Checkups 

Preventative care is one of the most important parts of our dental practice, because keeping smiles happy and healthy is our #1 goal. Checkups are typically every 6 months, but are ultimately determined by your child’s specific needs.

Checkups Include: 

We follow the recommendations of The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry that a child’s first visit to the dentist should occur by 12 months of age. We will discuss diet, fluoride, finger and pacifier habits, and tooth eruption to ensure optimal dental health. 

Mouthguards prevent dental injuries whether from sports or from teeth grinding. A form-fitting mouthguard can be fabricated for your child in our office.

Similar in color and texture to natural teeth, these tooth colored fillings are less noticeable and much more attractive than other types of fillings, providing your child with a confident smile. 

If a cavity gets too deep, the pulp of a tooth can become irritated and inflamed, causing tooth aches. In baby molars, a pulpotomy is used in the process of trying to save and restore the tooth. 

Whether it is because of tooth decay, impacted teeth, or over crowding, tooth extraction is more often than not a very routine procedure that can be accessed by your dentist on a case-by-case basis. 

A restrictive lingual frenum is a common occurrence in young children. A lingual frenectomy is a simple procedure that only involves numbing the tongue with an anesthetic and a small incision to free the tongue from the floor of the mouth. 

Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) is available for young children and children with anxiety who have a difficult time coping with traditional dental treatment. This helps them stay calm during their procedure and afterwards pure oxygen is given to the patient to clear out any remaining nitrous oxide. 

Children who are more anxious may need different medicine than nitrous oxide. Several of these medicines are given by mouth. When choosing a medicine, your dentist will consider your child's: 

Our anesthesiologist, Dr. David Schultz, monitors the sedated child in our surgical suite with several high tech devices. These are the very same monitors that he uses at Halifax Hospital.

The "special needs" term encompasses those with health, mental or physical challenges. These patients often have different dental needs than other patients. Though McDonnell & Parsons Pediatric Dentistry is a pediatric office, we will generally see these patients through adulthood.