Rockville Pediatric Dental

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Pediatric Dental Services

Serving Rockville, Bethesda, Potomac, Gaithersburg,
and Silver Spring Areas

Dental Sealants

Think of a tooth’s chewing surfaces as mountains with many pits and grooves. When your child eats, food gets caught in these areas.  Although daily brushing is essential, applying a dental sealant will help keep these hard-to-reach areas clean.  Dental sealants are painted on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, usually premolars and molars, to prevent cavities.  Sealants act as a barrier and allow food to glide smoothly over the tooth to help promote good oral hygiene and reduce the risk of cavities.

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Dental sealant
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Digital dental x-ray

Digital X-rays

X-rays are an essential part of a dentist’s diagnostic protocol.  Dentists use them to diagnose cavities, examine growth and development, evaluate bone health, and detect pathology and trauma.  Our office uses digital x-rays, which require less radiation than traditional film to produce an image.

Tooth Colored Fillings

Should your child have a cavity, we may use a resin tooth-colored filling to restore form and function to your child’s tooth.  This material is used to repair teeth to an aesthetically pleasing, attractive, and healthy state.  Tooth-colored fillings can also be used cosmetically to change a tooth’s size, color, and shape.

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Dental filling
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silver crown

Crowns

If your child’s cavity is too large to restore with a tooth-colored filling, a crown may be recommended. Crowns provide strength and durability for teeth whose structure has been compromised due to decay. Crowning a tooth also maintains the space, allowing the eventual permanent tooth to erupt properly. The most common type of crown we use is made of stainless steel. In some cases we can substitute a zirconia crown for a stainless steel crown.

Pulpotomy

If dental trauma involves the nerve of a tooth or when a cavity is very deep, close to the pulp (nerve) of the tooth, or even into the pulp, the pulpal tissue may become irritated and inflamed. A pulpotomy is a procedure that removes the inflamed pulp while leaving some remaining vital pulp. In most cases, the tooth will be restored with a crown after a pulpotomy is performed.

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pediatric dental exam
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dental exam

Pulpectomy

If an infection involves tissue in both the crown and the root, a pulpectomy may be indicated. In a pulpectomy, the pulpal tissue is removed and the pulp chamber and root canals are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and filled with a material to prevent infection.  The tooth is then restored with a crown.

Extractions

Tooth extraction refers to the removal of a tooth from the mouth.  We will always try to restore your child’s tooth that has been damaged by decay.  If the decay is too great to repair, we may recommend an extraction.  An extraction may also be necessary for teeth with infection, crowding, or because the baby tooth no longer needs to be in the mouth.  We will review your child’s needs, coordinate with your referring dentist/orthodontist, if appropriate, and discuss your child’s treatment options with you. 

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close up shot of extracted tooth
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space maintainer

Space Maintenance

Baby teeth serve as space holders for the permanent teeth.  With the early loss of a baby tooth, neighboring teeth may start migrating into that vacant space, potentially causing problems as your child grows.  This loss may lead to the need for extensive orthodontic treatment at a later age.  A space maintainer may be indicated in that area to hold the space open so that the adult tooth can erupt into the correct position.

Invisalign

Invisalign is an orthodontic treatment that uses a series of clear, custom-made, BPA-free plastic aligners to straighten your child’s teeth. There are no metal brackets to attach and no wires to tighten. The aligners gradually and gently shift teeth into the proper position, based on the exact movements that Dr. Horng plans out.

Invisalign is appropriate for adults as well as children, who may struggle with the additional requirements and limitations of traditional braces, or want to avoid the appearance of metal braces.
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invisalign

Fluoride

Teeth are composed of many tiny pieces called molecules that attach to each other. These tiny pieces are constantly breaking apart throughout the day and reforming depending on our diet. Fluoride can be thought of as a “glue” for these pieces by keeping the molecules more tightly bound together and less prone to breaking apart. Topical fluoride treatment is effective in protecting children’s teeth and reducing cavities.

Baby Root Canals

Baby root canals are often needed when the cavity approaches the tooth’s nerve. This procedure stops the progress of the cavity and minimizes the chances of an infection or abscess. The procedure is completed by cleaning out the center of the tooth where the nerve lives and placing soothing medicine. The tooth is then protected by placing a crown, as mentioned above.