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One question our team at Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry hear all the time is, “When should I start brushing my baby’s teeth?”

You should begin regular cleanings even before your baby has teeth. After each breast feeding (or bottle-feeding) use a clean, damp washcloth to gently rub your baby’s gum tissue. You may wrap the material around one finger to make it easier to remove any food bits from your baby’s mouth.

When your baby’s first tooth comes in, switch to a baby toothbrush. Look for special baby toothbrushes in your drugstore; they have just a few bristles and are very soft. There are even brushes shaped like finger puppets that fit over the tip of your pointer finger! All you need at this point is water (no toothpaste yet).

After a few more teeth appear, you may start using toothpaste, but you only need a tiny bit, and make sure it doesn’t contain fluoride for the first two years. From the beginning, have your little one practice spitting the toothpaste out after brushing. That way, he or she will already have the good habit of spitting when you switch to fluoride toothpaste, which should never be swallowed.

If you have any questions about caring for your baby’s teeth, or to schedule an appointment at our convenient Simsbury, CT office, please contact Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry.

Happy July from Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry. We reopened on June 1 and our new safety implementations are going great! Today, we wanted to share a few updates with you.

Since reopening, we have followed, and continue to follow, all mandates and guidelines from the CT Health Department and the CDC. On top of our already stringent protocols, we have put some new procedures and cleaning protocols in place to ensure optimal cleanliness throughout our office. As team members arrive each morning, they have their temperatures taken and wear varying levels of PPE depending on their role. To see how Dr. Azadpur looks in her new gear, check out the cute video on our Facebook page!

An important reminder regarding appointments: All appointments made prior to the shutdown (March 17) are being rescheduled. We ask that you DO NOT COME INTO THE OFFICE UNLESS YOU HAVE SPOKEN WITH ONE OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS DIRECTLY! We have had to reschedule ALL appointments for the foreseeable future to allow for additional cleaning time in between patients. Call the office at 860-658-7548, and one of our very helpful team members will be happy to book your appointment. All forms are now online, so you will need to visit our website at https://www.simsburychildrensdentistry.com/ and create an account access request if you haven't already done so. This will allow you to submit the COVID-19 screening form and Health History updates electronically, thus avoiding the check-in tablet altogether.

Two days prior to all scheduled appointments, the COVID-19 and Health History forms will be accessible on our website. Please submit them at that time. Just a friendly reminder; call our office once you arrive. Upon entry, all patients and family members will have their temperatures taken and will be required to wear a mask. If you don't have one, we will provide you with one.

We thank everyone for complying with our new health and safety implementations! When we all comply with safety measures, it protects not only yourself but those around you. It is one of the reasons Connecticut has greatly reduced the spread of COVID-19. It demonstrates to others that you care about their health and safety as well as your own.
We sure do miss hugging our little patients. We miss taking new patients and their families on a tour of our office. We miss the toys and magazines in the reception area, not to mention the coffee station! It can be difficult to stay positive when there is so much of our normal office routine we miss. Knowing we are contributing to the health and well being of our community helps us to stay positive. Watching the number of COVID-19 cases decrease each day also helps us to keep looking toward the future when things might hopefully go back to a semblance of normal.

While we have temporarily suspended our quarterly raffles until we can safely resume them, we are still running our Review and Referral programs. All referrals and reviews are greatly appreciated and we will collect those names to be entered into the next drawing, once we start it back up.

During our shutdown, we celebrated several birthdays, mostly in May. Emily, one of our Front Desk team members, celebrated her one year anniversary with our office. Also, we welcomed Alison, our new hygienist, who is already a big hit with our patients. We are so happy to have you on our team, Alison!

We are very happy to be back open and seeing our patients and their families again. We missed them very much! We hope everyone stays safe and healthy and enjoys the warm summer months.

Sealants provide a thin coating over molars that can be a powerful tool to protect your child’s teeth from decay. This simple and painless solution can be applied in a matter of minutes by our team at Simsbury Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry, forming a protective shield and avoiding costly and painful cavities or other forms of tooth decay later.

The Causes of Tooth Decay

Our mouths are routinely filled with germs and bacteria. Some of these bacteria can be helpful in converting the foods we eat (especially sugars in the food) into acids that our bodies use to break down food. However, when we eat too much sugar, the excess acids can cause cavities and other decay in teeth.

