c. Brushing & Flossing : Why brush and floss? : Brushing and flossing everyday will help keep your teeth and gums healthy. Clean teeth will also make your child look and feel better, teeth feel smooth, breath is fresher and your smile is brighter.

At our center, animated CDs and DVDs are shown to all patients about the proper brushing and flossing techniques as well as for other relevant topics.
     
  d. Preventive Programs like Fluorides : Fluoride ion makes molecular structure of teeth harder, more compact and more resistant to acid attack and also disables the bacterial acid synthesis which is a precursor for cavities. Fluoride can be imbibed systemically i.e. through drinking water wherein the ideal concentration should be 1 ppm (1 mg in 1 litre of water). This unfortunately is not the case with Mumbai municipal supplies. Fluoride is more commonly delivered topically. Topically means delivering fluoride on the teeth through gels, foam, varnishes, toothpastes, mouthwashes etc. This way they directly interact with teeth surfaces, replace certain ions in the structure of the teeth in order to make them stronger and can even remineralise small erosions and decalcified areas of teeth which may otherwise eventually decay. Fluoride can be attained at home by using fluoridated mouthwashes and toothpastes or in the dental office by gels, varnishes and foams. Dr. Bhavsar as a pediatric dentist is best placed to guide you through a proper fluoride regime, depending on your child’s needs, based according to your child’s predisposition and tendencies towards developing decay. Like certain children are more prone to viral attacks, gastrointestinal disturbances, allergies etc, likewise different children succumb differently to erosion, demineralization and eventual cavities on their teeth.
     
  e. Pit & Fissure Sealants : What are sealants? : Sealants are a safe and painless way of protecting your child’s teeth from decay. A sealant is a protective plastic coating which is applied to the biting surfaces of the back teeth. The sealant forms a hard shield that keeps the food debris and bacteria from getting into the tiny grooves of the teeth and causing decay.
     
  f. Enamel Improving Creams : Certain oral creams are now available that contain Casein and Phosphopeptide (CCP Protein) which holds calcium phosphate which is necessary for natural remineralisation of tooth enamel. These tooth mousses replenish the mineral stores of enamel by delivering bioavailable calcium and phosphate.. Dr. Bhavsar will be happy to share more information with you on this.
     
  g. Saliva Testing Kit : Saliva is nature’s primary defense system for the oral environment and is particularly important for protecting exposed tooth surfaces. Saliva protects teeth by i) neutralizing acid challenges ii) flushing food and bacteria from the oral cavity iii) acting as a lubricant iv) forming pellicle on the tooth surface and v) delivering calcium phosphate and fluoride to the tooth surface.

Dental caries is largely dependent on saliva. Saliva testing kit helps you assess the caries risk and predisposition and thereby take correct pre-emptive steps. Saliva in a big way explains why certain children even if they are siblings, twins, studying in the same class, in the same age group and consuming similar amounts of sweet, chocolates etc and more or less follow similar oral hygiene habits, develop dental decay in the early years of their life and certain children don’t.

     
  h. Sugar Free Chewing Gums : Use of sugar free chewing gum is heavily recommended. Recently additives like Xylitol which is a sugar substitute in the chewing gum have shown to not only reduce tooth decay but also remineralise small eroded lesions of the enamel. This is because studies have proven that Xylitol containing chewing gums also complement fluoride in dental care products and reduces the formation of plaque and other bacteria responsible for dental caries.
     
  i. Plaque Disclosing Dyes : As is evident plaque is responsible for dental cavity formation. Because it is generally not visible to the naked eye special staining dyes used in our set up “disclose” this hidden plaque. This way it becomes known which areas of the teeth are thoroughly clean and which are not and thus these disclosing dyes play an important role in oral hygiene awareness.
     
5. Irregular Teeth Prevention and Correction : The importance of primary teeth in the jaws of small children will be explained, in case the teeth are lost for some reason. Appliances such as space maintainers are recommended to prevent migration of other teeth in the empty spaces, otherwise the status of future permanent teeth (due to erupt after few years) will be in jeopardy and thus cause irregularities in the jaws.

The dynamics of growth and development of the jaws and facial features is impressed upon the parents as well as early diagnosis of potential problems which may require orthodontic treatment. A lot of dental irregularities and deformities in the arrangement of teeth are diagnosed and corrected by your pediatric dentist, something the present day parents and older individuals often claim they missed out in their teens and that’s the reason they are now carrying on with perpetual dental irregularities.
     
6. Oral Habits : Many oral habits like lip biting, thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, mouth breathing, lip and digit sucking etc. which can be considered normal in infants do produce deleterious and undesirable changes in the facial and oral profiles of children. Your pediatric dentist is the best person to highlight the pernicious effects of such habits, alert you on the disastrous consequences if continued for a longer period. A variety of treatment and psychological counseling options are imparted towards arresting such habits, correcting deformities in their initial stages and bringing back the perfect pleasing features you would like to have on your child.