Diagnostic, Restorative, and Surgical Care
Even with the best brushing habits and nutrition, sometimes restorative treatments are necessary if your child has tooth decay or other oral health issues. In some cases, surgical care may be needed to help your child improve their oral health. At each checkup, our pediatric dentists will evaluate your child’s teeth and make recommendations based on their dental needs.
Pediatric Dental Surgeon Services
Dental problems in children can cause pain and discomfort and, if left untreated, can become more serious problems in the future. If your child has a cavity or another dental problem that needs attention, our pediatric dental surgeons expertly provide a full range of restorative and surgical services, including the following:
- Fillings: Fillings are a common way to treat cavities in children. The decayed and damaged tooth structure will be removed, and our pediatric dentists will fill in the gap with tooth-colored materials to replace the lost tooth structure.
- Pulpotomies: In a pulpotomy or a baby root canal, a portion of the dental nerve/pulp is removed in case of a cavity getting into the nerve. Once the tooth is confirmed to be healthy our pediatric dentists fill the tooth with a special material that prevents infection and then restore the tooth with a crown
- Crowns: Sometimes when a tooth has lost too much tooth structure or has a pulpotomy performed, a child will benefit from dental crowns to restore the look and function of their teeth.
- Tooth Extractions: Sometimes baby teeth do not fall out on their own or may develop an infection. Our pediatric dentists may recommend extraction if baby teeth or adult teeth are impeding your child’s oral health.
- Radiography/X-rays: Along with an oral exam, Digital dental x-rays help your child’s dentist get a more complete view of their mouth. All our offices are capable of panoramic and intra-oral radiographs. We also have a 3-D Cone Beam CT Scanning machine at our Latham, NY office and panoramic radiograph machines. They use a much smaller amount of radiation than old techniques, less than one-tenth of the same exposure as an analog x-ray (imaging used for bone fractures).
- Laser Soft Tissue Surgery: This surgical technique is an alternative to traditional soft tissue periodontal/oral surgery. It’s less invasive and minimizes swelling, bleeding, and damage to surrounding tissue. This also means your child will have faster healing times, reducing their recovery times. Plus, they will have a more comfortable dental experience overall.
We understand that undergoing dental treatment may be challenging for some children. Our pediatric dentists do everything they can to make Where Smiles Grow a welcoming environment for our young patients.