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Summertime is meant for pool parties, vacations, and reading a book under a big oak tree. But while you’re kids are enjoying their summer away from school, they also have more time to be able to ensure their positive oral health and sport a beautiful, new summer smile.

At Alderwood Children's Dentistry, our mission is to help kids throughout the greater Lynnwood, VA area develop beautiful, healthy smiles that last them a lifetime. And as we've seen time and time again, the early stages of dental development have a profound effect on lifetime dental health. Maintaining proper oral hygiene and fostering healthy dental development do more than just ensure a healthy smile during childhood: they influence your child's smile for a lifetime, and that's why having a world-class pediatric dentist is so important.

New Year's is just around the corner, and that means people everywhere are getting ready to draft intentions and resolutions to make 2019 their best year yet. But as you start thinking about a healthier diet and restarting that gym membership, there's one thing that may be missing from both your and your child's New Year's resolution list: your smile. At Alderwood Children's Dentistry, we're proud to help kids throughout Lynnwood achieve better dental health. Here's why the new year is the perfect time to get kids excited about refreshing their smile!

At Alderwood Children's Dentistry, it is important to us that your child is comfortable. However, sometimes toothaches and tooth pain are inevitable. If your child is experiencing a toothache, schedule an appointment with us right away. You will need to be prepared to help treat your child at home while waiting for your appointment with these tips from our highly trained, professional and expert team. The tips below will help you provide short-term pain relief before you and your child visit us at our Lynnwood office.

Your child's first baby teeth are always an exciting milestone, and they're the first step in the development of a healthy smile. Eventually, though, the baby teeth will fall out– so is it really that important to take care of baby teeth? As it turns out, the answer is a resounding yes! Baby teeth play a vital role in dental development, and it's important to take good care of them. As your Lynnwood & Edmonds, WA pediatric dentist, we at Alderwood Children's Dentistry wanted to shed some light on the crucial importance of baby teeth.

A healthy smile isn’t something that just runs in the family--maintaining good oral health and keeping your teeth protected against tooth decay is something that takes dedication. For parents that want their kids to have a radiant smile that lasts for the rest of their life, the best thing that you can do is teach your kids how to take care of their smile early on. This instills good habits that they can carry with them as they get older. The two big questions then are: “What oral hygiene habits should I be teaching my kids?” and “how do I get them to pick up on these habits?”. To answer both of those questions and help you build a future full of healthy smiles for your kids, your local Lynnwood, WA pediatric dental professionals here at Alderwood Children’s Dentistry are here with this guide to teaching your kids the habits they need to take great care of their smile.

Babies can do a lot of things that seem silly, from putting everything they pick up into their mouths to sticking their tongues out when nursing or bottle feeding, but they’re just trying to discover all the new things in the world around them. Most habits that your baby will develop are harmless and should naturally go away between the ages of 2 and 4. However, certain habits that persist past that age can actually put your child at risk for health issues. One such habit that poses a serious threat to the health of your baby’s smile is called “tongue thrusting”. At Alderwood Children’s Dentistry, helping parents keep their kids’ smiles as healthy as possible is what we do, which is why we’ve put together this guide on everything you need to know about tongue thrusting.

While adults may use mouthwash as part of their everyday oral hygiene routine and while you may have seen mouthwash brands made specifically for use by children, your pediatric dentist in Lynnwood has some recommendations on when you should introduce mouthwash into your child’s oral care regimen.

Nail biting is a bad habit that unfortunately, many of us have fallen into. Frequently, this habit begins in childhood as kids are exposed to the feeling of stress. Our children’s dentist here at Alderwood Children’s Dentistry wants you to be in informed about the impact that nail biting has on teeth and why this information is important for your child’s oral health.

Taking a child to the dentist is often something that’s easier said than done. While, as your Lynnwood kids’ dentist, Alderwood Children’s Dentistry can attest that there’s really nothing to fear when going to the dentist, we understand that children sometimes just won’t listen. That’s why we’d like to provide you with a few tips for helping your child overcome the fear of going to the dentist. After all, we’re nothing to be afraid of – we promise!

At Alderwood Children’s Dentistry, putting a smile on your child’s face is our number one goal. Your child will enjoy coming into our family-friendly office that’s perfect for children to relax and have fun in. With our high-quality Lynnwood pediatric dentistry services, we’ll also make sure that the smile on your child’s face is a healthy one! These treatments that we offer are capable of helping with a number of oral conditions with one of these being tooth decay. Tooth decay is a surprisingly common oral condition for children as it’s relatively easy to develop.

At our Lynnwood kids dentistry practice, we regularly fill teeth that have been damaged by decay. Often times, the parents of our patients with tooth decay tell us that they’re surprised to learn their kids have cavities because they’re making sure their kids are brushing and flossing every day and limiting how much sugary snacks they eat. When we ask these parents if their kids are allowed to drink soda, we’re usually told that soda is indeed a beverage their kids drink regularly.

While pacifiers are very comforting to babies, many parents are concerned about how pacifiers can affect their children’s teeth. Our Lynnwood pediatric dentist would like concerned parents to know that problems linked to pacifiers like tooth decay and improper growth of young mouths and teeth only occur when pacifiers are used incorrectly.

Orthodontics can greatly contribute to young children’s appearance and health. This why the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recommends that the initial orthodontic evaluation should take place at the first sign of problems or no later than age seven, even while there are still baby teeth in the mouth. Your child’s Lynnwood pediatric dentist is trained to identify bite issues in young children and can refer your child to a local orthodontist at the most appropriate time.

Children Start Losing Their Primary Teeth Around The Age Of Six. Learn More About Developing Teeth & What To Expect When Adult Teeth Replace Baby Teeth!

