Wisdom Teeth: Should They Stay Or Should They Go?

Here at San Clemente Dentist Dr. Eric Johnson's office, we start looking at a child's wisdom teeth around the age of 16, to make sure there's enough room for them to come in properly, without causing problems. Wisdom teeth are completely non-vital to a child's health, so if it appears that there may be a problem with them, Dr. Johnson suggests having them removed simply to be on the safe side -- and removing them early on is easier than removing them later in life, as their roots will be shallower.


The Downside of Removal
The downsides of wisdom teeth removal are mostly the same as with any other minor surgery.

• Your child may have an adverse reaction to the anesthetic (very rarely).
• He or she may experience swelling and tenderness in the area of the removed teeth.
• The sutures that are used to close the hole left behind by the removed tooth may open and leave a space that needs to be re-closed.
• A very small number (less than 0.01%) of people who have this procedure have unexplained pain in the jaw that doesn't respond to painkillers and can last for years.

The Upside of Removal The upsides of getting your wisdom teeth pulled are all about the conditions you avoid by having them taken out. With no wisdom teeth crowding their other teeth around, your kids may see the following benefits:

• Their wisdom teeth won't come in at odd angles and be quite so difficult to clean.
• Their other teeth won't get crowded together and require braces to keep straight.
• They won't experience the minor infections common with wisdom teeth eruption.
• They will be able to easily clean the back sides of their rearmost teeth.

There is no cut-and-dried protocol that says your child's wisdom teeth must be removed. It depends on the child and if there is foreseeable problems in the future. Dr. Johnson can inform you and your child of the potential issues or if it is beneficial to keep the wisdom teeth. Check out our Pediatric Patients page of our web site for more information.
 

How To Brush Your Child's Teeth

Dr. Eric Johnson can do a lot for your children's teeth (come in and ask us for a complete breakdown sometime if you're curious) but obviously the parents are the ultimate decider of their children's oral health. But some parents are honestly not sure how to perform basic oral maintenance -- or worse, they think they know, but they're missing a vital step or two. So here's a simple routine for proper tooth-brushing that anyone can follow.

A Simple Guide to Brushing

• The vast majority of damage to the teeth happens while you sleep. It takes a while after the mouth is disturbed for bacteria to settle down and start doing damage, and during the day, we eat often enough that the bacteria doesn't settle down that much. This means that the two most important times to brush your teeth are immediately before going to bed and immediately upon waking up.
• Each tooth has 5 surfaces. Front and back of the tooth. The tongue side or inside of he tooth. The facial side of the tooth or the surface that people can see and then the chewing surface or the incisal edge on the front teeth. There are 20 teeth as a child. Ten teeth on the top and ten teeth on the bottom. There are 32 teeth including the wisdom teeth as an adult. Sixteen teeth on the top and sixteen teeth on the bottom.
• When you brush, you should use a small amount of toothpaste, and you should brush each surface in your mouth for a minimum of 3 seconds. That's a total of 20 seconds worth of brushing.
• Brushing should be done in a circular motion, not just straight back and forth. Going straight back and forth doesn't get the bristles in the cracks between the teeth; a little vertical motion helps get that taken care of.
• If you don't have a tongue scraper, you should brush your tongue for 3 seconds as well.

One final note: Limit highly acidic drinks like Coca-Cola. Ideally eliminating sodas from a child's diet is the best plan. The acid weakens the enamel.

What does a Dentist that sees Children Actually Do?

Dr. Eric Johnson practices several different kinds of dentistry, from restorative to cosmetic, but this month is all about pediatric dentistry -- so what exactly does that entail? The dentist who sees children does a lot more than teeth scrubbing and give free toothbrushes.

Pediatric dentists rarely have to worry about crowns and bridges and fillings, for example -- but it's a lot more than just fluoride scrubs and free floss.

A dentist who sees children...

• Helps to delay and hinder tooth decay, periodontal disease, and other forms of oral disease that can affect a child.
• Follows the growth of baby teeth, tracking them through adolescence when they are lost and replaced with adult teeth.
• Educates the child about the importance of good oral hygiene and the exact techniques the child should use to take care of their mouth at home.
• Educates the parent about tooth-healthy dietary practices, as well as about what to expect next in the child's oral development.
• Addresses a variety of child-specific oral issues such as thumb-sucking or pacifier use.

Dozens of scientific studies have proven that a child's oral health is linked to their social relationships, school performance, self esteem, confidence, and even their long-term cardiovascular health. That's why dentists who see children take their jobs very seriously -- in the long run, it's about a lot more than cavities and plaque.

Dealing With Children's Fear of the Dentist

It doesn't matter if your child is a toddler or about to graduate high school -- almost every young person has some form of fear of the dentist. Whatever it may be, getting the child to the dentist is often the easy part -- actually being treated by a dentist is an entirely different level of challenge.

One of the best things you can do to improve your child's relationship with the dentist is to establish your child's relationship with the dentist. That means taking them in regularly -- at least twice a year -- when they're quite young. Three-year-olds are starting to form long term ideas about the world around them, and learning about the dentist at that age is entirely appropriate even if it it's just to bring them in for a five minute checkup and to become familiar with the dental office and the surroundings.

Another relatively simple step you can take is to arrange to be in the dentist's office with them. Up until about the age when they don't want to be seen getting out of your car at school, they'll be perfectly happy to have you come into the dentist's office and sit next to them while they get their teeth cleaned -- and there's nothing wrong with that.

You can also help by explaining to them exactly what the dentist is doing. It's one thing to say "he keeps your teeth clean" -- and that works quite well for single-digit kids -- but once a child gets into the tweens and teens, they deserve more. Talk to them about oral health in specifics. Ask the dentist to show them some dentures and talk about how to avoid ever needing them. The more they understand how the dentist is helping their future selves keep eating, the more they'll see the dentist as an ally rather than someone to be feared.