Dental Care for Children of All Ages

Smile Center For Kids is proud to provide a wide range of general and preventive dental services to young patients in the El Paso area. Our team is dedicated to giving our patients the best possible care and service. When children develop a trusting relationship with their dentist and receive the care and treatment they need beginning at a young age, they are much more likely to prioritize regular dental appointments as adults.

Every child’s smile is different, which is why our approach is to cater to each patient’s unique dental needs. Preventive dentistry is a critical tool for maintaining good oral health, no matter the age of the patient. For children in particular, it involves building the daily habits that will keep their teeth healthy and prevent enamel wear, cavities, gum disease, and other problems.

Check-Ups and Teeth Cleanings

During your child’s routine dental check-ups at Smile Center For Kids, a member of our clinical team will perform a teeth cleaning to eliminate plaque and tartar, take any necessary dental X-rays, and one of our doctors will complete a dental examination and oral cancer screening.

Our doctor will identify and explain any areas of concern your child may be having with their oral hygiene, as well as evaluate the appearance and strength of their teeth. Orthodontic therapy is often needed on young children and teens and our doctors will provide a screening for your child and give a referral if needed to an orthodontist. Click to learn more about cleanings and check-ups at Smile Center For Kids.

Cavities and Dental Fillings

When a tooth has been damaged by decay, the dentist will use a dental filling to restore it to its normal shape and function. The dentist first removes all of the decayed portions of the tooth and cleans the area, then adds a filling material. Fillings seal out bacteria to protect the tooth from further decay, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe to skip brushing and flossing. Decay can always come back if patients aren’t keeping up with their dental hygiene routines.

Sealants

Brushing effectively can be difficult for children, particularly the grooves in the chewing surfaces of their molars. At Smile Center For Kids, we recommend dental sealants to protect those chewing surfaces against decay. They are particularly helpful for children with a weakness for sweets.

Sealants have been shown to reduce cavities in children by up to 80% and are durable enough to last as long as ten years, but they aren’t a replacement for brushing and flossing. Click to learn more about sealants at Smile Center For Kids.

Fluoride Treatments

Your children’s teeth are constantly losing and gaining minerals. Acidic and sugary foods and drinks pull minerals out of the tooth enamel if the residue remains in the mouth too long. Topical fluoride treatments provide the teeth with the raw materials to remineralize and stay strong. Fluoride can be quickly applied in the course of a regular dental visit.

When a tooth is already developing carious lesions (cavities), we can use silver diamine fluoride to stop them from growing larger. The compound fights against the processes that break down the tooth surface while providing those same minerals to keep the enamel strong. Silver diamine fluoride does not eliminate dental caries. It simply prevents cavities from getting larger for a short period of time.

Night Guards

A nighttime teeth grinding habit can be a very difficult habit to stop, and without the protection of a night guard, it can lead to chipping and erosion, as well as other symptoms like a sore jaw and morning headaches. If your teenager or young adult child grinds their teeth in their sleep, Smile Center For Kids can provide a custom night guard to protect their teeth from damage if indicated. It is important to note that nightguards are not for everyone that grinds.

Space Maintainers

Whether through a playground accident or tooth decay extensive enough to warrant extraction, a child could lose a tooth much earlier than the adult tooth is ready to erupt. When this happens, the surrounding teeth tend to crowd in towards the open space. Space maintainers are orthodontic appliances that hold that space open for the new tooth to come in normally. These appliances can be fixed or removable and are custom-made for each child.

We Look Forward to Your Child’s Next Dental Visit!

If you live in the El Paso area, we hope you will consider Smile Center For Kids for your family’s pediatric dentistry needs. Give us a call at either our Sunland Park Drive location (915) 213-1200 or our Edgemere location (915) 493-6310.