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9 Steps Towards Handling Children Who Can be Overstimulated at The Dental Clinic

DR. PREMILA NAIDU, MDS — Thu, 16 May 2024 12:41:19 +0000

Dental visits are as non-negotiable as a visit to a pediatrician for children. Unlike adults who can be treated after the incident, in children prevention is better than cure. And to prevent anything major, parents must take their wards to the dentist starting as early as 1 year. Children react and respond to their immediate surroundings, don’t listen to reason, and can be very overwhelmed in the moment, enough to interfere with any procedures done on them. Therefore, finding the problem early, helps in averting it.

Children today are increasingly being looked at as individuals with their own ways of accessing the world. Since everyone of them responds differently to the environment, ensuring their sensory needs are taken care of and not overloaded means understanding their sensitivities for calmer, more relaxed visits to the dentist. Gone are the days when children’s cries and stubbornness were considered as ‘attention seeking’. Today parents are attuned to the needs of children, especially in helping them find ways to go about life and yet address what troubles them. Dentists too are adapting clinics and dental centers to include features such as soothing music, low lighting, projected images moving slowly across the ceiling and multimedia like TV to relax everyone at all times.

Why do children handle dental visits differently than that at a general physician?

Many reasons induce into children a fear of dentists. Perhaps the most plausible explanation is that dental clinics are quiet, sterile spaces with sounds of motor whirring, machines and movement that comprise the constant sounds. It can be daunting for kids given that the general physicians they go to only perform general checkups and don’t need machines to go about their jobs. But there could be several other reasons why a child who is sensorially overwhelmed may dread going to a dentist. This we have observed over a large cross-section of children:

Fear of pain
The look of instruments like drills
Past bad experiences
Fear of the unknown
Stories they have read in books
Stories they have seen in cartoons
Stories they have heard from siblings, classmates, friends

In addition, there could be other attenuating circumstances triggering a child;

Difficulty coping with bright lights
Fear or pain caused by loud sounds
Discomfort in unfamiliar places
Discomfort over textures, such as the chair beneath them
Inability to relax around strangers
Difficulty coping with breaks in routine

Any one of the above can account for a child’s behavior change as soon as he or she walks into a dental clinic. It doesn’t even account for other everyday annoyances we as adults take for granted, which may include traffic sounds, loud noises of cats and dogs, wait before appointments, sounds coming from closed doors, etc. Children often carry all of this stress even before they get into a dentist’s chair and it all explodes or aggravates when seated on it.

What are the 9 steps that parents can do, to handle their overstimulated children even before they get to the dentist?

Make a casual visit to the dentist first, find one who has a dental clinic that is child friendly, sensory adapted and whose references vouch for the treatment. Such a dentist must understand that the needs of every child is different, and adapts their conversation and treatment to suit the little patients. Find a dentist ahead of time, research about them and especially one you can continually go to for various different ailments.
Begin explaining the process of the dental visit to your child many days ahead of the appointment, if possible. Show them videos, books, or drawings that go through everything step by step. Research about the dentist, help your child connect with whom they are going to meet and what to expect.
Mimic a fake dental visit where you play the dentist, so they can get a feel for the procedures and exams.
Make sure you are with them and follow their routine through the day in every way other than the visit, to lessen their anxiety.
Remain communicative and present at the dentist before, during and after the dental examination, never losing sight of them.
Lessen sensory triggers if any as much as possible; bring sunglasses or a sleep mask for lights, earplugs or headphones with soothing music for sound, and a special toy, blanket or other comfort object.
Talk to the dentist freely before the procedure and explain about your child. They will not know what to expect as signs of your child’s distress, but you do. You can let them know when breaks are needed, or if there is something they can do to make the process go more smoothly.
Consider sedation or Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas) which dental clinics like Small Bites are equipped with in case the child needs more relaxing for an especially difficult procedure. Though a last resort, for long, painful or frightening procedures, you may wish to consent to your child being put under for the duration. Please bear in mind that this has to be planned in advance, so have a word with your child’s dentist before finalizing an appointment. You may also wish to speak to your child’s primary care doctor or pediatrician when this is done.
Begin good habits as soon as possible. One of the most important things you can do for your child is to make sure they take good care of their teeth however old they may be. It is never too late to start the prevention process with good brushing and oral hygiene. This won’t mitigate the need for annual exams, but it will lessen the chances of serious dental procedures later on. The best treatment is often prevention, especially when your child has difficulty managing appointments.

