WATCH IT!

My aunt who lives in California called me with concerns after her last dental visit. She stated that her dentist told her that she had several small cavities but he would just "Watch It." My question to my aunt was, "Watch it do what?" There was a long pause and she finally replied, "I don't know what watch it means." I told her that it meant that we do nothing until the cavity gets bigger.
There are varying opinions among dentist about when or when not to treat decay or a cavity. In my Edmond practice I choose to treat cavities as soon as they are detected regardless of the size. My opinion is shared be thousands of dentist all across the country. There are also thousands of dentist that believe that should watch a decaying tooth.
My rational is simple for treating even the smallest cavities. I use this analogy frequently with my patients. If you were told you had cancer but it's really small. would you want to watch it or would you like to treat it? The answer to that question seems obvious. I must state that I'm in no way comparing a cavity to cancer. The analogy is to simply make a point, If we have a cavity and we know there is NO chance of it going away without proper treatment; Why would we choose to just WATCH IT?



Michael L Chandler practices family and cosmetic dentistry in Edmond Oklahoma
1745 W 33rd, ste A
Edmond Oklahoma
www.edmondsmiles.com

It's Just a Baby Tooth!

In my dental Practice in Edmond we see several children, many of which have multiple decayed teeth. All to often I hear from parents,"It's just a baby tooth so just Pull It." Many people are under the impression that baby teeth serve no function and therefore are not important. There are several reason that baby teeth are important but I will just list a few.

• Baby teeth serve as a guide for the permanent teeth to come in properly. most Permanent teeth are forming directly below the baby teeth, if the baby tooth is lost then the permanent tooth has lost the proper guidance to come in to its proper place. This could lead to tooth crowding or malocclusion(bad bite).
• Children are little people, and just as it is important for adults to have their teeth to eat and aid in the digestion of food; it is equally important for children to have a full set of teeth for the same reason.
• Self Esteem- While the primary function of teeth is to aid in eating and digestion, a healthy smile gives us confidence. If you don't think this is true observe people you know that are missing teeth. Often times these people hide their smile by placing their hand over their mouth when they laugh. Or they may posture their lip down so you can't see their teeth. Remember, children are little people too. There is a tendency to lower a childs self esteem when they are missing teeth well before their school age friends. This can make a child feel different.

Hopefully this will give some insight on the importance of baby teeth and relevance to you child's development.

Dr. Michael L Chandler; Practicing Dentistry in Edmond Oklahoma

1745 W 33rd St, A Edmond, Ok 73013 www.edmondsmiles.com