Molars (our chewing teeth) are prime sites for tooth decay because they have rough surfaces with lots of little grooves where small food particles and germs find places to stay for extended periods of time. If you can prevent tooth decay in your child’s teeth now, you may be able to avoid treatments for decaying teeth later in life—costly and painful procedures like crowns and fillings.

Protecting Against Decay

A comprehensive plan for mouth care can protect against tooth decay. This plan should include:

• Drinking water with fluoride in it or using other fluoride supplements
• Eating a healthy diet (avoiding excessive sugar)
• Brushing teeth regularly
• Applying sealants

On their own, each of these activities is good but does not provide enough protection against decay. Fluoride is best for protecting the smooth surfaces of our front teeth, but may not provide enough of a shield for our rough, uneven back teeth. In addition, toothbrush bristles may not get to all the tiny food particles and germs in our mouths. For these reasons, sealants are the recommended preventive measure for molars in the fight against germs.

Who needs sealants, and when?

The best time to get a sealant is when your child’s adult teeth are just growing in. Between the ages of about five and seven, children grow their first permanent molar teeth, and they grow a second set of permanent molars between the ages of 11 and 14. Sealants placed on these teeth as soon as they grow in will be most effective in preventing tooth decay before it occurs.

If your child still has his or her baby teeth, Dr. Maryam Azadpur may recommend sealants for teeth that are especially rough or uneven and may be prone to tooth decay. When your child loses his or her baby teeth, we will apply new sealants to the permanent teeth when they grow in. In addition, our team may recommend sealants for adults in special cases; for example, if a previously placed sealant falls out, if you never had sealants put in as a child, or if your teeth are prone to decay and the preventive treatment may help.

Talk to us during your next visit at our Simsbury, CT office to learn more about how dental sealants can help protect your child’s teeth.

You’re all set for your happy morning and nighttime ritual. You’ve provided your son with his favorite action hero toothbrush and your daughter with her favorite flavored toothpaste. You’ve gotten them into the healthy habit of two minutes of brushing twice each day. You’ve introduced them to flossing. You have favorite brushing songs! Stickers! Gold stars! And, best of all, you’re teaching great brushing techniques.

Kids need the same basic brushing tools and skills as adults. What makes for the best cleaning?

Find the right brush

No matter how cute—or heroic—the brush, it needs to have soft bristles to protect enamel and delicate gum tissue. The head should be a perfect fit for your child’s mouth. And if the handle is easy to grip and hold, you have a winner.

Find the right toothpaste

The bubblegum flavor might appeal to your child, but it’s the fluoride that helps to prevent cavities. Talk to us about the right time to start using fluoride toothpaste and the right amount for your child’s brush.

Teach your child the angles

If your child is too young to brush alone, start geometry lessons early. Holding the brush at a 45-degree angle toward the gums will clean bacteria and plaque from the tooth surface and the gum line. And don’t forget the chewing surfaces and the insides of the teeth. When your child begins brushing on her own, coach her as she learns the best way to clean all the surfaces of her teeth.

Easy does it

Teeth and gums should be massaged, not scrubbed. Brushing too hard can damage not only tender gum tissue, but even your child’s enamel.

Learn to let go

No matter how comfortable and appealing the brush, after three or four months, it’s time for a change. Frayed bristles don’t clean as effectively, and making up for it by brushing harder isn’t the answer (see above). Also, toothbrushes can build up quite a collection of bacteria over time (see below), so a fresh brush is a must!

Everything in its place

A toothbrush should dry thoroughly between uses without touching other brushes. Placing a brush in a plastic container doesn’t let it dry and encourages bacterial growth. And a toothbrush needs its own space—touching toothbrush heads means sharing toothbrush bacteria. The best way to keep toothbrushes as dry and as germ-free as possible is to store them upright, without touching other brushes, in a clean, well-ventilated area.

Rinse and repeat

Your child should rinse his toothbrush before and after using it, and be sure to rinse his mouth as well. That should get rid of any leftover food particles brushing has removed.

Finally, keep up the good work! As you teach your child proper brushing techniques, and make sure she uses them as she grows, you are preparing her for a lifetime of great checkups with Dr. Maryam Azadpur at our Simsbury, CT office. Give yourself a gold star—you’ve earned it!