We love children at Fourth Avenue Dental and believe it is important for a child to have a pleasant and positive experience at the dentist. Our St. Catharines dentist office is a child-friendly place where your kids will feel welcome and safe.

Whatever your child’s oral health needs, we will provide them with quality care. Our services include:

• Check-ups and cleaning
• Filling cavities
• Braces and orthodontics
• Full dental health services

Whether you are undergoing invasive dental work, are an anxious adult, or the parent of a crying child, sleep dentistry allows all your treatment to be done with little stress.

As a parent, you have a big role to play in keeping your child’s teeth healthy and clean. The dental habits you promote in your child at a young age can last a lifetime. With a little guidance from you, you can be a help prevent cavities, gingivitis, and many other oral health issues later in life. Prevention starts at home, with good eating habits and daily cleaning of the teeth.

Young children are not able to clean their own teeth properly. As a parent, you must do it for them when they are very young and do it with them, as they get older.

We have all heard that sugar is bad for teeth. Why is this so? It is because the bacteria in dental plaque use these sugars to make acids that leach the minerals out of your teeth. Once the tooth is softened the bacteria can penetrate through the surface, creating a cavity. Try to limit your child’s sugar intake and make sure they brush and floss after eating sugary sweets.

All 20 baby (or primary) teeth come in by the time your child is two or three years old. The order and rate these teeth come in is highly variable from child to child. Regular check-ups will help you make sure the teeth are coming in properly.  

Once your child has teeth, he or she is susceptible to tooth decay. Brushing and flossing is extremely important from a young age.

The Canadian Dental Association encourages the assessment of infants, by a dentist, within 6 months of the eruption of the first tooth or by one year of age.

Fluoride is a mineral found in nature. It makes the hard outer layer of teeth (called enamel) stronger. When the outer layer is strong, teeth are less likely to get cavities. Too much fluoride can be harmful, so consult us before supplementing fluoride into your child’s diet.

It is normal for babies to suck because it helps them relax. By the time your child is two or three years of age, he or she has less need to suck. Thumb sucking and pacifier use can be tough habits to break and can cause long term problems with the development of the teeth and jaws.