Family
Our dental office is unlike any other...
comfortable, relaxed, and
INVITING.
Waiting Rooms
Kid's Playroom
We love families, so it was a no-brainer to create an awesome playroom for kids of all ages. We have three large screen TVs with loads of movies, video games, books, toys, and a chalkboard wall! The playroom is centrally located in our office with large windows all around which allows our staff to keep an eye on the kiddos while you are in the dental chair. Plus, mommy or daddy are never further than a few steps away.
Reception Area
You will notice that we are nestled among the beautiful homes and rolling hills of Northwest Austin. In fact, our office was originally built as a residence which gives it that relaxed home-like feel. As you enter our building you will find the most friendly and caring staff that, perhaps you have ever encountered in a professional setting. Come in and relax in our tranquil, light-filled reception area. Help yourself to a complimentary cup of coffee or bottled water. No worries if you need to brush your teeth--there are disposable toothbrushes available in the restroom.
Visit from the Tooth FairyClick here to download your child's Tooth Fairy Certificate. |
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Lost Teeth Celebration
Losing a baby tooth is the ultimate sign of becoming a big kid. In fact, it's probably more important to 5- and 6-year-olds than learning to read, write, or ride a bike. Kids competitively track how many teeth their classmates have lost, open their mouths to show off the progress, and endlessly trade tooth stories. We think it's a big deal, too!
What to do if a tooth is loose?
It's best to encourage your child to wiggle the tooth out on his own. If it's extremely loose, you can take a tissue and try to rotate the tooth. If there's no root left, you should be able to pull it out easily. But don't force it, and never tie it to a string and yank -- if the root is only half dissolved, it could break and become infected.
Children's Daily Dental Habits
Care for All Ages
Infant: After every feeding a clean, warm wash cloth should be used to gently cleanse the inside of the mouth.
6 Months: Teething usually begins around 6 months old. The first teeth that appear are usually the lower incisors, commonly known as the two front teeth. Help ease the pain of teething by using a clean, cool washcloth to gently massage the gums. Offer the child a cool teething ring that is age appropriate. Always supervise for risk of choking. At the first sign of teeth, buy a children's toothbrush and brush the child's teeth without toothpaste.
18 Months: Introduce a children's toothpaste that is safe to swallow and does not contain fluoride. Teach and supervise your child to use a pencil-eraser-size dot of toothpaste, and to always spit the toothpaste out.
3 Years: Children should have the complete set of 20 primary teeth around the age of 3. Daily brushing and flossing is a must. Make oral care a family event. Brush and floss your own teeth at the same time as your child. You are setting a good example and demonstrating the correct techniques for brushing and flossing. At age 3, a child should start seeing a dentist for regular 6-month checkups.
5 Years: Children begin to lose their first baby teeth around the age of 5. If your child hasn't lost any teeth by age 7, it would be a good idea to see a dentist to have an x-ray taken just as a precaution.
6 Years: Losing baby teeth is seldom as painful a process as teething. If your 5- or 6-year-old complains of pain in the back of his mouth, it's probably the 6-year molars coming in. (He has no baby teeth there to fall out first). A topical painkiller, Ibuprofen, or acetaminophen can ease the ache, though it's unlikely to last long.
12 Years: Most kids lose their last baby teeth around age 12 or 13, about the same time the 12-year molars appear. If your child has not had a consult with an orthodontist yet, and shows any signs of teeth crowding it is highly recommended to schedule a consult by age 12.
18 Years: Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. Wisdom teeth present potential problems when they are misaligned. When patients are around age 18, Dr. Myers may recommend a pano x-ray be taken to evaluate the position of the wisdom teeth. Your dentist or oral surgeon may recommend that your wisdom teeth be extracted even before problems develop because removal is easier in young people, when the roots are not yet fully developed and the bone is less dense.
Helpful Tips for Healthy Kids
Bottle Mouth
The result of sending a child to bed with a bottle of anything other than water is severe tooth decay (cavities). The sugar from the fluid in the bottle stays on the teeth for long periods of time causing cavities to form. Dentists sometimes use the term “Bottle Mouth” to describe the mouth of a child that has been sent to bed repeatedly with a bottle. This is not an easy habit to break, but it can be done. If your child is taking a bottle to bed, try diluting the liquid down a little each night until the end result is just water.
Thumb Sucking
Thumb and finger sucking is a bad habit because it could cause the child to have buck teeth, which could eventually require orthodontic treatment. Most children will stop this habit on their own between ages 2 and 4. However, it is much easier to break any habit when it first begins.
Tips:
1. The best way to help your child stop thumb sucking is to find ways to help her do it on her own.
2.Observe if conflicts or anxiety provoke thumb sucking. If so, help her find more healthy ways to deal with stress.
