Our Services
Cleanings and Prevention
Dental caries (the scientific term for tooth decay or cavities) is the most prevalent disease in children, affecting up to 56% of children aged 6–8 years old. Luckily, preventative measures that begin early in life have been shown to greatly reduce the number of cavities in children. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that all children have their first dental visit by their first birthday or their first tooth coming in, whichever comes first! After your initial visit, we will determine the next steps to help your children prevent cavities and to build healthy oral hygiene habits. We will talk about proper brushing, flossing, diet, fluoride usage, and much more.
Digital Radiographs
Our digital office also includes digital radiographs as our primary imaging method. Using state-of-the-art technology, this means that our office is able to minimize each radiation exposure to your children. We follow the practice mandate, ALARA, which holds the principle of keeping radiation for patients and staff "As Low as Reasonably Achievable."
Fillings
Sometimes, we may find cavities in your child's teeth. We work with you and your child to find the best way to comfortably restore the cavities and ensure they love returning to the dentist's office. With our specialized dentist and assistants, local anesthesia (numbing juice), nitrous oxide (laughing gas), and other techniques, we can make each appointment better than the last!
Needle-Free Procedures with the Solea Laser
We are excited to announce we are now offering reliably anesthesia-free and pain-free procedures now that we have introduced the Solea laser into our practice. This laser takes the drill, the needle, the noise, and the pain out of dental visits. It also allows us to provide more efficient options for single-visit procedures, enabling you to get back to your day quickly without the need for follow-up visits.
What is it?
Solea is the first CO2 dental laser cleared by the FDA for all-tissue dental procedures, meaning treating cavities as well oral surgery that involves gums and or bone.
The laser vaporizes target tissue using light, without contact whether it is tooth, bone or gum.
Learn more about the Solea Laser in our feature on WhatcomTalk:
Bellingham Pediatric Dentistry Uses New Technology to Improve Safety, Comfort
Ask us today if the laser is right for your kiddo!
White Crowns
For years, stainless steel crowns have been, and continue to be, the standard of care for badly decayed primary teeth. Fortunately, with recent advances in ceramics technology many children now have another option! Our office is proud to offer white zirconia crowns, the number one choice in metal free aesthetic pediatric crowns world-wide.
Our office has been specially trained here to provide white crowns to restore your child’s smile back to its natural beauty, both for teeth in the front and back of your child's mouth. From a single tooth, to situations where many teeth are badly decayed, zirconia crowns may be an excellent long-term treatment option to restore oral health and wellness.
Ask our office today to see if zirconia crowns are an option for your child.
See how Dr. Sawyer works with Sprig white crowns to transform a kiddo’s smile!
White Crown Examples:
General Anesthesia
Occasionally, we find that a child has treatment needs that may require numerous and extensive appointments. In order to preserve their psyche and provide the highest quality and longest lasting restorations, we often utilize a medical anesthesiologist to provide general anesthesia while we fix all the cavities in one visit. During that visit, the idea is that your child will remain completely asleep and wake up with all of their cavities restored. Your children's safety is our highest priority, and all safely measures are followed during each and every appointment.
Tongue Ties & Lip Ties
A frenectomy is a procedure that releases the frenum. Our office utilizes numbing medication and laser release of ties. We believe in treating all our patients with compassion and that starts when they are just infants! We know that infants can feel pain and we numb accordingly. We utilize the laser to efficiently release the frenums tethering the genioglossus muscle (for tongue ties) or the orbicularis oris (for lip ties) and this technique results in a diamond shape wound. The laser helps to minimize post-operative bleeding. We provide each family with detailed aftercare instructions to help ensure success, as well as encourage more visits with their lactation consultant or speech language pathologists.
Questions about your insurance coverage of these services?