Q: At what age should my child typically see an orthodontist for the first time and what should I expect?

A: The American Association of Orthodontists recommends children get their first check-up with an orthodontists no later than 7 years old.  At this age your child will have a mixture of baby and permanent teeth.  An orthodontist is uniquely trained to monitor and evaluate the replacement of baby teeth with permanent teeth and determine whether a problem exists, or if one is developing. If an area of concern is noted during your child’s exam, we may suggest periodic observational visits, which may include x-rays and photos. The purpose of these visits are to keep an eye on how your child’s teeth, face and jaws are developing.The kinds of things that we will be watching include whether:

• Baby teeth are being lost in an appropriate timeframe
  
• Permanent teeth are coming in symmetrically, in the correct sequence, and at the correct time
  
• Upper and lower jaws are developing properly
  
• Permanent teeth have enough room to come in
  
• Permanent teeth are coming in and not impacted
  

If treatment is necessary to intercept a developing or existing problem, there is often an ideal time for treatment to begin. These return visits help determine the best time to start treatment. 

Q: Should I wait for my child’s dentist to refer them to an orthodontist?

A: Here at Sala Family Dentistry we believe in comprehensive family dental care.  This means that in addition to general dentists we have trained specialists in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics on staff.  If your child receives regular dental care at Sala Family Dentistry then they are seen regularly by our pediatric dentist and orthodontist as needed to address any concerns as your child grows and develop. However, if your child is not seen by our pediatric orthodontic team, parents are often the first to recognize that something is not quite right about their child’s teeth or their jaws. A parent may notice that the front teeth don’t come together when the back teeth are closed, or that the upper teeth are sitting inside of the lower teeth. They may assume that their dentist is aware of the anomaly, and that the dentist will make a referral to an orthodontist when the time is right. A referral might not happen if the dentist isn’t evaluating the bite. 

Q: Are dentists and orthodontists looking for the same problems?

A: Dentists are looking at the overall health of the teeth and mouth. He/she could be looking at how well the patient brushes and flosses, or if there are cavities. While dentists look at the upper and lower teeth, they may not study how the upper and lower teeth make contact. Orthodontists are looking at the bite, meaning the way teeth come together. This is orthodontists’ specialty. Orthodontists take the upper and lower jaws into account. Even if teeth appear to be straight, mismatched jaws can be part of a bad bite.  

Q: If my child is seen by an orthodontist does that mean they are definitely getting treatment?

A: There are generally three outcomes of an initial check-up:

• No treatment is expected to be necessary.
  
• Treatment may be needed in the future, so the child will be followed periodically while the face and jaws continue to grow.
  
• There is a problem that lends itself to early treatment.
  

While there are many orthodontic problems that orthodontists agree are best treated after all permanent teeth have come in, early treatment can be in a patient’s best interests if their problem is one that could become more serious over time if left untreated. The goal of early treatment is to intercept the developing problem, eliminate the cause, guide the growth of facial and jaw bones, and provide adequate space for incoming permanent teeth. A patient may require a second course of treatment after all permanent teeth have come in to move those teeth into their best positions. The kinds of problems orthodontists may recommend treating while a child still has some baby teeth include:

• Underbites – when the lower front teeth are ahead of the upper front teeth
  
• Crossbites – when the jaw shifts to one side
  
• Very crowded teeth
  
• Excessively spaced teeth
  
• Extra or missing teeth
  
• Teeth that meet abnormally, or don’t meet at all
  
• Thumb-, finger-, or pacifier- sucking that is affecting the teeth or jaw growth
  

Some of these orthodontic problems are inherited, while others may result from accidents, dental disease, or abnormal swallowing. Early orthodontic treatment can take many forms. The orthodontist could prescribe a fixed or removable “appliance” – a device used to move teeth, change the position of the jaw, or hold teeth in place in order to bring about desirable changes. Sometimes no appliances are necessary. Rather, removal of some baby teeth may help the permanent teeth erupt better. The extractions will be timed to take best advantage of a patient’s growth and development.

