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As your pediatric dentist in Tucson, we want to help you understand all aspects of your child's dental care.  Feel free to call us at (520) 544-8522.

When your baby sprouts her first bottom and top teeth, it's the beginning of teeth grinding.  Babies, toddlers, and even older kids can get in the habit of grinding their teeth.  It's a way for young children to explore their changing mouth landscape.

But will teeth grinding harm your child's teeth in any permanent way?

Typically, no. Tooth grinding is a common occurrence in young children. Although grinding itself sounds bad, treatment is often not necessary and the grinding often resolves on its own around age 6. For young adults with a full mouth of teeth who grind at night, therapies such as a night guards can reduce the wear on teeth. Night guards are rarely needed for young children because the primary teeth fall out before excessive grinding causes problems.

As your pediatric dentist in Tucson, we want to help you understand all aspects of your child's dental care.  Feel free to call us at (520) 544-8522.

Despite our best efforts to keep our children safe, accidents do occur.  Here at Northwest Children's Dentistry, we see young patients who have sustained injuries that affected their teeth.

One thing that can occur is a child may chip or fracture a tooth.  This means part of the tooth remains in the mouth, while the rest has fallen out.  So what do you do when this happens?

If possible, locate and save any broken tooth fragments and bring them with you to the dentist. Some fractured teeth benefit from immediate treatment, so contact us right away, and we'll outline the best options for your child.

As your pediatric dentist in Tucson, we want to help you understand all aspects of your child's dental care.  Feel free to call us at (520) 544-8522.

As pediatric dentists at Northwest Children's Dentistry, we receive a lot of questions about safe pacifier use with children.  We  follow the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists' recommendations.  Sucking on a thumb or pacifier is natural for young children and most children will stop on their own.  We generally discourage the use of pacifiers after age 3.

Here are some other safe pacifier tips to follow:

• Never tie a cord, ribbon or string between a pacifier and a child's body or a crib.  It can become a strangulation hazard.
• If the child can fit the entire pacifier into his/her mouth, discard it.  Your child could choke on it.
• If the pacifier bulb has become cracked, sticky, or worn, replace it with a new one.

As your pediatric dentist in Tucson, we want to help you understand all aspects of your child's dental care.  Feel free to call us at (520) 544-8522.