Our Services | Children's Dental Center

Preventative Dental Services | Spacer Maintainers | Tooth Extractions | General Anesthesia

Preventive Dental Services

Dental Exams (recommended twice a year)

Knee to knee dental exam allows the infant or very young patient to be embraced by his or her mom or dad while Dr. Ortuzar is able to closely examine and address any parental concerns.

One On One Exam

One and one dental exam allows our specialized dental staff to introduce a young patient to the pediatric dental world. This technique offers your child the opportunity to see, touch, feel and ask any questions. We check and count their teeth and evaluate oral conditions.

Dental Cleanings (recommended twice a year)

Our fun and energetic team is dedicated to creating a unique and positive dental experience while tickling, brushing, and cleaning every tooth site.

Dental Pictures

Our goal is to protect your child from unnecessary radiation and dental caries. We follow the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and take dental radiographs once a year and when indicated.

Dental Sealants

We can protect teeth from cavities by utilizing state of the art technology to seal any grooves, pits or fissures that your child’s teeth may have. It is drill-less and no numbing is necessary.

Dental Fluorides (Tooth vitamins or muscles)

Look mom! These are all the flavors to choose from:

Orange Orange Cherry Cherry grape Grape

Strawberry Pink Bubblegum mint Mint

Fluorides are recommended by the ADA and AAPD for their ability to protect and make teeth stronger.

Other Services

Tooth Color Fillings
Dental Crowns

Sometimes cavities in children’s teeth may become so large that simple fillings cannot restore the tooth. To restore the proper shape to the tooth a stainless steel crown is used. This crown is a pre-made cap, which has been trimmed and custom fit to your child’s tooth. These crowns cover the entire portion of the tooth at the gum lines. Stainless steel is a long-lasting material in the mouth and it will serve quite well for the life of the baby (deciduous) teeth. This will keep the tooth and root intact until normal tooth loss occurs.

Stainless Steel Crowns are used in Several Circumstances:

Broken teeth, which cannot be repaired by normal fillings.
Badly decayed teeth where little tooth structure remains.
To prevent breakage of a tooth which has had a pulpotomy, (partial removal of the nerve).

Home Care Instructions.

There are no restrictions on your daily activities.
Encourage brushing right away. A clean mouth heals faster.
The diet should avoid between meal sweets to help prevent cavities.
Hard, sticky food should be avoided.

NOTE:

Your Child’s teeth and gums around the crown may be tender for several days following the appointment.
Your child has had a local anesthetic, watch him closely for several hours to prevent him from chewing his cheek, tongue or lip, which are very numb.

NOTIFY US IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING OCCURS

Gum around the crown becomes swollen or tender.
The tooth, which has the crown, becomes painful or loose.

crown crown again

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Spacer Maintainers

General Information

If a baby tooth is lost early in life, we may recommend treatment with a space maintainer. This is an appliance, which is designed to hold the space of the extracted primary tooth until the permanent tooth erupts into its proper place. If the primary tooth is lost due to accident or decay, the surrounding teeth should be held in place to prevent closing of this apace. The space maintainer should be placed as soon as possible after the loss of the tooth. Teeth may shift position in a few weeks after the loss of the neighboring tooth. This space maintainer is fixed or cemented.

Home Care Instructions

Hard, sticky foods such as chewing gum and taffy should be avoided.
Encourage foods that do not place unnecessary pressure on the wires of the appliance.
If the appliance is fixed and loosens, an appointment should be made to recement it immediately.
Please pay close attention to brushing, and flossing around the teeth where the spacer is cemented.

There are various types of space maintainers, and in some cases more than one technique may be tried. With the proper treatment and home care, together we can maintain your child’s dental health. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask one of the doctors or our capable assistants.

First Permanent Molar Space Caused by Early Loss

Molar Two

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Tooth Extractions

INSTRUCTIONS AFTER TOOTH EXTRACTION

BITE on the piece of gauze until you get home. If area is still bleeding, bite on another piece of gauze for 30 minutes.
DO NOT put your tongue or fingers where your tooth was taken out.
If your lip feels numb (fat or big), do not eat until you lip feels normal (small).
TODAY, do not spit or brush your teeth.
TODAY, eat soft foods; chew on the other side of your mouth.
TODAY, do not drink with a straw; instead, drink COLD juices or Kool-Aid from a glass.
DO NOT TOUCH YOUR TOOTH: keep it in the tooth saver box.
If your mouth hurts, ask your parents to give you regular Tylenol or Motrin (children's dose) for pain.
TOMORROW, START BRUSHING YOUR TEETH. BRUSH EVERY DAY!
If Dr Ortuzar told you your tooth was hidden under your gum:
1. TODAY, hold ice on the outside of your face, 15 minutes every hour
2. TOMORROW, hold a warm, wet towel on the outside of your face.

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General Anesthesia

Pre-operative instructions

Instructions for Not Eating before Anesthesia (Nothing By Mouth-NPO)

It is important that your child have a completely empty stomach when given anesthetic. This will reduce the danger of vomiting and inhaling stomach contents into the lungs while asleep. You must follow these instructions or your child’s procedure may be canceled.

If your child is 1 to 8 years old:

Call your doctor to confirm your child’s appointment time.
If the procedure is scheduled between 7:00am and 12:00 noon your child must not eat or drink anything (not even water) after midnight the evening before the surgery is scheduled.
If the procedure is scheduled at 12:00 noon or later, your child must not eat or drink anything after 6:00 am the morning of the procedure. Your child may have up to 8 ounces of clear liquids (water). Then nothing else until after the procedure has been completed.
If your child must take medicine by mouth for a medical condition during this period when no food or drink is allowed before surgery, please give the medicine at it’s scheduled time with just a sip (no more than 2 teaspoons) of water.

Post-operative instructions

Activity:

Your child might feel a little sleepy for the next 24 hours. This is due to the medicine your child received. Please do not leave the child alone. Children should rest at home, but may be up and about according to the doctor’s instructions. Do not let the child ride a bike, skateboard, roller-blade, etc. for at least 24 hours.

Medications:

Your child may have some discomfort. If needed the doctor may prescribe a prescription for pain. This should be taken as directed. If it does not help the pain, contact your doctor. If your doctor does not prescribe anything for pain, then you may give your child a non-prescription pain medication, such as Tylenol. Please be sure to follow the directions on the label. Take all pain medications with food to prevent upset stomach.

Diet

Proceed slowly to a regular diet. Start by giving liquids such as water or carbonated soda. If your child has no nausea, try soup and crackers, and finally solid foods.

Call the Doctor if your child develops:

A fever higher than 101 degrees orally
Pain not relieved by pain medication
Any bleeding or unexpected drainage
Extreme redness or swelling
Croupy Cough
Nausea and vomiting that is not better within a day or two

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