As a Pediatric Dentist, Dr. Herrin will carefully observe and monitor how your child’s mouth develops. He can detect problems and treat them early, which can save your child from needing more extensive care later. Dr. Herrin has worked on staff at a hospital, so he’s equipped to respond when accidents happen to young teeth.
Please click the link below to read an article Dr. Herrin wrote providing information about improving your child’s oral health.
Read Article
We offer a wide range of children’s dental services to promote a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums for your children. These services include:
- Dental Exams & Cleanings
- Low Radiation Digital X-Rays
- Composite (Tooth colored fillings)
- Sealants
- Stainless steel crowns
- White-faced stainless steel crowns
- All White Crowns
- Nerve treatments (pulpotomies)
- Space maintainers
- Pedo partials (replaces missing front teeth for esthetics)
- Oral sedation
- IV Sedation
- Nitrous oxide
- Extra-oral bitewing program
- Extractions
- Orthodontic analysis and referral, if needed
If requested, we can provide an ingredient list of dental materials used in our office. All composites are BPA free, and no materials contain mercury.
Children’s Dental Exams & Cleanings
Our office, as well as the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, recommends that your child visit the dentist by his/her 1st birthday. Regular cleanings are critical to your child’s development of healthy teeth and gums. We perform regular check-ups, cleanings and oral health evaluations in our children’s dental office.
Low Radiation Digital X-rays
We utilize Digital X-rays, which use 90% less radiation than traditional x-rays, thus exposing your child to lower levels of radiation. Digital X-rays also provide us with immediate images to quickly diagnose hidden problems. We also have a Digital Panoramic X-ray machine, which can take a full “panoramic” picture of the teeth. The machine makes an entire half-circle motion to capture an image of the child’s entire oral cavity, providing our doctor a more complete view of your child’s bite, jaw and teeth. These X-rays are only necessary on initial visits and every few years thereafter.
Children’s Sedation Dentist
Is your child extremely anxious about visiting the dentist? We have several sedation options for them:
Oral Sedation
Safe and effective, Oral Sedation allows your child to remain awake and aware, but their anxiety will be reduced for any dental procedure.
Nitrous Oxide Sedation
We also provide Nitrous Oxide or “laughing gas” as an alternative form of sedation to calm and relax children before procedures. Known for it analgesic properties, Nitrous Oxide is administered nasally and can calm you during any procedure.
IV Sedation
We are credentialed to perform IV Sedation in our office, where your child will be conscious but fully sedated. Anesthesia is delivered intravenously into the bloodstream. This technique will put you in a deep state of relaxation, and you will be safely monitored the entire time.
Children’s Fluoride Treatments
Fluoride prevents tooth decay. It is a natural mineral that is found in food and water. Fluoride strengthens your tooth’s enamel, making it harder for bacteria to cause cavities. We offer fluoride treatments to promote good dental hygiene.
Tooth decay can begin early in life so children and teenagers may need fluoride treatments to keep their teeth healthy and promote future oral health.
Children’s Dental Sealants
A sealant is a very thin layer of strong plastic that bonds to the chewing part of the tooth in order to seal out the germs that cause cavities. These are used when there are tiny grooves in a child’s tooth that will be hard to clean with a toothbrush. The sealant reduces the chances of cavities developing.
Cosmetic “Tooth-Colored” Children’s Dental Fillings
Dental fillings are used to treat teeth that are damaged due to tooth decay. Children could have tooth decay if they are experiencing symptoms such as sensitivity to cold and hot food and drinks, toothaches, or jaw pain. Dental fillings help eliminate sensitivity and pain in the tooth and prevent any further damage from taking place. An exam of your child’s teeth can determine whether their teeth needs repair from dental fillings.
We are pleased to offer Cosmetic or “tooth-colored” fillings. These types of fillings are the same color as the teeth that they are bonded to, thus making them virtually invisible in the child’s mouth.
Children’s Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are used to cover a tooth that might be likely to break or is too damaged and decayed to be fixed with a filling. A crown is an aesthetic covering or a tooth-shaped “cap” that is placed over another tooth to provide it stability. Crowns are generally used to improve the strength or appearance of teeth. When a large cavity threatens the ongoing health of a tooth, a crown is a good option. Crowns are also used to restore the shape and size of chipped or damaged teeth. They are typically bonded to the tooth using dental cement. We only recommend dental crowns for children when it is absolutely necessary.
Custom-Fitted Athletic Dental Mouth Guards for the Little Athlete in Your Life
Hundreds of thousands of Americans a year sustain dental injuries during competitive play, and a large number of those injured are children.
Research has shown that wearing custom-fit sports mouth guards can reduce the risk of severe injuries. The American Dental Association (ADA) estimates that the use of mouthguards prevents approximately 200,000 injuries per year in high school and college football alone.
Anyone who plays sports or engages in athletic activity, whether competitive or not, can protect themselves by wearing an athletic mouthguard. We offer custom, form-fitting mouth guards to patients of all ages.
Damaging jaw and tooth impact can be caused by everything from a direct contact to an awkward or misplaced step while running. Custom-made mouthguards provide stability to your jaw and cushion the blows that can cause severe dental injuries, like broken teeth, fractures in the jaw, gum lacerations and injuries to your lips or tongue caused by your own teeth. A knocked out tooth can end up costing thousands of dollars to properly replace it!
Growing evidence suggests that quality, properly fitting mouthguards also reduce the forces that can cause concussions and neck injuries.
What is the Advantage of using a Dentist to create your Mouth Guard?
We can ensure that your mouthguard is tightly fit to your teeth to provide maximum protection. Utilizing our digital x-ray technology, we will make sure that the guard is fitted to protect your teeth, gums, lips, tongue and cheeks. We provide guards in different colors and designs.
