At the Burke family dentistry practice of Pamela Marzban, DDS, we are committed to providing effective dental hygiene for kids as young as 3 years old. Good oral health is essential to a child’s growth and development, and we can provide the family and pediatric dentistry services to promote your child’s best oral health.

If you are looking for a family dentist in Fairfax County, please call 703-940-1350 today for an appointment at the office of Dr. Marzban.

Bringing your Child to the Family Dentist

According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, your child should have his or her first dental appointment by the age of 1. We recommend visiting a pediatric specialist at this age. By age 3, when your child will have many baby teeth, our experienced family dentist Dr. Marzban can begin providing dental hygiene for kids, which she can continue providing throughout the teen years and beyond.

Your child’s first dental appointment with us is one of the most important aspects of children’s dental hygiene.

During this first appointment, you and our dentist will discuss such issues as:

• How to care for your child’s teeth and gums
• Whether your child needs fluoride and how much
• How to prevent thumb sucking
• Whether it’s okay for your child to use a pacifier and for how long
• What to do when your child starts teething

Our family dentist will also monitor the development of your child’s teeth and jaws. As the bite develops, we’ll look for signs of malformation and recommend orthodontic intervention or other treatments as necessary.

Good Oral Hygiene for Good Oral Health

One of the most important things you’ll do for your child is maintaining his or her oral health, especially by preventing dental cavities. Maintaining your kids dental hygiene should include regular checkups by the dentist as well as your role in helping to clean your child’s teeth and gums:

Brushing: You should begin brushing your child’s teeth at the first sign of a tooth – even if your child only has a single tooth, it needs to be brushed. Using an infant toothbrush, you should gently brush your child’s teeth twice daily. Use only a pea-sized dab of toothpaste. Our dentist can help you decide when to begin using fluoridated toothpaste. This is usually around age 2, but shouldn’t begin until they can reliably spit out the toothpaste. Swallowing fluoridated toothpaste can interfere with tooth development, causing fluorosis.

Once your child has the dexterity to brush his or her own teeth (usually around age 6 or 7), you should still supervise to make sure your child is brushing correctly and sticking to a dental hygiene routine.

Even before your child has teeth, you can use a soft, damp washcloth to gently wipe off your child’s gums. Especially after feeding, your child’s gums should be cleaned to prevent infection and inflammation.

Flossing: : Once there are two teeth touching each other, it’s time to start flossing your child’s teeth. Ask our dentist about the best way to floss your child’s teeth.

Treatments That Can Protect Your Child’s Teeth

In addition to dental hygiene for kids, some treatments can protect your child’s teeth from decay.

Fluoride: Fluoride hardens tooth enamel, making it more difficult for acid to penetrate and form a dental cavity. Fairfax County fluoridates our water, but if you get your water from another source, there are other options for fluoridating your child’s teeth as well. Using too much fluoride can discolor your child’s teeth. Some people prefer topical fluoride treatments to systemic fluoride intake. Talk to Dr. Marzban about fluoride sources and how much fluoride your child should be using.

Dental sealants: Sealants are a resin coating applied to the teeth to prevent bacteria from collecting in hard-to-brush crevices on the surface of teeth. Once your child’s molars come in, our dentist may recommend dental sealants to prevent tooth decay.

Sealants are a resin coating applied to the teeth to prevent bacteria from collecting in hard-to-brush crevices on the surface of teeth. Once your child’s molars come in, our dentist may recommend dental sealants to prevent tooth decay

For effective, compassionate and friendly Fairfax family dentistry, please contact Dr. Pamela Marzban, DDS, to schedule a consultation.