Our Reno community thrives off of small business owners. Our community is filled with movers, shakers and innovators. So many people bring so many amazing opportunities to our area, and we want to make sure we’re bringing quality dentistry to them. Our membership programs are perfect for bringing dental benefits for small business owners.

When you’re a small business owner every little thing you spend money on can make a big impact. A lot of the times, small business owners are unable to provide health insurance, let alone dental insurance to their employees. Sometimes, as a small business owner, you don’t have dental insurance yourself! Our dental memberships can help with that.

Dental insurance can come at a high cost for small business owners. Our dental memberships allow you to make a one-time payment for your employees that will provide them with the benefits that dental insurance does.

Our Gold Membership includes the following:

• 10% discount on all services
  (including periodontal treatment)
• 1 exam per benefit period
• 2 cleanings
  • Adult prophylaxis
• TMJ exam per benefit period
• 1 digital set of x-rays per benefit period
• Oral cancer screening
• $99 Take Home Whitening ($268 value)

Our Platinum Membership includes the following:

• 15% discount on all services
  (including periodontal treatment)
• 1 exam per benefit period
• 2 cleanings
  • Adult prophylaxis or
  • Periodontal maintenance
• 1 TMJ exam per benefit period
• 1 free emergency visit per benefit period
• Unlimited digital x-rays
• Oral cancer screening
• $99 Take Home Whitening ($268 value)
• $525 Extreme Whitening ($804 value)

Our dental memberships last for one year. We recommend that your employees set up an appointment at Sala Family Dentistry, and on the day of service, we can call the business owner to get payment over the phone, that way you are not buying the membership plan for your employee too early and then wasting the days in the membership.

We are here for any questions you may have in regards to dental benefits for small business owners. You work hard building your business – we’re here for all your dental necessities.

February is Children’s Dental Health Awareness month and we want to spread the word through song! This month we will be visiting local elementary schools promoting oral health, but we need your help in spreading the word.

We’re calling all Northern Nevada teachers! To promote oral health, we want to hear your Tooth Tunes! Here’s what you need to do.

• Create and sing a 1-minute song all about oral health care. It can be about keeping your teeth clean, healthy and looking good!
• Take a video of your class singing the song and submit your video to marketing@salafamilydentistry.com.
• The top 10 videos submitted will be voted on Sala Family Dentistry’s Facebook page. The video with the most “likes” will receive a pizza party and $500 to be used for classroom expenses.
• Facebook voting will take place from March 4-14.
• The winning classroom will be announce on March 15!
  

Submit your video of your classroom singing the song you create together to marketing@salafamilydentistry.com. We can’t wait to see all the videos!

You can also upload your video here.

Make sure all the parents/guardians for the children in your classroom fill out the photo/video release form. Please submit these along with your video.

Fill Out Form Here

** The Washoe County School District or the Board of Trustees neither endorses now sponsors the organizations now sponsors the organization or activity represented in this document. The distribution of this material is provided as a community service. **

February is Children’s Dental Health Awareness Month. The American Dental Association promotes this month-long health observance to promote the benefits of positive oral health in children.

This year’s campaign slogan is “Brush and clean in between to build a healthy smile.” We want to help you and your family with having a lasting healthy and beautiful smile!

Here are some tips to help you with promoting Children’s Dental Health Awareness Month in your home.

• Make sure your children are brushing their teeth two times a day with fluoride toothpaste. Not only can fluoride prevent and potentially reverse early tooth decay, but it can also assist with sensitivity. 
• Clean between your teeth daily. Yes, that means flossing – everyone’s favorite thing to do! We know its difficult for parents even to floss their teeth, so make it a family affair! This will help create healthy habits for your child(ren).
• Eat a healthy diet that limits sugary beverages and snacks. Preventive care is the best care! We know how much the kids love candy and their sugary juice drinks. Do your best to give them healthier options! (But of course don’t deprive them of being a kid!)
• See your dentist regularly for prevention and treatment of oral disease. We encourage you to set up an appointment for your children with us every 6 months!

