Pediatric Dental Care

Your child should receive a routine teeth cleaning and oral checkup every six months. This allows Dr. Van Wormer and our pediatric dental care team to get ahead of any potential problems and recommend quick treatment and ongoing preventative care.

Dental sealants have been proven to be extremely effective in preventing cavities in the molars of young children. It can be difficult for children to completely reach their rear molars while brushing, which can cause decay to build up. Dental sealants are thin coatings painted on your child’s rear molars that can provide an extra layer of protection.

This type of dental filling is tooth-colored and is designed to withstand the normal wear and tear of children eating, drinking, and brushing their teeth. If your child has a small cavity, Dr. Van Wormer generally recommends this type of dental filling.

At Van Wormer Family Dentistry, our goal is always to preserve your child’s teeth whenever possible. However, in cases where a tooth has too much advanced decay to save, we recommend a pulpotomy, which is a root canal specifically designed for pediatric dental patients.

A pulpotomy is necessary when tooth decay extends beyond the tooth enamel and infects the pulp inside your child’s tooth. Dr. Van Wormer will numb the area around the infected tooth, remove the decay and affected pulp, then seal it and complete the procedure by placing a crown to protect your child’s tooth.

Dr. Van Wormer typically recommends using a pediatric dental crown to protect your child’s tooth after it has been treated for decay or damage. This allows your child to keep their tooth, rather than have it extracted. We provide either stainless steel or tooth-colored crowns.

Sometimes, in the event of severe decay or damage, your child’s tooth may need to be extracted. If Dr. Van Wormer recommends tooth extraction, you can relax knowing that our pediatric dental staff will make sure your child feels safe and comfortable during the procedure.

Your child might need a space maintainer if they’ve lost a baby tooth and their adult tooth hasn’t begun to push into that space yet. Space maintainers are typically made out of acrylic and fill the space left by the missing tooth to keep the surrounding teeth from shifting out of place.

Our dental office uses safe, effective nitrous oxide treatment to sedate anxious patients or to ensure your child can comfortably sit still during dental procedures. This gentle sedation can also work well to relax children who have a more sensitive gag reflex.

At the end of treatment, your child will feel no lingering effects and the sedation wears off quickly. Your child will stay fully conscious during treatment and able to respond to questions and check-ins. If you have questions about using nitrous oxide during your child’s dental visit, please contact our staff members, who are always happy to help!