The concept of a Sensory Adaptive Dental Experience Center (SADE) is one that we at Small Bites have been championing since the last 17 years. Everything that we do, from the way our 2 clinics in Indiranagar and Bhartiya City have been designed, to the interiors that are adaptive to the little patients and even our different approaches to the same condition based on the needs of the child, have been conceptualized as relaxing them and providing an atmosphere that helps, rather than instills fear in little minds.

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Part 3: How Sensory Adaptive Dental Experience Centers (SADE) Help Facilitate Respect for Child’s Boundaries

Dr.Charmaine Kenita — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 15:05:29 +0000

This blog is a part of a series on ‘Sensory Design for Pediatric Dental Clinics in India’. You can find Part 1 here & Part 2 here.

Small Bites Sensory Adaptive Dental Experience Center

Sensory design in medicine is a relatively recent concept, although Small Bites Dental Clinic is one of the first to have pioneered it for children in India. Dental clinics and even hospitals in general have always been designed in keeping with the services offered. Come to think of it, the sterile environments and stark spaces found in hospitals came about from the need to calm patients, ensure there were no distractions; a sober, quiet place for people to wait their turn for appointments and doctor visits, procedures and other medical interventions. The need was therefore led by the medical practice and to provide environs that sustained such practice. Patients were viewed as individuals who had to adhere to the protocols of the space to receive necessary treatment.

At the turn of the century, things slowly began to change. It was noticed that patients who visited clinics and especially children, were oftentimes agitated during the wait for doctors. Anxiety increased and clinics began to be considered foreboding and uninviting. This feeling was especially enhanced for those with sensitive temperaments and those who had an inherent fear of doctors. It was observed and even researched that the place, its decor, design and surroundings played a big role in children’s comfort levels. Thus began the need to change the design of dental centers, understand the people who came to them, adapt the environs to their needs and make it a patient-led endeavor.

Sensory adaptiveness of children in the case of Small Bites Dental Experience Centre has shown a significant impact on little lives, through our years of practice. What began with experimenting and ensuring children were met with big smiles, colorful walls, coloring books, multimedia and toys, has gone on to include so much more. Today our clinic is designed with material that is sensorially adaptable to different types of people. From textured flooring, to transitioned lighting that can be dimmed and brightened based on the needs of little patients, versatility in media including sounds and visuals, to different kinds of toys; we have observed how children and adults alike relax and calm down immediately in our spaces. Our observations over 15 years have led us to believe and now further the mission in educating about safe spaces for children. Below are few of the things we’ve seen during our practice;

Calming the dysregulation – Every individual perceives the world according to their senses, and everyone’s threshold is very different. Children who are still adapting to the surroundings with age are especially vulnerable, more so when there is the added fear of doctors and machines and strange people doing things to them. Sensory Adaptive Dental Environments (SADE) help in making them adjust to the change in environments, and by doing so calm down the dysregulation they experience.
Introducing predictability – Children love routines. The predictability of such routines means that they know what’s coming or are prepared to experience it before it even happens. Sensory experience centers introduce a predictability to their dental interventions. By visiting spaces that calm them down, they begin to look forward to the experience despite the medical intervention, rather than fearing it or avoiding the experience altogether.
Regulating reactionary behaviors – Children can stress and often the way they exhibit the same is very different from adults. From crying and screaming before the checkup even begins, to aggression and hitting back out of anxiety, aimless uncontrolled running to constant fidgeting of limbs; anxiety, fear and discomfort shows up in many unpredictable behaviors. A space that is familiar to home, with all the materials that distract them, help children adjust faster which is very essential for complex medical procedures or even if general dental checkups have to be done. This is what a SADE center provides.

