Kid's Dentist Aurora & Kid's Vision Care

We are experts in providing high-quality, affordable dental care for kids in Aurora. A child’s first dentist visit should happen after their first tooth emerges or by their first birthday, whichever comes first. Starting healthy oral care habits early in life prepares your child for the best oral and overall health.

Even with regular brushing at home, teeth still need professional dental cleanings. During dental cleanings, we use special tools and skills to clear plaque away from the spots that are difficult to reach. We check for early signs of tooth decay to identify and treat any issues that arise before they become a problem. If your child is at an elevated risk for tooth decay, they can benefit from fluoride treatments and sealants that will protect and maintain the strength of their teeth.

Dental x-rays are important tools that dentists use to monitor oral development and check for any potential diseases or decay that can impact your child’s dental health. With dental x-rays, dentists can see areas of the teeth that are invisible during dental cleanings.

Your teeth need vitamins, and fluoride gives your teeth the nutrients they need to stay healthy! Fluoride is a natural mineral that protects teeth from decay and helps teeth stay strong. During regular dental visits, we use a tiny paintbrush to apply a concentrated fluoride varnish directly onto tooth/teeth surfaces that need protection. Fluoride treatments are an important part of healthy dental hygiene, and they are highly beneficial throughout a child’s life.

For toddlers and children, the most basic form of tooth decay is cavities. A cavity develops when a buildup of plaque eats at the tooth enamel and creates a hole in the tooth. Sometimes cavities are hard to prevent. Proper dental hygiene, a healthy diet, and biannual dental cleanings are the best defense against plaque buildup and cavities. When a cavity is detected, the dentist will remove the decay and fill in the hole with a filling.

Dental sealants protect teeth against harmful bacteria that can lead to tooth decay. Even with excellent oral hygiene, the grooves on the tops of molars are vulnerable to collections of food and bacteria. Dental sealants provide an extra layer of protection for the teeth, and they are an important part of oral care.

Dental crowns top damaged teeth that need to be restored to their correct size and shape. When a filling is not enough to restore a tooth that is decayed or compromised, dental crowns are needed. It only takes a single appointment to apply a dental crown, and the visit does involve some form of anesthetic.

Sometimes teeth need to be extracted. If a tooth is extensively damaged or decayed it may need to be pulled out. Additionally, tooth extraction may be necessary if stubborn baby teeth need help coming out, or if room needs to be made in the mouth in preparation for orthodontic treatment.

With every dental visit and procedure, we want to minimize potential distress and keep kids calm and comfortable. To ease the process of specific dental procedures, we give kids dental sedation. Select locations provide dental sedation options, and a referral is required.

Sometimes teeth accidentally get chipped or broken during play. Thankfully, we have ways to fix them! If your child has a broken tooth, it is important that you contact your dentist immediately. At the emergency visit, the dentist will examine the child’s mouth. In specific circumstances, the tooth fragment can be reattached. If you are able to locate the chipped tooth fragment, put it in a bag with saline or water and bring it with you to the dentist's office. If you can’t find the tooth fragment, there are additional ways to repair the tooth for a happy and healthy smile.

Good news for kids and families! Medicaid and most dental insurance plans cover two dental cleanings and checkups per year. Regular visits are important for maintaining oral health. Book an appointment with us for your child today!

We look forward to being your kid's dentist Aurora!

With a kid’s eye doctor, your child’s future is clear!

Regular eye exams are an important way to keep babies, kids, and teens on track for educational, social, and developmental success. Vision issues can impact a child’s experiences with school, sports, peers, and daily activities. A vision check-up is an important way to make sure your child is developing healthily and prepared for success.

If it’s hard for your child to see far far away, they may have Myopia. Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, is a refractive disorder that makes it difficult to see distant objects. In contrast, with nearsightedness, it is easy to see things up close. The symptoms can include:

• Blurred vision when looking at objects at a distance
• Squinting
• Eyestrain
• Eye fatigue when looking at objects far away

In addition to causing physical issues, nearsightedness can also impact a child’s performance in school and safety. Nearsightedness can be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or eye surgery. Routine eye exams can detect potential issues and help kids stay healthy.

