Pediatric Dentistry Services

At Kits Family Dental in Vancouver BC, we believe that early prevention and education is the key for a lifetime of healthy smiles, so a visit to a kids dentist early on is important. Preventative treatments are prescribed according to risk, and these treatments include MI Paste, fluoride varnish, sealants and sports guards. We see many young children at our clinic, and our patient and cheerful staff know just how to communicate with your child so that they have a great time. Check out our video on the right!

Patient Management and Communication

We see many young children at Kits Family Dental, and over the years, we have developed a few tried-and-true tricks to help ensure each visit is a success.  Keeping in mind that a young child’s ability to cooperate during a visit is based on their developmental age and temperament, we patiently adopt different behavior management techniques to help them along.  Dr. Mak and her staff always incorporate tell-show-do, voice control, distraction and breathing techniques to help children cope with their appointments.  Parents also greatly contribute to their child’s success during appointments.  We have put together a document which outlines some Parent Guidelines to help ensure a successful, positive visit for you and your child.

Fissure Sealants

A clear or shaded plastic material that is applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, where decay most often occurs. Permanent molars may develop with deep grooves, which are difficult to keep clean, as the bristles of the toothbrush cannot reach into the grooves. The sealant acts as a barrier preventing plaque and food to collect in the grooves and cause decay.

Fluoride Varnish

A topical gel containing concentrated fluoride applied to a child’s teeth to help strengthen them and prevent decay. Also helps to prevent small cavities from getting larger.

Amalgam Fillings

Used on baby molar teeth to restore cavities in teeth. These fillings are highly recommended over composite fillings in baby-teeth due to their strength and longevity. Watch a video on Pediatric Fillings.

Composite Fillings

White or tooth-coloured fillings used to restore cavities on a child’s front teeth. Although these fillings are an option for filling baby molars, they are not recommended.  Watch a video on pediatric fillings.

Stainless Steel Crowns

Silver-coloured metal crowns or caps that cover the entire baby tooth. This is the best option for restoring teeth that have large cavities. If a stainless steel crown is not used to cover a tooth with a large cavity, the tooth can easily crack or split, after which it would need to be extracted.

Pulpotomies

Pulpotomies are similar to a root canal in adults. When a cavity is very large, bacteria can infect the nerve and blood vessels of the tooth, so the nerve and blood vessels of the tooth chamber is removed and replaced with a filling material. Stainless steel crowns are then placed over teeth that have undergone pulpotomies to prevent them from cracking or splitting.

Extractions

Sometimes it may be necessary to pull out baby teeth in preparation for braces, if the baby teeth are taking too long to fall out by themselves, or if a tooth is too badly decayed to be fixed with fillings.

Space Maintainers

When a baby tooth is lost long before the adult tooth is ready to erupt, that space must be held open so there is enough room when the adult tooth eventually comes in. Space maintainers are custom devices attached to your child’s tooth beside the gap to prevent other teeth from tipping or moving into that space.

The purpose of your child’s space maintainer is to keep open the space needed for a permanent tooth that has yet to erupt. It will be left in place up to the time when the new permanent tooth can be seen breaking through the gum tissues.

It is important that the child avoids chewing gum, eating sticky things like taffy and gummi bears and hard items like corn nuts and ice. These snacks can get wrapped around the wire or can bend the wire, causing the appliance to break or become loose. Your child should also avoid prying or poking at the wire with his/her fingers.

Checking the space maintainer periodically will insure that it is still properly placed. If it happens to break or becomes loose, please be sure to call our office immediately so that we can decide if the appliance needs to be re-cemented or remade.

Sports Mouthguards

A clear plastic tray that is custom-fitted over your child’s teeth to prevent injuries to them. Highly recommended if your child is playing hockey, football, lacross, baseball, or soccer.