Dental care has to be child-led and one we have been practicing since several years. Our experience has taught us how every child is unique, accommodative and a good receptor of information provided they are listened to, their needs met, and their boundaries respected. At Small Bites, our dentists and medical staff ensure that pediatric dental care goes beyond treatment to making every child feel heard and seen.

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Part 2: The 3 Criteria for Sensory Space Design in Pediatric Dental Clinics

Dr.Charmaine Kenita — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 09:37:13 +0000

This blog is a part of a series on ‘Sensory Design for Pediatric Dental Clinics in India’. You can find Part 1 here.

As people, we perceive what is around us through our senses. Therefore, none of our realities are alike. Even people from the same family or with similar genetic traits feel their surroundings differently. At the basic level, sensory perception is the use of senses in our possession – hear, sight, taste, touch, smell to constantly and continuously assess the world around us. In earlier times, our ancestors relied on only these to keep themselves safe, to hunt for food, to smell danger and more. As people began to settle, develop communities, and build structures, our reliance on senses considerably reduced with the increased comfort and predictability around us. However, as humans, our inherent nature still depends on an assessment of the surroundings, and we must recognize more than ever the need to respect, address and ensure that whatever the kind of surroundings people are in, it must make them relaxed and must be tailored for the amount and kinds of stimuli they can take. This is where sensory space design in dental clinics comes into play.

In dental care and general healthcare centers, the need for sensory adaptiveness is greatly required, because people often visit the space in a compromised state. A child visiting a clinic is already vulnerable to excessive stimuli, afraid of the newness of the place, unsure about what to expect, and with undeveloped emotions to deal with the situations presented to them. In such a scenario, the only way to make them comfortable for any kind of treatment is to ensure that the space adapts to their individual needs. This is a tall ask for a clinic that caters to many different children with different needs. Below therefore are 3 common factors or criteria that can give you insights on common sensory space design concepts for pediatric dental care.

Space as a trigger for stimuli – A dental center goes beyond just white walls and minimal, strict seating. Because of its starkness and predictability, it can be intimidating for children, and often even adults. Those with sensory issues or heightened response to stimuli are even more overwhelmed with healthcare centers or dental clinics. It is therefore important to bear in mind that a space that calms little ones must be open, wide, airy and bright. It should flow like water, from the sitting area to the corridors, from the rooms to the spaces outside. Filled with all kinds of things that children love, it is almost like replicating their play rooms, ensuring that they forget where they have come and what is it they need treatment for.
Resonant with child-led themes – Equally distracting for children, and at once giving them a feeling of stepping into a wonderland is the theme with which the clinic has been designed. Whether a sports themed space with painted walls and games to indulge in, or balloons all over and a feel of clouds, children lose themselves in the wonder of the place. At Small Bites, the beach-themed interiors envelop the entire space, from the textured wave-like flooring to the wooden oars, boatyard themed wall décor and sea themed subtle lighting, ensuring the child doesn’t even realize the work that’s happening with their teeth and is so lost in the space.
Adheres to sensory perceptions – Sound can be very triggering for children, the continuous single-tone decibels or even contrasting silence can be very unnerving for them. To counter the surrounding silence or alternate loud noises, clinics should be designed with acoustic absorption, textured flooring and carpeting to absorb excessive sounds. A varied soundscape gives children and even adults calm acoustics to center them, calm them and navigate the time spent.

Similar with sight, is the need for space to have soft lighting, natural light as much as possible. At Small Bites again, each of the dentist’s rooms are embellished with multi-layered, multi-colored lighting that can be dimmed and brightened based on the need of the doctor or the patient’s comfort. These are intriguing, playful and transform the space from floor to ceiling like a deep-sea exploration experience.

Touch is an equally crucial aspect to Sensory Adaptive Experience Centers (SADE). Texture plays a very important role in comfort; from the textures of walls and floors that the child walks on, to the upholstery and carpeting. Having varied textures makes the ambience more versatile and comfortable for children to adapt to.

