Family dentistry is dentistry that is oriented at ensuring your entire family gets the quality dental care they need–especially children. Not all dental practices are prepared or willing to take care of the special dental needs of children. At Advanced Dentistry of Butler, we welcome patients of all ages, from 5 to 105 or more. And serving your entire family isn’t just convenient for you, it allows us to provide better dental care for everyone.

If you are looking for an experienced, compassionate family dentist in Butler, please call (724) 282-4436 today for an appointment with Dr. Bob at Advanced Dentistry of Butler.

How Family Dentistry Benefits Your Family

Family dentistry in Butler, PAOral health is influenced by many factors. Sometimes it can be hard to get a grasp on all those factors to design an optimal oral health plan for patients. But many of these factors can be common among families, which means that looking at your family as a unit gives us special insight and helps us achieve better results for you.

Genetic factors can have a big impact on your oral health. How your body responds to gum disease bacteria, for example, may be more important than the bacteria themselves in determine the severity of your disease. If we identify this risk in parents, then we can watch for it in children and recommend additional preventive measures to help protect their oral and overall health.

But many of the factors are also related to the family culture. Diet is a big part of your family culture and a big part of the reason why you might develop more cavities than average. The family that eats together gets cavities together–or not! Putting emphasis on oral health and hygiene is also a way that your family culture can make a big impact. When you have a family dentist, it’s easy for you to model good health habits for your children, including getting regular checkups and cleanings.

Children’s Preventive Dentistry Needs

Children have very different preventive dentistry needs than adults. On the positive side, they have a relatively low risk for gum disease. However, their risk of cavities can be much more variable, depending on certain factors.

Children may find it hard to properly clean their teeth. They should be closely supervised in brushing their teeth at least through age 10, and some recommendations say until age 14! Parents need to make sure their children’s teeth are getting clean. Even so, it’s worth considering other ways to protect your children’s teeth. Dental sealants work great to help protect children’s teeth from decay.

We may also recommend topical fluoride if appropriate for your child’s teeth. Unlike many urban areas in the US, Butler’s water is not fluoridated, so we need to take extra steps to make sure your children are getting enough fluoride exposure for the development and health of their teeth, without causing fluorosis.

Children’s Restorative Dentistry Needs

Children have different restorative dentistry needs than the rest of your family. If children develop decay in their milk teeth (baby teeth, technically known as “deciduous teeth”), we will carefully evaluate the benefits and risks of restoring the tooth or removing it to allow for the new tooth to come in.

You should not get metal amalgam fillings in children’s teeth. Mercury exposure from these fillings can be particularly harmful to your child’s developing nervous system. We understand that you may be concerned about BPA released by composite tooth-colored fillings, too. However, studies have shown that–unlike mercury–the BPA released by composite fillings is not a significant source of exposure.

Are You Looking for an Expert Family Dentist in Butler?

If you are looking for a dentist in Butler that can take care of you and your entire family, then look no further than Advanced Dentistry of Butler. Dr. Bob has 40 years’ experience serving the community, and his friendly, compassionate staff has been with him for many years, racking up their own impressive service records. We have built our reputation in Butler on the quality of results that we have achieved for our patients.

To set up an appointment for you or any member of your family, please call (724) 282-4436 today.