Services
Your child will surely be excited to go to the dentist and at ease before and during every dental visit.
Play our awesome video games, watch a movie on a flat-screen TV above each dental chair, and earn prizes from our toy chest!
Our staff of caring and dedicated professionals will provide your child with the kind of services that enable him/her to enjoy oral health and have a beautiful smile that lasts a lifetime.
Sunshine Smiles Pediatric Dentistry provides comprehensive dental services for children including:
Prevention-Based Visits
We strongly believe that dental caries is a preventable disease.
Our patient visits are focused on shining up healthy smiles and improving oral hygiene to prevent cavities.
- Caries is the most common childhood illness – 5 times more common than asthma
- 50% of children have cavities by 1st grade
- Six million school hours are lost each year due to teeth-related issues
- Children with allergies and asthma have a much greater risk of cavities
So, that’s what we’re here to do – Save the world, one smile at a time!
Welcoming Office Design
We designed our office and policies to provide you with a comfortable place for learning and treatment. Right when you walk in, the beach theme and colors create a happy and peaceful place for an accepting attitude.
The bay—where the team performs your kiddos’ cleanings and exams— caters to children and is designed so your child sees other boys and girls having fun at the dentist. We have an open office policy, where parents are welcome to accompany their children throughout the dental experience, so patient and parent learn about prevention.
Informative-Based Dentistry
Informative-based dentistry means our highly trained team will teach you and your child about caries prevention. We will teach you about good and bad foods, good and bad habits, how to brush and floss, and when in doubt, drink water. We will answer every single question and promise to never rush your visit. We are here to inform you early and never blame.
First Visit
A patient’s first visit is super important in our prevention-based practice. The team learns patient behaviors and finds a way to win each patient’s trust—whether it’s talking about princesses or superheroes, our team knows what’s trending among the kids. Then we just “count teeth,” but really we are completing a dental exam and checking for tooth decay (cavities.)
We also get an idea of what their bite (occlusion) looks like and take x-rays. The main purpose of this exam is to enjoy the first visit to the dentist and learn ways to prevent dental caries.
Sealants
Sealants act as a barrier to prevent cavities. They protect vulnerable areas by “sealing out” plaque, foods, and acid. We paint sealants onto the enamel, where it bonds to the tooth and hardens. While sealants remain intact, the tooth surface will be protected from decay for years.
Fluoride
Fluoride is highly effective in preventing decay. At Sunshine Smiles, we topically brush fluoride onto the teeth at each visit. This extends the protection from caries on your child’s teeth.
Baby and Me Visits
Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease and yet 90% of it is preventable!
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry suggests a child see a dentist by their first birthday. Our goal is to prevent cavities early by educating parents and patients.
To help in this effort, Sunshine Smiles allows the first visit of any child under age 2 to be seen absolutely FREE OF CHARGE! This initial visit includes a cleaning, fluoride treatment (behavior permitting), x-rays (if needed), and a comprehensive exam. The doctor teaches you how you will brush and floss your kiddos’ teeth every day and watch for potential issues.
Most important, this visit allows us the opportunity to talk with families about tooth development, nutrition, hygiene, and what to expect in the months/years ahead. The doctor will answer your questions about your baby’s teeth, just like a well-baby visit with your pediatrician.
Having a well-baby checkup at this age also connects your child to a dental home.
This helps us establish a good relationship with your child early and provide a good dental experience. Much like a pediatrician, a pediatric dentist is specifically trained in all aspects of dentistry for the developing child.
Benefits of an early dental visit include:
- Establishing a “dental home” for your child, which is so helpful in emergency situations
- Becoming accustomed to the child-friendly environment at the dentist’s office
- Discussing ways to prevent tooth decay and stopping cavities before they start
- Early treatment will prevent potential infections, abscesses, and/or damage to developing permanent teeth
Tooth-Colored Fillings and Crowns
At Sunshine Smiles, we believe in building a long-lasting smile and confidence in every child, which is why we use tooth-colored fillings and crowns.
As opposed to silver fillings (amalgams), tooth-colored or natural white-colored restorations provide an aesthetically pleasing smile and new bonding technologies. Composite resins, or tooth-colored fillings, provide durability and resistance to fracture in fillings that need to withstand moderate pressure from the constant stress of chewing.
Tooth-colored restorations add strength to weakened teeth, and the tooth remains intact and stronger. Also, the resin used in tooth-colored fillings contains fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay.
Ultimately, the best dental filling is no dental filling. Prevention is the best medicine.
You can dramatically decrease your risk of cavities and other dental diseases simply by:
- Brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste
- Flossing daily
- Eating a balanced diet
- Visiting the dentist regularly
- Staying away from gummies—including gummy vitamins!
Digital X-Rays
Sunshine Smiles offers the latest of dental technologies and techniques, including digital x-rays.
Digital x-rays expose the child to less radiation during the visit. With dental caries being a disease that can only be diagnosed through x-rays, we find it critical to get a good picture of your child’s teeth. Our team is the most experienced at taking x-rays on children.
IV Sedation
If necessary, hospital (in-office sedation) dentistry is available for the very young or apprehensive child that needs a lot of work.
Our office uses the services of Dr. Kimberly Kimmel at Pediatric Doctor Anesthesia Associates, who provides in-office, IV sedation for children about once a month.