In the design of SADE pediatric clinics, it is essential to consider a child as a patient, but also the individual whose sensory needs must be met with, in addition to the physical and medical needs. Small Bites has ensured that every aspect has been tailored specifically for this, making it one of India’s only Sensory Adaptive Experience Center, and extensively championed by Dr.Premila Naidu, who works with kids of all ages and all kinds of sensory needs to make the dental experience most comfortable for them.

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Part 1: The Origin of Sensory Design in Pediatric Dental Clinics

Dr.Charmaine Kenita — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 04:53:41 +0000

The world around us is defined by our senses. What we perceive with touching, seeing, feeling, hearing and tasting affects how much we like being in an environment or getting away from it. Sensory perception thus is very valuable, helping us assess what’s outside of us. It is a primary skill, inborn and learnt as babies which grows in depth and intensity as adults. The acuteness of it as children does tend to reduce with adult distractions; but like ‘gut feeling’, helps and guides a majority of our decisions.

Sensory experience is an ignored overlooked aspect of the way the world is designed around us. Design decisions in our surroundings, the way outside influences stimulate us is often never considered important enough. While public and private spaces take care of sensory perception in a general way – dim lighting in hospitals is an example, the interplay of sensory perception and space design in medical practice is not a standard part of best practice guidelines.

People are unique, and therefore their sensory perception even more so. Some are overstimulated by noise, while some others face debilitated functioning when confronted by too less of it and need it in some form always. Some like texture in touch, which calms them while others love the feel of smooth finishes to enhance their moods. This can help or hinder people’s full participation in society, since they are constantly trying to avoid their triggers and find other avenues to work around it. The design of spaces can do well with being more inclusive by taking a sensory approach. People who have to live with heightened, reduced, or complete loss of senses can then be free to work and function, thus enabling support for diverse sensory and other heightened problems.

Hospital and clinic environments especially need such sensory approach to design, given that people already walk in with a range of illnesses, impairments and emotions. At Small Bites Dental Clinic, sensory perception and inclusiveness defines our spaces and the way we approach treatment for everyone.

As one of India’s leading children’s dental clinics complete with pediatric specific methodologies, themed interiors with toys and learning materials, multimedia and technology that makes dental interventions stress-free and pleasant, and experienced pediatric dentists, Small Bites is one of the country’s leading dental experience centers to incorporate sensory design into its physical architecture. While Dr.Premila of Small Bites has been at the forefront in spearheading new innovations in treatment, including the latest ‘laughing gas’ intervention to relax children during complicated procedures, the clinic space has also been adapted to make it more open, comfotable, warm and welcoming for everyone. Created in a ‘beach theme’ complete with pebble and sand like granular textural walkways, to varied mood lighting, and soundscapes, the clinic incorporates a design that facilitates exploration, engagement and experimentation.

At Small Bites, sensory design was a key feature when the clinic was created, with a particular emphasis on making the waiting and treatment rooms engaging, warm and friendly for all children. From tactile walls and flooring to adjustable light brightness for different moods and functional interaction, everything was thought through to give the children the kind of ambience that immediately made them lighter, brighter and more open.

Sensory design also called ‘Biophilic design’ is a good healthcare practice tracing its roots to the principles of Florence Nightingale. Her concepts speak about spaces impacting treatment outcomes, how they must differ for different sets of people, and what works the best for everyone.

Dental clinics cater to some of the most stressful moments in a child’s life, and we know how a better environment can foster better dental outcomes; a more accommodating child, a child open to instructions and asks, and who then considers the space safe and the dentists’ friends they would like to meet again and again.

Like Dr.Premila shares about her idea in designing the clinic, ” A space where children can be free, outgoing, inclusive and where dental care doesn’t become a stressful experience for everyone is what I wanted to create.”

Keep reading our series on ‘Sensory Design in Dental Clinics’ and explore what has gone into our dental space and how we have gone about it.

The post Part 1: The Origin of Sensory Design in Pediatric Dental Clinics appeared first on Small Bites X Dr.Toothlittle.

