Your Child's First Dental Visit

Creating a Lifetime of Healthy Smiles

The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry say that the first dental visit should occur within 6 months after the baby's first tooth appears, but no later than the child's first birthday. It's best to meet the dentist when your child isn't having any dental problems -- don't wait until an emergency comes up!!

If your child is an infant, the Dentists should examine your child in the knee-to-knee position. You and the dentist will sit on chairs facing each other. Your child sits on your lap, facing you. You then lay your child back with his or her head in the dentist's lap. In this position, both you and the dentist can see clearly into your child's mouth and your child can look up at you.




During the examination, depending on the age of your child, the dentist will check all of their existing teeth for decay, examine your child’s bite, and look for any potential problems with the gums, jaw, and oral tissues.The dentist or hygienist may also clean your child's teeth. This is likely to occur if your child's teeth have a stain that commonly appears in infants. The dentist or hygienist also may apply fluoride, particularly if you child has a higher than average risk of developing cavities.

(Pictured above: Dr. Carissa Bruening performing a lap examination

 on a 9 month old baby at our office in Chesterfield, Missouri.)

Tips for a Lifetime of Healthy Smiles for your Child:

1. Find a dentist that you trust and an office where you feel comfortable. You should be able to consider this your "dental home". 
2. Stay positive! Please keep it to yourself if you still have any anxiety about dental visits.
3. Never bribe your child to go to the dentist or use the dentist as a punishment or threat!
4. Although bribing isn't a good idea, try to make your child's dental visit an enjoyable outing. Teaching your child good oral hygiene habits will lead to a lifetime of good dental health. 

To stay up to date with patient appreciation raffles, office specials, and volunteer events, go "LIKE" our Facebook Page by searching @chdental or Chesterfield Hilltown Dental.

Dr. Andrew Bruening & Dr. Carissa Bruening

 are General Dentists located in Chesterfield, Missouri.

www.chesterfieldhilltowndental.com

New Year, New Smile.

Have you found yourself unhappy with your smile, but also intimidated by the cost/evasiveness of fixing that smile? You have come to the right place. With the scientific advancements Dentistry has made in the past 20 years, and the extended payment options made possible by companies like Care Credit & The Citi Bank Health Card, there is no reason that you can’t have the smile you desire!

Let’s talk about the different ways that we can help you get that “dream” smile of yours.

1. MTM

MTM Clear Aligners are the virtually undetectable way to align your smile without traditional braces. MTM® Clear Aligner utilizes a series of removable trays to correct slight misalignments such as crowding or gaps. Each aligner is custom fabricated, per your doctor’s treatment plan, to progressively advance your teeth into their ideal position, leaving you with a healthy and beautiful smile. Schedule a consult with one of the Bruenings to see if you are a good for our MTM treatment.

2. Veneers

Unhappy with your smile? Veneers can significantly improve your appearance and most importantly, your confidence! For many of our patients, veneers have the ability to alter the color, shape & alignment of their teeth, leaving them with an esthetic result & enhanced smile.

Give us a call! We are excited to discuss your smile “goals” and work together to determine the best option for you.

To stay up to date with patient appreciation raffles, office specials, and volunteer events, go "LIKE" our Facebook Page by searching @chdental or Chesterfield Hilltown Dental.

Dr. Andrew Bruening & Dr. Carissa Bruening

 are General Dentists located in Chesterfield, Missouri.

www.chesterfieldhilltowndental.com

How to make your child with autism comfortable at the Dental Office.

1. Have a conversation with the Staff on the phone.

Call the Dentist ahead to discuss your son/daughters needs. The more you know ahead of time about their practices and why they do them, the more comfortable you will be. Ask if they have experience with children who have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and if they have special procedures in order to optimize each visit. Ask about those procedures. Discuss whether you would like to accompany your son/daughter in the room while doing the exam. Discuss the importance of having a short wait time. If your dentist can’t cater to that, find one that will. Also discuss having the same staff at each visit for consistency. If you’re not comfortable with the answers to ANY of your questions, consider another dentist.

