Dentistry for Kids
Dr. Shirey and her dental team LOVE WORKING WITH CHILDREN!! The energy, enthusiasm, and inquisitiveness of kids brightens our day, and we enjoy the challenge of doing dentistry �on their level.� Using a variety of techniques and language they have learned over years of working with children, they will make your child feel comfortable, safe and relaxed, so they enjoy their dental visit.
Ages
At Infinity Dental Care, we treat children of all ages. We recommend bringing your child in as early as possible for their intial visit, where we will discuss with parents and children proper hygiene and nutrition to prevent caries and other dental problems. We will evaluate all of the tissues and eruption patterns of teeth to make sure your child is developing normally and will have a beautiful smile that lasts a lifetime!! Our motto for children is: �PREVENTION IS KEY!!� Therefore, all questions are welcome, and it is never too early for an initial exam. Treatment, if needed, can be rendered on children as early as 2 years old.
Treatment Philosophy
Our goal is to produce happy, healthy smiles. In order to do this, we ask parents to be active in helping their children with all facets of their oral health care until they are old enough to do it on their own. As each child is an individual, we will work with the children and the parents in conjunction to develop an individualized treatment plan that will best suit the patient and their goals. Parents are allowed to be in the treatment room with the children if they choose, or they are free to wait in either of our waiting areas while we complete treatment. We also have an on-site esthetician who can give you a relaxing facial while you wait!!
Anxious/Nervous Children
Dr. Shirey works very hard with all of her patients (adults and children) to make dental visits as easy as possible. We love seeing growth and changing dental experiences to a positive experience. Outdated techniques, such as papoosing, and holding children down will not be used at Infinity Dental Care. We use a variety of techniques, including age-appropriate language, �Show-Tell-Do� technique, and repetition. For children who are very anxious, we offer nitrous oxide �happy gas� sedation, or oral conscious sedation. If a child is ever uncooperative, we will give you options, including trying again on another day, because as anyone who has children knows, sometimes they just have a bad day!! At times, if a child has serious health complications, is very young with extensive treatment, or is highly combative, we may choose to refer you to our pediatric specialist to discuss treatment options. Our goal is to produce cooperative kids who love coming to the dentist, so every visit is easy on the parents and children, and great oral health care is established from a very early age. Each child will receive a �prize� from our �treasure box� at the end of treatment as a thank you for good behavior!
Eruption of Teeth
The first baby teeth to erupt are usually the two bottom front teeth. You will notice this when your baby is about 6-8 months old. Next to follow are the 4 upper front teeth and the remainder of your baby's teeth will appear periodically. They will usually appear in pairs along the sides of the jaw until the child is about 2 1/2 years old.
At around 2 �-3 years of age, your child should have all 20 teeth. Between the ages of 5 and 6 the first permanent teeth will begin to erupt. Some of the permanent teeth replace baby teeth and some don't. Don't worry if some teeth are a few months early or late as all children are different.
