Month: July 2018

Thumb sucking and finger sucking are both extremely common habits that almost one-third of all children have. In the first year of life, many children look to these habits as a form of self-soothing, but it is unfortunately an unhealthy oral habit and can have different consequences in the future if not addressed quickly. Dental Arts SPB in St. Pete Beach, Florida, we not only take dental and oral problems seriously in adulthood, but are also heavily interested in preventive care for our young patients as well.

What Causes Thumb Sucking?

Many things can trigger thumb sucking such as boredom, anxiety, hunger, anger, and even sadness. As stated above, thumb sucking can be looked to for comfort during an uncomfortable emotional state or a situation that is exceedingly stressful.

Quick Tips to Defeat Thumb Sucking

If your child has not stopped sucking their thumbs buy age four, then a weaning of the habit is necessary to develop a healthy young smile. Your child’s mouth is rapidly developing past age 4 and thumb sucking can heavily interfere with the process.

Identify their Thumb Sucking Triggers

One of the best ways to tackle thumb sucking is by starting at the source. Once you figure out what triggers your child in the first place, you can help them to adapt their behavior into different forms using positive reinforcement. Preparing them for the situation ahead of time can also serve as a great way to stop your child from thumb sucking.

Cover their Thumbs

If the problem becomes more and more stressful to you and your child, you can make their thumbs less appealing by wrapping them with Band-Aids or special gauze. This simple method has proven to work well and can produce results that are long lasting.

To really teach your child the benefits of having a healthy smile, and how to achieve it, it is best to visit our office. At our office in St. Pete Beach Florida, we would be more than willing to talk to your child one on one, so in order to do so be sure to give us a call or send us an email to make the initial appointment.

There can be several different issues involving our smile that can cause an individual to feel self conscious and what to hide their smile from the world. One of these issues are annoying white spots. Thankfully, white spots can be resolved with the help of our team at Dental Arts SPB. What causes white spots and how can they be effectively treated? Continue reading on to learn more about white spot treatment.

What causes white spots?

White spots are a common dental issue and several different things can cause them to form such as the following:

• Fluorosis is caused from a high fluoride intake during the development of adult teeth.
• Decalcification is the loss of minerals from the tooth’s enamel. This is often due to a lack of good oral hygiene for a period of time.
• Trauma as a baby can lead to white spots as an adult.

How can they be treated?

Many people look to teeth whitening treatments to resolve their white spots, but this does little to help the situation. The white spots will remain a lighter color then the rest of the enamel. One option is bonding or dental veneers. However, these options require removing a portion of the healthy enamel. Innovations have allowed for a new treatment call Icon. Icon helps to restore the natural color of the tooth by helping to blend the white spots in with the rest of the tooth.

If you are affecting by annoying white spots, then know there is a reachable solution with the help of our experienced dental staff. Contact our dental office to learn more about white spot treatment options for your smile. Call us today to set up your next dental exam and consultation with a member of our staff.