2. Practice, practice, practice.

Use their toothbrush or a plastic tooth mirror and get your child use to letting you put it in his/her mouth. Make a fun game out of counting their teeth. Using an electric toothbrush is excellent for getting your child use to the strange sensations in their mouths. Let them practice laying their head in your lap, and letting you count their teeth and look at them with the mirror.

3. Let them get their feet wet.

To get your son/daughter off to the right start with a dentist, schedule a few short “happy visits” to start off with. Keep these visits very positive and short. Let your son/daughter get use to the office environment; try out the chair; let the hygienist look in their mouth or count their teeth, check out the suction and water. Use these visits to slowly desensitize your son/daughter to the experience, as well as discover what could potentially be difficult at future visits. Let them pick something out of the toy chest each time they come for a Happy Visit.

4. At our office, we have a fun “story” about going to the dentist, with velcro matching pieces.

Our advice, is to let them use & play with this book each time they come in for their happy visit. Let them do it in the waiting room before they come back. Then, when they finally come in for their cleaning appointment, have them use the same book before they come to the back to be seen.

To stay up to date with patient appreciation raffles, office specials, and volunteer events, go "LIKE" our Facebook Page by searching @chdental or Chesterfield Hilltown Dental.

Dr. Andrew Bruening & Dr. Carissa Bruening

 are General Dentists located in Chesterfield, Missouri.

www.chesterfieldhilltowndental.com

3 Tips for Keeping Your Teeth Healthy While Indulging in Holiday Treats.

Sounds like a contradictory statement, right? Well it's not! Listen to our tips on how to walk away from the Holiday season cavity-free without avoiding the delectable treats. 

Wash it down, the right way.

If you are partaking in holiday treats, try to wash it down with water instead of another sugary beverage.  Soft drinks, sports drinks and flavored coffee creamers contain high amounts of sugar, which can lead to cavities. Even diet sodas contain phosphoric acid, citric acid, and carbonic acid, which erode teeth enamel by literally eating away the surface of your teeth. Replacing carbonated beverages that are high in sugar with healthier alternatives, like no-sugar-added juices and water, will be beneficial to your teeth, as well as to your waistline. If you are wanting to have an alcoholic beverage, try using sugar free mixers or naturally occurring flavors like sliced citrus, crushed berries, and mint leaves.

If you’ve got ‘em, floss ‘em.

In addition to the golden rule of brushing twice a day, it is also important to remove food particles and bacteria from the areas between your teeth.   Contrary to news going around that “flossing is ineffective”, a high percentage of dental decay occurs between teeth. Using dental floss, an interdental pick, or a water pick, can help prevent gum disease. Gum disease has been linked to serious health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Cleaning between your teeth daily keeps your breath fresh, prevents tooth decay and is important for your overall health. Your technique in floss does matter. Our advice is to  wrap about a foot of floss around your index fingers, keeping about two inches between your fingers to work with. Unroll a fresh section of floss for each tooth, and keep the floss tight against the tooth to break up plaque while leaving your gums in good shape. 

It’s not the amount, it’s the frequency.

Temptation is waiting for you from the minute you arrive at the holiday party and there is no doubt the snacks, drinks and sweets always look delicious and are often difficult to avoid. Even if you are one of those extraordinarily dedicated people who can turn down the sweet, irresistible temptations, it can be hard to not offend the host who worked hard to make these treats.  Just remember, it’s not the amount of sugar or acid you consume, it’s more about the frequency. Try to limit the frequency and if you do feel the need to keep snacking, brush your teeth in-between to avoid decay setting in.

To stay up to date with patient appreciation raffles, office specials, and volunteer events, go "LIKE" our Facebook Page by searching @chdental or Chesterfield Hilltown Dental.

Dr. Andrew Bruening & Dr. Carissa Bruening

are General Dentists located in Chesterfield, Missouri.