We hope you adopt these tips not only during Children’s Dental Health Awareness Month, but for your child’s whole life. If you haven’t been staying on top of the tips listed below, use this month as motivation! As always, if you ever have any questions about your children’s oral health and/or dental care, please feel free to reach out to us. We’re here for you, at Sala Family Dentistry, you’re a part of the our family!

Now that the big kids are back in school, its time to get the children age 3 and under in. Around this time of year we are receiving a lot of last minute cancellations due to that pesky flu going around. This is the perfect time to get your toddlers in.

At Sala Family Dentistry, we provide children age 3 and under a free initial visit! It’s very important to get your toddlers in at an early age to set them up for success in regards to their oral health.

At your child’s initial visit, our top priority is to make sure they feel comfortable. We understand that having a stranger probe around in your mouth can be a very uneasy feeling, so our goal is to ensure that your children feels safe and okay at their initial visit.

At your child’s initial visit we will make sure to provide them an exam, a teeth cleaning, and fluoride treatment.

Exams: We’ll make sure to examine your child’s mouth to ensure there aren’t any signs or oral health problems in the future. Our goal is to set your child up with a healthy future.

Teeth Cleaning: Even though your children are going to lose their baby teeth, it’s still important that they are taken care of! If baby teeth aren’t taken care of, it could cause damage to gums and damage to the permanent teeth coming in.

Fluoride Treatment: Fluoride is extremely important in the development of having a healthy oral health future. This ensures that your child’s teeth are staying strong and setting up a positive future for their permanent teeth.

Happy New Year from Sala Family Dentistry! We hope you had a wonderful holiday and New Year’s celebration! With 2018 over, and 2019 on the horizon, we encourage you to make your oral and dental health a top priority in the new year. Here are some tips for 2019 to stay on top of your New Year’s Resolution of having excellent oral health!

• Change Your Toothbrush Every 3-4 Months: Bristles that become frayed or worn are less effective at cleaning your teeth properly. Start the new year off right by heading to the store and getting yourself and your family members new toothbrushes!
• Brush for 2 Minutes 2 Times a Day: We know that life is busy and can get away from you. We do believe that even a quick brush is better than no brush at all. Make sure that you are brushing your teeth morning and night – when you do make sure to time yourself and brush for 2 minutes. This allows you an appropriate amount of time to get in all those nooks and crannies.
• Floss Daily! We know, we know. Everyone’s favorite past time. Flossing is imperative for health oral hygiene. Little extra tips, leave some floss in your car, you can floss on the go. Just do it.
• Set Up Your Bi-Yearly Dentist Appointments: Here at Sala Family Dentistry we make sure to send out reminders so you don’t miss your dentist appointments. If you set them up at the beginning of the year, that’s one thing out of the way! We’ll help you stay on track throughout the year.
• Dental Memberships: We want to make sure that even if you don’t have dental insurance that you’re able to follow your New Year’s Resolution. We offer dental memberships that reduced dental fees for services, have no yearly maximums, have no pre-existing condition limitations, have no waiting periods (Immediate eligibility), no pre-authorization requirements, valid with health savings accounts, flex spending accounts, and health reimbursement accounts.

Ingredients:

• cabbage – 5 leaves; chopped
• calamansi
• carrots – 2 medium-sized; cut into strips
• chicken bouillon cubes – 2 pieces
• chicken meat – 1 cup; cooked and shredded
• chicken stock or water – 1 cup
• cooking oil – 4 tablespoons
• garlic – 1 cloves; minced
• onion – 1 medium-sized; chopped
• oyster sauce – 2 tablespoons
• pork – ½ cup; cooked and sliced into small cubes
• red bell pepper – 1 small-sized; chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• snow peas – ½ cup
• sotanghon – 1 big pack
• soy sauce – 2 tablespoons
• spring onions – 1 bunch; cut into one-inch parts

Steps:

1. In a large pot, pour in chicken broth.Simmer.
2. Place the noodles in the simmering chicken broth for 10 minutes.
3. Drain the noodles and save the chicken broth.
4. Set aside the noodles and the broth.
5. In a pan, pour in cooking oil. Heat.
6. Sauté garlic and onions.
7. Place pork and chicken. Cook.
8. Add snow peas. Stir fry.
9. Add bell pepper, cabbage, and red bell pepper. Cook.
10. Set aside everything that is in the pan.
11. In a pot, pour in chicken broth.Boil.
12. Put in chicken bouillon cubes.Stir.
13. Add cooked noodles. Stir.
14. Add salt and pepper to taste.
15. Pour in soy sauce.
16. Add in oyster sauce.
17. Simmer everything for a few minutes.
18. Mix everything thoroughly.
19. Place the cooked noodles on a large platter.
20. Garnish with green onions and serve with calamansi.

