The Canadian Dental Association recommends that your child sees a dentist within 6 months of the eruption of the first tooth or the child’s first birthday. This way, the dentist can start monitoring the development of your child’s teeth, detect problems early on, and review any issues you might have or want to discuss (such as brushing techniques, dietary concerns, etc…). It also allows the child to become familiar with the sights and sounds of the dental office so that they are more comfortable as they get older.We also encourage our young parents to bring their children in when they themselves are getting their teeth cleaned to further immerse them in the office environment.

For more details, visit: www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/cfyt/dental_care_children/first_visit.asp

Research over the last few decades have shown that amalgam fillings are safe in the mouth. When mercury is in a solid form such as in amalgam fillings, it is harmless to the body and it does not leach from the fillings over time. For this reason, if your amalgam filling is sound and functioning well, we don’t recommend removing them. We would only recommend replacing these fillings (or any fillings for that matter) if it is chipped, fractured, opening from the tooth, or has recurrent decay forming around it.

When tooth decay is not treated and is allowed to grow deeper and closer to the centre of the tooth, the nerve inside the tooth will eventually die. Bacteria enter the cavity and infect the nerve tissue which will eventually result in pus formation below the tooth. This build up of pus will work its way through the jaw bone and create a swelling or abscess in the soft tissues, usually accompanied with pain.

With most other medical situations, the use of antibiotics will help the body heal from a bacterial infection. However, in the case of a dental infection such as the one described above, antibiotics will only make you feel better for a short period of time and will not fix the problem completely. The reason behind this is that the root source of the infection is the tooth itself (or more specifically the infected nerve at the centre of the tooth). Antibiotics cannot penetrate into the infected tooth and kill off all the bacteria, and therefore the source of the bacteria can never be eliminated completely just by antibiotic use alone. The only ways to completely rid the body of the dental infection is through root canal treatment or extraction of the infected tooth.