It’s the start of the school year and your child has the perfect backpack picked out and all of her school supplies ready. Does she have a healthy mouth and clean teeth ready for back to school, too?

Tooth sensitivity is a common problem, affecting some 1 in 8 adults, but it's even more common in children. The main reason for sensitive teeth is that the enamel of baby teeth isn't as hard and durable as adult teeth. Normally this doesn't matter because the teeth fall out, but if your child is throwing a tantrum because of painful, sensitive teeth, that's not much consolation. As an expert pediatric dentist serving kids throughout the Lynnwood and Bothell area, we've worked with many young patients suffering from sensitive teeth. Here are our top tips for easing the pain caused by sensitive teeth.

When it comes to how a child should brush, we typically get asked a lot of questions on the subject. One of the areas that we often get asked about the most is about toothpaste.

No matter your age, a healthy mouth means a healthy you. With things like cavities and tooth decay, they can not only lead to a variety of dental issues, but can also make you more susceptible to infections and other diseases. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, about 42 percent of kids in the U.S., ranging from the ages of 2 to 11, develop a cavity.

It’s very important for children to brush and floss well and to visit their pediatric dentist regularly for routine checkups, in order to keep their teeth healthy and strong. It’s equally important that kids eat a healthy diet that can safeguard their dental health. Without question, what your child eats directly affects his or her teeth. For example, eating too many foods high in sugar, starches, and carbohydrates can easily lead to tooth decay.

As a Lynnwood and Bothell children’s dentistry practice that wants all our patients to enjoy the many benefits that come with having healthy teeth and gums, the team at Alderwood Children’s Dentistry wants your child to have a pleasant and stress-free time when visiting our office! Below are a few suggestions for making your child’s first dental visit a positive one.

As a parent, it is only natural to panic when you see blood and especially when your childs mouth is bleeding. Your first thought may be that your child fell down or was struck in the face by something. However, upon investigation, you may find that it is your childs gums that are bleeding. There are a number of things can can cause your childs gums to bleed, with the biggest culprit being periodontal disease. As a leading kids dentist in the Bothell area, Dr. Worton provides the necessary dental treatment children need to keep their smiles healthy. Below are a few causes of bleeding gums in children and some information about when to bring your child into our Lynnwood office for an examination.

Halloween is coming, and while that may be exciting for kids, it can be a dangerous holiday for teeth. As your kids’ dentist in the Lynnwood and Bothell areas, Dr. Clint warns that while the candy and sweets that kids love to enjoy on Halloween are tasty and delicious, they also pose a threat to the health of tooth enamel. The sugars present in candy interact with bacteria in the mouth to create harsh acids that eat away at tooth enamel, eventually leading to tooth decay and cavities. However, there are things you can do to help protect your child's teeth as they happily haunt on Halloween.

At Alderwood Children’s Dentistry, our Lynnwood and Bothell pediatric dentist, Dr. Clint Worton, is committed to helping all our patients achieve and maintain beautiful and healthy smiles. One of the most important things kids can do to keep their teeth strong, healthy, and attractive is to do a great job of brushing. In order for kids to be champion brushers, they need to use good quality toothbrushes designed for kids that can get the job done well.

Alderwood Children’s Dentistry is proud to be your choice when it comes to looking for a Lynnwood pediatric dentist. As experts in pediatric dentistry, we specialize in knowing how to put a smile on your child’s face and how to keep it there. We want to promote positive dental habits in our patients so they continue to have great oral health throughout their life. A common habit we get questions about is whether it’s good or bad for a child to chew gum.

Dr. Clint Worton and his friendly team are dedicated to providing the best dental care for your children both in and out of the office. Whether you’re looking for information about how to prevent cavities, or ways to get your child more excited about the dentist, we’re here to help you! A common question we receive is how to prevent bottle rot and nursing decay in babies. If you’re unfamiliar with these terms, or would like to discover more information about this subject, please read below and pass the information along to ensure your child and their friends have beautiful, healthy smiles!

Teaching your children proper oral care from an early age is very important for their future. Not only does this lessen the chances that they will develop common oral problems, like bad breath or gum disease, it will influence their overall health and value of life in the future. Dont worry, instilling proper early dental care practices into your childs life doesnt have to be boring or hard. Your Lynnwood pediatric dentist and team at Alderwood Childrens Dentistry has searched high and low for ways to equip parents with essential tools that can help make this process exciting. Kids these days are super tech savvy. Here are a few fun dental apps that we believe parents should download to help solidify their childrens understanding of what proper oral hygiene is, encourage proper care and prepare them for great smiles for the rest of their lives.

Teething is a huge landmark in your child’s life, and as your pediatric dentist in Lynnwood, we want to help you embrace these changes and ensure that your child’s teeth are properly cared for. With the right resources, you can help your child avoid tooth decay, minimize the pain of toothaches, and even prevent dental problems down the road. We have provided you with some general information about tooth eruption, losing teeth, and proper care for new teeth.

Brushing and flossing every day keeps your teeth bright and healthy. However, even with the bestsmiling girl dental hygiene habits, we can still be vulnerable to cavities. There are grooves on our teeth that our toothbrushes can’t always reach. These areas are especially vulnerable to tooth decay, and need an extra line of defense to shield them from plaque and bacteria. That is why our Lynwood kid’s dentist recommends the application of dental sealants.

It’s never too early to encourage great dental health! At Alderwood Children’s Dentistry, we not only strive to help kids achieve exemplary tooth and oral health, we take pride in nurturing a lifelong, independent enthusiasm for them to aspire to the same!

Dr. Clint Worton and everyone at Alderwood Children’s Dentistry are excited to launch our new blog! We hope you will visit often for tips on pediatric dentistry, news, events, and more! We love seeing your children’s bright, smiling faces in our Lynnwood office and want to provide extra resources for you and your family.