3 Pediatric Dental Advancements Small Bites Is Most Excited About

DR. PREMILA NAIDU, MDS — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 10:24:47 +0000

We’re already implementing them, and more to come!

And yet as we all know, pediatric dentistry is constantly evolving. Because children are at the receiving end of treatment and dealing with their dental issues is critically important from the start, every new development and every new intervention is important, and we’ve been introducing them at our clinic as some of the first critical interventions in the country since the last 15 years.

As pediatric dentists, here are 3 dental intervention and innovations that will change treatment in the coming months and years.

1. EARLY CAVITY DETECTION WITH PRECISE DIAGNOSTIC & IMAGING TOOLS

Imagine as a parent taking your child regularly for checkups, and finding cavities forming in your child’s mouth even before the physical signs – dark spots – building on them?

Baby teeth are important. They pave the way for healthy and whole permanent teeth, contribute to facial shape and help in speech development. It is all about children and their confidence and thus tooth decay signs in them are very damaging. However, working extensively on dental intervention in little children comes with its own stress and anxiety. Catching delay early is thus beneficial and also easy, fast and affordable. It prevents the entire process of finding the decay, removal, surgery, restoration and more. Emerging decay can also be reversed if found early.

Getting a child examined by the dentist at the age of 1 year is the first step towards preventative dental care. Newer diagnostic tools like imaging and illumination are slowly making their way into pediatric dentistry and in the future will be able to pick changes in bone density and enamel thus identifying decay spots early, making treatment easy.

2. PAINLESS INJECTION AND TECHNIQUES

Getting children examined and treated begins from making it painless and comfortable for them. If as a parent you are stressed while taking your child to the dentist, think of how that stress will pass on to them subtly & invariably.

Injections for both adults and kids alike can be terrifying. The feel of a needle piercing into the gums can prevent children from getting the best treatment they can and in time. Painless injections and techniques can take care of it. From multimedia distractions to methods that minimize the use of anasthesia, some of the ‘pinch’ felt by kids and their stress can be greatly reduced.

Kids with severe dental phobia or neuro-atypical children or those with increased tactile & textural sensitivity can avail of safe, effective dental treatment with sedation dentistry when absolutely needed. Nitrous Oxide or Laughing gas is increasingly being used as a safe alternative to ease stress, delivered only when required in required doses by expert trained dentists.

3. BITE-SIZED DENTISTRY

Children love play, and anything that can make their surroundings less foreboding, more engaging and more child’like in size. One of ongoing and future trends of pediatric dentistry is the child-sizing of dental technology.

For years adult dental tools and tech have been used in treating children, and they can seem huge and daunting from the perspective of little eyes. But as we’re constantly updating our technology and tools, imaging and machines, at Small Bites, we’re constantly using high-tech imaging only when absolutely necessary, decreasing exposure time for kids and using smaller tools where necessary. The use of pedo sensors – bite sized digital sensors instead of bitewings is one such breakthrough, that will become increasingly common in the next few years. They make treatment comfortable and fast. Handheld x-ray machines, CT radiographs are other equipment getting more popular in use, all in the effort to be more precise, reduce exposure and make treatments quicker.

The use of Invisalign First or transparent braces is a significant endeavor to make treatment more child friendly. Re-aligning children’s teeth, improving their bite, shaping their mouth are all being done by Small Bites’ ‘Center For Invisalign’ in an effort to make it all seem gentler and more manageable for the child.

At Small Bites we make sure we’re doing whatever we can for our children, giving them access to treatment and tools that make their experience fulfilling and happy, whether for the children themselves or their parents.

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Can a Sensory Adaptive Dental Center Minimize a Child’s Pain?

DR. PREMILA NAIDU, MDS — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 16:02:49 +0000

Yes, and absolutely yes!!

Pain, something we all experience whenever we go through a health problem or when taking treatment of any kind. When it comes to teeth, it isn’t just the pain felt when teeth are caried or there’s gum problem, but the pain that we prepare for and dread much before we even visit the dentist.

Imagine this in children, and the anxiety induced pain and stress being exaggerated 5x times!

