter have a terrible toothache that just won’t go away? This is a common sign that an untreated cavity has reached the innermost chamber of a tooth (called the pulp) where the delicate nerves are located. If this is the case, Dr. Linda can perform a pulpotomy. Sometimes called a “baby root canal,” a pulpotomy involves removing the diseased portions of a primary tooth’s pulp while leaving as much tissue untouched as possible. Then, we protect the tooth from further damage by topping it with a metal-free crown.
Tooth Extractions
We almost never recommend the removal of a tooth (whether a baby tooth or an adult one) except as a last resort. For instance, we may do so if overcrowding has made orthodontic treatment impossible, or if an injury has damaged a tooth beyond repair. Whatever the case may be, we’ll do our utmost to help your little one feel relaxed throughout the process. We even offer sedation dentistry to keep kids at ease during their procedures.
Learn More About Pediatric Tooth Extractions
Space Maintainers
While Dr. Linda doesn’t provide orthodontic treatment, she can help prepare your child’s teeth for braces. Before orthodontic bands can be attached to the molars, there needs to be a certain amount of space between the teeth. If these teeth are too close together, then Dr. Linda can install spacers (space maintainers) – small bands – between the molars to create sufficient space. Your child will typically wear spacers for a week or two before being fitted with braces.
Types of Space Maintainers
There are two types of space maintainers you can expect Dr. Steele to discuss with you and your child during an appointment – removable and fixed. Based on your budget and the goals that need to be achieved for future treatment, she can help you decide how best to move forward to ensure ample space for permanent teeth to erupt.
Removable
A removable space maintainer can be taken out to ensure optimal oral hygiene at home (i.e., brushing and flossing). These are often recommended for older children who don’t have much time to wait before their permanent teeth erupt.
Fixed
A fixed space maintainer cannot be taken out except by a licensed dental professional. Considered a semi-permanent device, it allows for ample space while the permanent tooth awaits eruption and makes it impossible for little hands to remove – a likely occurrence for younger patients.
Why are Space Maintainers Necessary?
It might seem odd to have a space maintainer put into place after a primary tooth falls out, but they are necessary if your child loses their baby teeth too early. When this happens, the nearby teeth will try to shift to fill in the gap, resulting in a misaligned smile. If left unattended, this can cause permanent teeth to erupt improperly. As a result, it can negatively affect their bite and oral function.
By placing a space maintainer, nearby teeth will remain in place and in alignment so that adult teeth can erupt correctly without impacting your child’s smile aesthetics, health, and function.
Caring for Your Child’s Space Maintainer
When it comes to caring for your child’s space maintainer(s), you’ll need to make sure they do the following:
- Keep it clean by brushing it daily
- Continue to attend their regular dental checkups and cleanings with Dr. Steele
- Stay away from sticky and chewy food items, as they can pull out the space maintainer
- Avoid touching or pulling on the spacer, as too much pressure can cause it to come out prematurely