Now your delicious pancit sotanghon is ready! Be careful, it’s slippy!

Getting your child to the dentist could be the biggest task of the day, week, or even your entire month. But did you know that YOUR attitude regarding the dentist and talk about the dentist can really affect the curiosity and willingness of your little one? We have a few ways to get your kids excited about the dentist. 

Set their expectations.

Good things come from being proactive versus reactive. The American Academy of General Dentistry suggests taking your child to the dentist when they cut their first tooth and no later than their 1st birthday.

A lot of your child’s time at the first visit to the dentists are spent getting familiar with the surroundings and sounds. Making sure they’re comfortable and that you’re making it a fun experience! It can seem a little scary at first, so show them there’s nothing to worry about. 

Leave your own bad feelings and experiences in the past.

Dentistry has changed tremendously in the last decade – and for the better! Do not talk about your own bad experiences with your little ones. There have been so many advances in dentistry. Talking about how bad it used to hurt to get a filling before this new technology came along will help nobody.

Treat them afterward!

There are always rewards for children when they do something correctly. No matter the task, whether it’s potty training, chores, eating all of their veggies, or simply cleaning up their toys, rewards go along way to promote good behavior. It’s okay to use this method for visiting the dentist – as long as it is gone over in a positive way. Words of affirmation or even small materialistic prizes are great to motivate anyone, and it will make them excited for the next trip in!

Prevent future problems.

Make sure that you’re promoting good dental habits. Preventing cavities (and therefore fillings) will make the trip to the dentist smoother, quicker, and a little less painful. Plus, having a routine at home for oral hygiene is a good foundation for children to get excited about the dentist. The reward method helps in this area.

With just a few simple steps good experiences are built for your child to have a good outlook on visiting the dentist. Plus, we have a Board Certified Pediatric Dentist here at SFD that can help make your child’s visit to the dentist educational – and FUN! You’ll get your kids excited about the dentist in no time. 

Our bodies are amazing things, and our teeth are no exception! We often forget how much they really do for us in our everyday lives. They help us chew our food and make our smiles bright. But there is so much more to your teeth and dental health that you might not know. We have ten cool, fun facts about teeth and dental health.

1. Did you know that no two people have the same set of teeth? They are all unique – just like your fingerprints, and just like YOU!
2. The average person spends 38.5 days brushing their teeth in their lifetime. Now that’s a month well spent!
3. Teeth start to form before you are even born. In fact, babies begin forming teeth when they are in the womb, and some babies are even born with teeth.
4. If you floss one time a day for your entire life (which you should be doing…hint, hint), you will use about 5 miles of floss in your lifetime. Wow!
5. If you had a toothache in Germany in the middle ages, you would have been prescribed to “kiss a donkey.” Thank goodness for modern medicine, right?
6. Enamel, the outer white portion of the tooth, is the hardest substance of the body.
7. The average person makes about 1 quart of saliva a day. That is 10,000 gallons of spit in a lifetime!
8. The first dentists were actually barbers by trade. However, we are unable to give you a fresh cut for your next appointment. Sorry! 😉
9. Flossing just once a day an extend your lifespan by a whole 6 years. If that’s not enough reason to floss, we don’t know what is!
10. Most adults have 32 teeth while children will only have 20.

Dental health is an amazing topic, and there are so many fun facts about teeth out there! Do you know a fact that wasn’t listed here? Share with us – we’d love to know! In the meantime, schedule an appointment with us to make sure that your teeth are as healthy as can be – no donkey smooching necessary.