What is dental pain and how is it different from pain in other parts of the body?

Dental pain is a type of localised pain that is felt in the teeth, gums, or jaw. It is typically caused by dental problems such as cavities, gum disease, or tooth infections. Dental pain can range from mild discomfort to severe, sharp pain that makes it difficult to eat, drink, or even talk.

One of the main differences between dental pain and pain in other parts of the body is its location. Dental pain is usually localized to the mouth, whereas other types of pain can be felt throughout the body, the distribution making the pain bearable. Additionally, dental pain can be triggered by specific actions such as eating, drinking, or brushing – everyday tasks, whereas other types of pain may be more constant or occur without a clear cause.
Another difference is the type of pain. Dental pain can be throbbing, sharp, or dull, and it may be accompanied by swelling or sensitivity to hot or cold temperatures, experiences that can feel like the head will explode, exaggerated several times in children. Other types of pain may feel different depending on the cause, location, and severity.

What are Sensory Adaptive Dental Experience Centres (SADE)?

A Sensory Adaptive Dental Experience Center (SADE) unlike a regular dental center, has an environment adapted to work with the sensory abilities of little children. All children when born step into a new environment. From the time they are babies till they grow into teens, they are constantly adapting and changing, each of them taking their time and stretching their abilities in the world. But all children are not the same. They perceive their sense of touch, pain, light and sound differently. This impacts the way they feel pain and react to the surroundings, some find it easy while others find it harsh. Their reaction can change the way they become, impacting any kind of external intervention, even getting teeth examined by a dentist to stop or prevent dental related issues.

SADE environments consider the growth and feelings of a child and feature many different sensorial stimuli that can be adapted to their needs. Whether it is bright or soft lights, textured walls and flooring for their feet, multimedia devices to distract them, intervention like laughing gas and other accessories that help them navigate their sensorial stimuli and help them get interventional treatment or management.

How do these tools reduce pain?

SADE centers work with patients in 2 different areas:

Surrounding environment

A sensory adaptive dental center may help to reduce pain and discomfort experienced by children during dental procedures. These centers are designed to provide a calming and supportive environment for patients with mild or severe sensory processing difficulties, such as those with autism or other developmental disorders.

By providing a quiet and low-stimulation environment, with features such as dim lighting, noise-cancelling headphones, visual and TV aids, weighted blankets, and other sensory supports, sensory adaptive dental centers can help to reduce anxiety and stress for patients, which may in turn reduce the perception of pain.

Techniques

In addition, some sensory adaptive dental centers may also use techniques such as distraction therapy, virtual reality, or other forms of cognitive behavioral therapy to help patients manage their pain and discomfort during dental procedures.

Small Bites is one of India’s top Sensory Adaptive Dental Centers designed entirely in a special ‘Beach Theme’ where the entire environment has been moulded to work with the sensory needs of different children, so they get the kind of treatment they need without feeling scared, anxious or overwhelmed.

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Why Is Small Bites Dental Clinic Such a Great Place for My Child’s Dental Checkup?

DR. PREMILA NAIDU, MDS — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 08:39:19 +0000

Has this thought ever crossed your mind?

What makes this clinic better than the others? After all, every dental clinic provides the same kind of services for little kids, right?

Yes, you are right! Most clinics provide the same dental services to everyone from the family – be they children or adults. Clinics treat the same gum and tooth problems, manage dental caries and the occasional pulpectomy and more.

Small Bites Dental Experience Center is very unique, both in the services it offers and the ambience of the space. Below are 5 reasons why.