Are things too close for comfort? If so, then your child may have Hyperopia, or farsightedness. Hyperopia is a common condition that allows you to see objects far away better than objects that are up close. With farsightedness, the light rays in the eyes focus behind the surface of the retina instead of directly on the retina. This makes close-up objects blurry. The symptoms may include:

• Blurred vision
• Trouble focusing on things close by
• Eyestrain
• Eye fatigue
• Headaches when performing tasks close-up

Farsightedness can impact self-esteem and educational capabilities, but it is easy to correct with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery. Take your kid for a vision check-up to make sure they are set up for success!

Astigmatism is a common condition that blurs objects both near and far. With astigmatism, your eye isn’t completely round so it is not able to focus. Astigmatism can be difficult to diagnose in kids because they perceive the blurriness as normal. The symptoms include:

• Blurred Vision
• Distorted Vision
• Eyestrain
• Headaches

When left unaddressed, astigmatism can impact school performance and safety. Like other common eye issues, astigmatism can be treated with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery. Make an appointment for an eye exam to make sure your child’s eyes are healthy and ready for success!

A wandering eye is also known as Amblyopia. Amblyopia is a vision condition in which one eye underperforms because it does not properly reflect light. When a child has a lazy eye, their body follows the direction of the normally performing eye. This impacts their ability to perceive depth. Symptoms include;

• Issues with depth perception
• Frequently squinting or shutting one eye
• Tilting head to focus

For the most effective and simple treatment and management, it is important to detect a lazy eye early. Routine eye exams are an important way to take care of your children.

Strabismus, or cross-eyes, is a common eye condition in which the eyes are not always aligned. With strabismus, the eye muscles are out of sync which causes the eyes to look different ways. Strabismus can lead to a lazy eye or cause other types of vision problems. There are a few different treatment options, depending on the specific nature of the condition.

It can be a struggle to get your child to wear eyeglasses. We carry over 350 Medicaid-approved frames to ensure your child can find the perfect pair to suit their age, size, fashion, and lifestyle. We want every child to feel confident and comfortable when wearing glasses!

We don’t want any child to struggle with learning challenges caused by undetected vision problems. If your child is experiencing vision issues, we can help. We accept Medicaid and most insurance plans so that your child can have regular vision check-ups and glasses at little or no cost.

Orthodontic braces are beneficial because they correct jaw alignment and teeth spacing. The benefits of braces can increase your child or teen’s confidence and self-esteem, in addition to improving many aspects of dental health, including:

• Improve ability to chew food
• Alleviate speech impairment
• Make brushing, cleaning, and flossing teeth easier
• Reduce the risk of cavities and periodontal disease
• Reduce the occurrence of grinding and chipping teeth
• Reduce the risk of injury from protruding teeth

For many people, braces are an important part of oral health! Visit with our friendly orthodontists to learn how braces can improve your child's health.

There are several different types of braces that are commonly used today. It is important to choose the right type of braces based on your treatment plan, cost and desired appearance. Our orthodontists can help you decide!

• Traditional Metal Braces are the most common type of braces. They are affordable and highly effective. Metal braces are easy to accurately adjust during monthly visits, and kids and teens get to choose fun elastic band colors!

• Ceramic or Porcelain Braces are similar to metal braces, but the brackets and wires are designed to blend in with your kid or teen’s teeth. These braces are more expensive than metal braces, and they require dedicated, regular cleaning to prevent discoloration. If you want your braces to be less noticeable, ceramic or porcelain braces are a great option.

• Removable Aligners have become increasingly popular. Removable aligners are transparent trays that rest on top of teeth and need to be removed for meal times and other activities. Removable aligners are more expensive than metal braces, and the treatment requires a level of personal responsibility. Not every kid is up to the task! Removable aligners are not designed to correct significant bite problems, but if you are looking for a less noticeable way to correct alignment issues, this solution may be the right treatment option for you.

Medicaid and many other insurance plans acknowledge the importance of braces for oral health and may cover the full cost of orthodontic treatment. If you have Medicaid, your child needs an orthodontic evaluation to determine whether or not the treatment is covered. If you have private insurance, you can learn about your orthodontic coverage options by contacting your insurance provider.

If you do not have insurance coverage, we offer multiple affordable payment plans. Our orthodontic care coordinators can review these options and assist you in determining a plan that works for your family.

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children are screened by age seven. By age seven, it will be clear if a child has any jaw alignment problems, overcrowding, overbite or underbite, crossbite, or other orthodontic issues that may impact their mouth. It is important to receive an orthodontic evaluation early so that we can quickly determine if braces are needed, and if so, choose the best treatment plan.

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