Pathway to Wellness
The oral cavity is just the tip of the iceberg as we look at overall health and well-being. What so many of us don’t realize is that we are connected head to toe. We cannot compartmentalize oral health and whole-body health.
The overall theme of our office will be wellness and teaching children to have healthy habits that last a lifetime. Whether it is how to brush their teeth, or helping them to make healthy food choices, we want them to learn to choose the best options for themselves.
Emergent Needs
Step one for any patient is to “put out the fire” or take care of emergent needs. This would include any abscess or infection that could compromise health.
Infection Control
Next, we will look at “infection control.” Does the child have chronic underlying conditions that need to be addressed to improve the health of the patient? Is decay present? Gingivitis? Periodontal concerns?
Maintenance or Re-care
Once we have taken care of these needs, each child will be placed on a maintenance or re-care program where he or she will have regular dental checkups that are tailored specifically to that patient. – For example, if the child shows poor oral health care that needs improvement, we will strongly recommend the child go home and practice what they learned at our office about oral health care (brushing, flossing, diet).
In order to ensure that we are promoting oral health that lasts a lifetime, we will recommend a hygiene check or another dental prophylaxis 6 weeks later. This holds the patient accountable for their dental health.
Optimal Function
Lastly, we will establish optimal function for the patient. This entails looking at the patients swallow, breathing habits (hypoventilation vs hyperventilation), sleep (snoring, mouth breathing, tossing and turning, night terrors, bed wetting, ect), proper growth and development (crowded, gummy smile, recessed jaw, recessed maxilla), tethered oral tissues, airway concerns, tooth alignment, orthodontics, orthopedics. Establishing proper growth and development from an early age are of utmost importance. Why? 70% of the facial growth is completed by age 5!
We want every child to grow the way they were intended too. Let us guide you on this path to help raise healthy, happy, and thriving kids. We look forward to serving your family and treating them like our own!