Centered around the child’s dental needs – Medical and dental centers are spotless, sanitised spaces where a variety of medical procedures are conducted for different dental problems. But why can’t they be fun, engaging and interactive? While designing the interior spaces at Small Bites, we have created it keeping the children and their needs in mind – their wants, their engagement, their surroundings and the space to ensure they are comfortable, relaxed and feel safe at all times. The world from the eyes of a little child is very scary and overwhelming. At Small Bites that is one less scary space and instead one full of color, texture, lights and sounds, keeping them distracted and yet a place they will leave with happy memories.
Centred around the child’s sensorial needs – Small Bites is designed as a Sensory Adaptive Dental Experience Centre (SADE) – one of the first of its kind in India – and kids across all ages including those with special needs associated with developmental milestones are taken care of. The design of the clinic is especially comfortable for children with hypersensitivity issues, those with oral aversion, neurodevelopmental delays such as Asperger and Autism, and craniofacial abnormalities like malformed jaws. Our expert dentists are aware and know how to handle damage caused due to improper oral hygiene, brushing and other issues arising out of these conditions.
Themed and aligned with the senses – Research has found that children learn and imbibe from the environment based on the predominant senses they possess. While some children are visual, some others are auditory in grasping information and others are tactile; liking the feel and touch of the environment they move in. With this in mind Small Bites interiors have been designed around the themes of water and beaches. The serene calmness, mesmerizing waves and tactility of sand touching the feet can be experienced and felt everywhere in the clinic space.
Soft & subtle lighting for comfort – Ever realised the lighting that greets you in hospitals and medical centers. They can be harsh, strong and exaggerates the sterility of white-washed medical rooms. Mellow water themed lighting, ceiling starlights, gradient colors and hues help children get better adjusted to the dental clinic at Small Bites. Besides the warmth they are greeted by, it keeps them merrily engaged and distracted, inquisitive and wanting to explore more.
Doctors that know how to manage dental care needs of little ones – Children are humans unto themselves, their needs are unique, their interactions still being learnt. The way they convey pain and hurt, the way they understand and follow instructions are different. It is important for dentists trained in child dental care to manage their needs. These specialists know the mouth structure, issues that arise with growing teeth and gums, and the most painless way to treat, manage and distract little children while undergoing procedures that can scare even bigger adults. With over 15+ years of experience, the dentists at Small Bites are trained and familiar with kid’s dental care and management.

Visit us with your kids, whether for the first time or to explore other treatment modalities and see for yourself how a dental clinic designed exclusively for your child can make such a big difference to them and their moods.

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Why do children have baby teeth? Why not grow permanent teeth in the first place?

DR. PREMILA NAIDU, MDS — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 15:18:43 +0000

This question might have come to you perhaps or may have crossed the minds of parents bringing their child to us at Small Bites. It’s a valid question considering baby teeth tend to fall off at some point of time. Having them seems pointless for little children, not to mention the associated teething pain, irritability, fever and so much more accompanying it.

Yet it is important to understand why baby teeth grow and what’s so different about them. Before that, understanding the teeth and its structure is an absolute must.

The tooth is basically composed of two tissue types;

Structures that make up the tooth itself which are the enamel, dentine, pulp and cementum.
Tissues that form and support the tooth in the mouth, which include gingiva, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone.

Of all these tissues, the enamel, dentine and cementum are hard tissues enclosing the soft tooth pulp. The enamel has no cells and unlike bone cannot grow or undergo repairing once damaged. Therefore, teeth when once formed cannot grow or change in size.

However, the surrounding tissues such as gingiva, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone keep growing as the child grows. From infancy to adulthood, the body and its structures, particularly the mandible and maxilla grow continuously. This increases the space in the jaw which does not get filled with existing milk teeth.

To accommodate the space in the jaw and help in masticating larger food particles as the body and jaws grow, deciduous or milk teeth are resorbed and fall off, and in their place, new bigger teeth grow to fill up the larger space.

Humans therefore have two sets of teeth – the deciduous or milk teeth and the succeedaneous or permanent teeth. It is interesting to know that most rodents, squirrels and rabbits teeth keep growing as they grow.

Do you want to know some other teeth facts to share with your kids?

Dolphins don’t use teeth for chewing food, because their jaws have no muscles.
Blue whales have no teeth at all. Instead, they have plates of baleen on both jaws used to catch small animals like krill when swimming.
Giraffes have no upper front teeth, because their tongues do the grabbing of leaves and eating.
Cats have additional tiny teeth on the roof of their mouth to grip their prey.
Frogs have teeth but toads don’t.

