Getting Started
Patients should visit the pediatric dentist every 6 months for a thorough examination. Before each appointment, patients are encouraged to brush their teeth.
Convenient Appointments
To ensure that every patient receives our Gold Standard of Care, verbal confirmation is required to secure all appointments.
As a reminder, we will contact you 2 days before your scheduled appointment.
How to verbally confirm an appointment:
Answer our reminder call to verbally confirm
Return our reminder call to verbally confirm
If calling after hours, press “2” to verbally confirm
Communication
Written correspondence is given to our patients during most appointments. If a parent is not present during an appointment, the accompanying adult will be given these documents. Please make sure that you receive and review any pertinent information.
Parent Guidelines
You may choose whether or not you accompany your child to his/her dental appointment. Although we have experienced that some children do better without parents present, we are open to having you with your child. If you choose to be present, we suggest the following guidelines to improve the chances of a positive outcome:
- Allow us to prepare your child for the treatment procedure.
- Be supportive of our dental team and terminology we use. We are here to relieve your child’s anxiety.
- Most important, please be a silent observer, supporting your child with touch.
These practices will allow us to maintain communication with your child. Children have a tendency to hear their parents voice above all others, which distracts them from hearing our instructions. We understand that you want to help, but you may give incorrect or misleading information. - If asked to leave, please do so immediately.
Many children attempt to take control of the situation by becoming uncooperative, and we have found that when the parent leaves the room, the child is more likely to listen to our instructions and settle down. We must control your child’s behavior to safely complete dental treatment. Please know that we will support your child at all times.
Due to the limited space in our rooms we can only allow one parent in the treatment room. If siblings are present, we ask that you remain with them in the lobby. Please be assured if there is any deviation of the original treatment plan, we will consult with you prior to continuing the treatment.
If you feel that the experience is too upsetting to your child you may request the doctor discontinue the treatment. Please understand the doctor may decide to discontinue treatment if the child’s behavior is uncontrollable and quality dentistry cannot be performed safely.
It is our goal to make your child’s visit a happy one, to encourage and to promote excellent oral health. These are very important ways that you can actively help in the success of your child’s visit. We are confident that these guidelines will help prepare you for the upcoming appointment.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Dr. Laila B. Hishaw, DDS
Dr.Priya Y. Abramian, DDS
Did You Know?
It is very important to care for your young child’s teeth. Early Childhood Caries (ECC), or tooth decay can affect a child’s body weight, growth and the overall quality of life of a child.
The leading causes of cavities are a diet of high sugars and lack of brushing and flossing. The longer your child chews on their food, the longer the residue stays on their teeth, the more acid forms and the greater the chances of cavities.
It is very important that primary teeth are kept in place until they are lost naturally. These teeth serve a number of critical functions.
Parental involvement is extremely important. Prepare your child for their first visit by reinforcing a positive attitude:
- Playing pretend dentist
- Reading books that involve a dental visit
What Causes tooth decay?
- Bacteria that live on teeth consumes sugar and then uses it to manufacture acids
- The acids dissolve teeth
- The dissolved tooth becomes infected
- This infection is called decay
Pedodontics is the branch of dentistry dealing with the teeth and mouth conditions of children. Pediatric dentistry is the specialty of dentistry that focuses on the oral health and unique needs of young people.
Children should be weaned from the bottle at 12-14 months of age.
Four things are necessary for cavities to form:
- a tooth
- bacteria
- sugars or other carbohydrates, and
- time.