3. Reward your child for progress made towards her goal. Don't think of it as a bribe because it's something she earned through effort.
4. Distract your child when you see her putting her thumb in her mouth. If you engage her in an activity that requires both hands, she'll have to take her thumb out of her mouth to do the task.
5. Invite friends over that don't suck their thumbs for frequent play dates. Peer pressure is a powerful motivator and if she surrounds herself with kids who don't suck their thumbs, it will be easier to break the habit.
Sealants for Children's Teeth
What are sealants?
A sealant is a thin plastic coating that is bonded to the chewing surfaces of the molars and premolars. The sealant forms a hard shield that keeps food and bacteria from penetrating the tiny grooves on the surfaces of the teeth preventing decay. While fluoride helps protect the smooth surfaces on the front and sides of teeth from decay, the back teeth have tiny grooves that a toothbrush cannot reach. Sealants can protect these back teeth and are a safe, painless and low-cost way to protect your child's back teeth from decay.
When should children get sealants?
Sealants can be applied as soon as the first permanent molars (6-year molars) come in, between five and seven years of age. The second molars (12-year molars) and the premolars can also be sealed as soon as they emerge, usually between eleven and fourteen years of age. It is important to seal the teeth as soon as they come in since it is during this first year that the teeth have the greatest threat of decay. However, it's never too late to apply sealants, as long as the teeth are free of decay and fillings.
What About Baby Teeth?
The baby molars often do not need to be sealed, however the dentist may recommend sealing the baby molars if there is a high risk of decay. Since baby teeth are really "space holders" for the permanent teeth, losing baby molars due to decay can cause crowding when the permanent teeth come in.
Nitrous Oxide Sedation
What is Nitrous Oxide?
Nitrous Oxide is a safe, effective sedative agent used to calm a patient's nerves during a dental procedure. It can also be useful for children or adults whose gag reflex interferes with dental treatment. Nitrous Oxide (chemical formula N2O) is administered in conjunction with pure Oxygen (O2) through a fitted mask placed over the nose. As the patient breathes normally, uptake occurs through the lungs and within minutes the patient begins to feel the calming effect of the gas.
What does it feel like to use Nitrous Oxide?
The patient will smell a faint, sweet aroma and experience a sense of well-being and relaxation. Since it may produce a feeling of giddiness or euphoria, it is often called "laughing gas." Patients sometimes report dreaming and their arms and legs may feel "tingly." It raises the pain threshold and may even make the time appear to pass quickly. If a patient is worried by the sights, sounds or sensations of dental treatment, he or she may respond more positively with the use of nitrous oxide.
How safe is Nitrous Oxide?
Very safe. Nitrous oxide is perhaps the safest sedative in dentistry. It is well tolerated and is non-allergenic. The patient remains fully conscious -- keeps all natural reflexes -- when breathing nitrous oxide. He/she will be capable of responding to a question or request. The effects are easily reversible by breathing pure oxygen for a few minutes, leaving the patient feeling back to normal by the time he/she leaves the dental chair. As a result, the patient can almost always leave the office by themselves, without an escort.
What to know before your appointment?
As a precaution, patients should not eat anything for about two hours prior to use of the gas. Occasionally, nausea or vomiting can occur if the patient has a full stomach. The patient begins to feel a pleasant level of sedation anywhere from 30 seconds to three or four minutes of breathing the nitrous oxide/oxygen gas. Before beginning your appointment, tell your dentist about any medications that you have taken during the day of your appointment. Also, inform the dentist of any respiratory condition that may make breathing through the nose difficult, as this may limit the effectiveness of the Nitrous Oxide. Occasionally, headaches may occur if the patient does not receive at least five minutes of pure oxygen after the nitrous has been turned off. This helps to flush away any remaining gas from the lungs and return the patient to a fully awake and alert condition.
Numbness Reversal
OraVerse
OraVerse is the first and only local anesthesia reversal agent that accelerates the return to normal sensation and function after routine dental procedures. In clinical trials, the patients were able to regain normal sensation twice as fast vs. the control group. These studies showed that on average people who are given OraVerse not only return to normal sensation twice as fast, but they can smile, speak, and drink normally sooner. OraVerse is administered by Dr. Myers in the same way the local anesthetic was given so that you can return to normal sensation and function faster. The most common adverse side effect was soreness in the injection site
Oraverse and Children
Consistent with adult and adolescent trials, OraVerse was well tolerated among pediatric patients. The safety profile of OraVerse in children is well demonstrated and provides doctors both an age and weight determinant for the use of the product. OraVerse is not recommended for use in children less than 6 years of age or weighing less than 33 lbs. In addition, OraVerse has not been studied in pregnant women, and it is not known if OraVerse is passed to the baby while nursing so caution should be exercised if a pregnant or nursing woman is considering using OraVerse.
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