Humans are diphyodont creatures, with two sets of teeth in our lifetime. It is essential that we look after both of them well, given that healthy milk teeth also mean a healthier set of permanent teeth. Bring your child to us for regular dental checkups starting from the age of 1. We’ll ensure they always remain healthy.

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3 Dental Reminders That We As Parents Must Be Aware Of!

DR. PREMILA NAIDU, MDS — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 12:21:36 +0000

Navigating our child’s oral health can be overwhelming and stressful on a daily basis. Despite it being a hygiene issue and non-negotiable, what we must also understand as parents is that this activity can also appear like an intrusion into their private space.

Children resist activities like brushing and cleaning for several reasons. Some of the commonest are below;

Putting a brush into a child’s mouth can seem alien to a little one who is used to biting down on foreign objects, but not familiar with the objects remaining in the mouth for a longer time
Having a parent brush a toddler’s teeth is an activity fraught with resistance, playfulness and procrastination either due to irritability, anxiety or stress
Brushing seems like an added chore to children who don’t understand the reasoning behind it since they don’t see the immediate effects of not doing the activity
Carious teeth, bleeding gums, bad breath often don’t register unless they become serious and cause the child discomfort

Resistance to brushing and regular dental visits by their wards is one complaint many parents have. But it is also these times where we must re-visit what kind of practices we are enforcing regarding their dental health.

What are we doing or not doing that is causing more harm than relief to our children, while working towards their dental health?

Here’s 3 important dental reminders to put things into better perspective for us parents.

White teeth don’t always mean healthy teeth

Have you ever looked at your child’s teeth and thought all is good? You or they are brushing regularly, teeth look gleaming and nice, and their dental health seems perfect. But unbeknown to you, often times, caries or black spots may be lurking in the most unsuspecting areas of the teeth. Molars and grinders, back of the teeth, upper teeth can begin infection which if not identified or checked can slowly destroy the tooth or spread to adjoining ones.

White teeth being healthy teeth is a misconception to be constantly aware of. As parents, putting in a weekly schedule of examining all the teeth with a torch, making note of discolorations and regular pediatric dental checkups can avoid serious tooth complications and serious dental interventions.

Brushing harder doesn’t clean better!

True. Brushing harder, applying more force, using hard-bristled toothbrushes in an attempt to remove stubborn or stuck plaque between teeth can cause more damage than good. Although our natural human tendency is to use more force, in reality, brushing vigorously is like applying blunt force to the teeth, causing the outer enamel to be eroded faster, injuries to the gums, shaking the root of the tooth. This in children with milk teeth and growing adult teeth, can impact the way they form and the pace at which they grow.

Brushing must be done gently, with a soft-bristled age-appropriate brush and adequate quantity of fluoride paste rubbed in circles around the teeth. This removes all the loose food stuck around the teeth as well provides massaging for the gums in children.

Agitated, irritable children at the dentist can also mean sensory overload

Irritable, agitated children can mean several things – he or she is hungry, teething, has colic or indigestion, is restless and so much more. This behavior at the dentist can often exaggerate and get out of hand. At such times tried and tested means to pacify them don’t suffice. However, have you ever thought that children can be overwhelmed by large number of people, machines, strangers touching and prodding them, lights and sounds too? Many children act up not because they are just being irritable but are trying to convey how much the environment is overwhelming and affecting them. They become non-cooperative, throw tantrums, keep crying and whining, and usual forms of pacifying too don’t help.

This fact is something we at Small Bites have realized during the course of our work with children. To address that, our dental experience centers feature beach themed walls and play toys, sensorially designed lights and walls that can be felt and touched, providing the distraction that will ease them into much needed treatment.

As parents we are pre-conditioned to behave, react and pre-empt a certain way and practice tasks accordingly. But at every step we need gentle reminders that will help us relearn, for the better treatment of our children.

The post 3 Dental Reminders That We As Parents Must Be Aware Of! appeared first on Small Bites X Dr.Toothlittle.