Dental radiographs at Danforth Children’s Dentistry are only taken after a thorough review of your child’s medical and dental history and after performing a careful visual examination.

Dental radiographs (e.g. X-rays) are required if the visual examination did not provide enough information to accurately diagnose decay or other dental conditions associated with your child’s teeth.

A child’s mouth develops more rapidly than an adult mouth and the baby teeth are far more susceptible to dental decay than adult teeth. It is for these reasons that children require radiographs more frequently than adults. Children at high cavity risk may require radiographs as often as every six months to detect dental decay. Children at low risk for dental decay may require X-rays as often.

At Danforth Children’s Dentistry, we are particularly concerned about the exposure of patients to radiation. We have appropriate safeguards such as lead aprons with thyroid collars and utilize a digital system for intra-oral radiography. Our digital radiographic system provides a reduction in radiation compared to conventional radiographs. You can be assured that your child is receiving only the necessary and minimal amount of radiation exposure if dental radiographs are required.

Nitrous oxide is a safe and effective way of providing dental treatment to your child.

We choose to work in a paediatric dental setting because we love children. We recognize each child is different and would like to customize the delivery of dental care according to their needs.

Some children may need more than a nurturing environment in order to feel comfortable during dental treatment. Nitrous oxide sedation is utilized at Danforth Children’s Dentistry to reduce fear and anxiety that your child may have about the appointment and thereby facilitate cooperation during dental treatment.

Nitrous oxide is also beneficial in pain management and works well for children whose gag reflex interferes with dental treatment.

Oral sedation with nitrous oxide is a technique to direct a child’s behaviour during dental treatment.

Medications are utilized in conjunction with nitrous oxide to alleviate anxiety or distress associated with dental procedures. This treatment modality may allow children to become less anxious or drowsy but does not render them unconscious.

This form of treatment is usually indicated when a child is extremely apprehensive or requires extensive dental treatment. We will take the necessary measures to ensure the safety and well-being of your child during dental procedures. A medication combined with nitrous oxide may facilitate this as well as promote a child’s acceptance of dental treatment.

General Anaesthesia is a medically controlled state that allows your child to sleep soundly during dental treatment. It also eliminates the sense of awareness, pain and movement during dental treatment.

Our medical anaesthetist, Dr. Grant Lu, is a physician with specific training on the use of various anaesthetic drugs that will allow your child to sleep soundly during dental treatment. The advantages of general anaesthesia is that your child will not be awake during the dental procedure, all necessary dental treatment will be completed in one appointment and your child will have no memory of the event.

General anaesthesia may be indicated for children with extensive dental needs, for uncooperative patients as well as patients who are extremely fearful or anxious. General anaesthesia may also be a suitable option for children with special health care needs.

A baby tooth is supposed to be in a child’s mouth until its adult tooth replaces it.

Sometimes a child may lose a tooth too soon due to trauma or dental disease.  If a tooth is lost too early, a space maintainer may be recommended to prevent space loss and thereby minimize future orthodontic problems.

Space maintainers hold the space left by the lost tooth. It stabilizes the surrounding teeth and prevents the adjacent teeth from drifting into the space of the lost tooth.

We understand that children with special health care needs are unique. We have experience in providing individualized dental care to these patients.

Children with special health care needs (SHCN) may be more susceptible to oral disease due to their condition and require oral health care of a specialized nature. We have experience in providing dental care to patients with SHCN such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. A child with SHCN can also include patients with Amelogenesis Imperfecta, Dentinogenesis Imperfecta and oral cancer.

Children with SHCN should keep healthy teeth and gums since it is an integral part of their general health and well-being. We are dedicated to providing the best dental care to this special population.