Kids' Dentists Make You Healthy and Give You Beautiful Smiles! | Dr. Alice Chen

Angelina Huang: 00:00:02

Welcome to the Dentistry For Kids podcast. We are Angelina and Cameron and we love candy. Do you all love candy? We've learned how to enjoy all the candy we want without getting cavities or getting in trouble with our dentist wants to learn our magic. Join us discover how to enjoy sweets and have nice bright, clean, shiny white teeth. Let's go.

Angelina Huang: 00:00:28

Welcome to the Dentistry For Kids podcast. This is Angelina and today we have a guest speaker. Dr. Alice Chen, thank you so much for coming up with us. Dr. Alice. How are you feeling today?

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:00:42

Great. Thank you for having me. Angelina, thank you for doing this after a busy day at school. I'm happy to be here and share all kinds of fun information with you and all the kids who could be listening.

Angelina Huang: 00:00:55

Thank you so much Dr. Alice, all you so your pediatric dentists. So I mean, what is a pediatric dentists.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:01:04

Okay, so after we go through high school, we go to college. And then those of us who want to become dentists in the United States, we go to a three or four year dental school. At the end of dental school, most students and most graduates become general dentist. So they are just regular dentists who do everything. And then there are certain specialties like orthodontist to braces endodontist do root canals, you have periodontal so cut open people's gums, it's pretty bloody scary. And then there are people like me who enjoy working with kids we like having we like building confidence in kids lives, teaching them how to have healthier mouth to be more healthy look better. And we go through an extra two years of training to become pediatric dentists. Oh,

Angelina Huang: 00:01:59

that's so interesting. So I guess what would be like, in those two years of training, what's the difference between you just

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:02:09

so basically, we just think here all the time. So we only stick heads, we do fillings, we pull teeth, we do crowns for BBT. We do a lot of protective sealants. And a big part of what we do is education. So educating kids and their families about how to properly take care of their teeth, how to work on their diet so we can have the healthiest teeth possible. And in a lot of cases, we also work with special needs people. So those adults and children who may have developmental disabilities, who may have really, really scary medical diseases, we learn how to take care of them, too. Oh, that's

Angelina Huang: 00:02:58

great. I know you mentioned something about healthy diets. So why should these kids be taking away from it?

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:03:05

Well, that is really, really important. I'm glad you asked that question Angelina. So a lot of people they think, oh gosh, when I get a cavity, it must be because I'm not brushing and not flossing. But for kids actually has really very little to do with that. Most of what would cause cavities is actually our diet. And so from a young age, it's really important to drink low sugar beverages water will be the best if you're going to go for soda juice, chocolate milk, even Gatorade. It should be a very, very small part of your daily beverage intake. It should be limited to special occasions. And as far as the sugary foods that we eat. To be realistic. Most people love sugar, especially kids. I'm sure even someone like you Angelina, you probably had more candy than usual, let alone kids who are younger than you. So as far as sweets, not all sweets are created equal. So the worst things for your teeth are items that are sticky, and items that are acidic. So gummy fruit snacks. Jolly Rancher Starburst Twizzlers? Those are all terrible, terrible things. You can have it for Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Christmas, but she didn't have those things at home. Oh,

Angelina Huang: 00:04:35

so for what I'm hearing Dr. Alice. So you can have those candies on occasion just not regularly.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:04:42

Yes. So when I see families I actually tell mom and dads to just never buy any candy alcohol. If kids are getting candy, it should be from a special holiday like a birthday party or some kind of special occasion. On a daily or weekly It makes sense if we want to have some sugary things. This is going to sound really really funny and kind of weird. But it's actually better to go for ice cream cookies, the desserts and pastries rather than candy. Anything but can be Oh, anything but candy. Anything about candy.

Angelina Huang: 00:05:19

Okay, thank you so much. That's so that's like my actually my first time learning about that it's so interesting.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:05:26

Yeah. So I mean, think about it, you if you are if you are, let's say a 10 year old, okay? So picture yourself when you were in fourth grade, right? So let's say you come home from school, you want to have something sugary, right? I can give you maybe three, two or three big chocolate cookies after you have those cookies. You're pretty full, right? Okay, so there's only a limited amount of sugar in those cookies. Okay, I can give you a full bag of Skittles. After you eat those Skittles, that's already double the amount of sugar compared to two or three cookies. Then after you eat those skills, because Skittles don't make you fool, right? It's just sugar, pure sugar, you can have another bag of Skittles, and even a third bag of Skittles. Now the sugar content is, you know, astronomical compared to just two or three cookies. So it makes a huge difference. And then again, think about the stickiness and the acidity that's associated with all the Skittles that you just say,

Angelina Huang: 00:06:37

Oh, my. So like, let's just say you actually eat like three bags of Skittles. Is there anything?

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:06:44

We should? Not accident Angelina? Nice, try that never an accident.

Angelina Huang: 00:06:50

We'll see we actually did that. We do after it to minimize the effects.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:06:57

You can brush your teeth and you can floss you can use your fluoride mouthwash. But it really doesn't matter if it only happens every once in a while it really does it. Okay, you want to make sure that for the next week or two, just completely stay away from candy and Skittles period. Don't let that accident happen. But nice try.

Angelina Huang: 00:07:19

Thank you. So I guess like at what age do you think kids should start seeing a pediatric dentist.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:07:26

So the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry we actually recommend all kids to be seen no later than the age of one. One. I know it sounds really, really early. Unfortunately, we do see some babies who come in a year and a half to two Cordy have more cavities than you can even imagine. So when kids come in at one, of course, you know, they're too young for us to do X rays or a professional cleaning. But we start by doing a really good comprehensive oral exam. Number one, we look for cavities that we look for the number of teeth that they have the pattern of how the teeth are coming in, how the gums are developing any kind of abnormalities. But most importantly, we talk about all the preventative measures that you and I have already talked about a little bit. When should we start brushing? What should we do with baby bottles, what do we do with pacifiers, and most importantly, what kind of dietary items we can go for or avoid in the next few years to make sure that we have healthy teeth. So the educational tools are very, very important from a young age. Ooh, thank

Angelina Huang: 00:08:41

you so much. I didn't know babies could be like having cavities already at that young.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:08:48

Unfortunately, they do. So when they have lots of cavities at that age, obviously, they're not going to sit still for us to put fillings on in their teeth, right? So frequently for these little babies who have just really, really decayed mouth, we actually have to put them under general anesthesia, kind of like surgery in the hospital and do our dentistry that way. It's not ideal. But in some cases, unfortunately, if we don't treat these teeth, these teeth can actually develop infections affecting the overall health for these young children. So it's very, very important. And, you know, you you brought up a good point that it seems really, really young. And also a lot of people think that when they see something small in their children's mouth, they think you know what, I'm just going to wait, maybe it's nothing, but I tried to tell people that cavities and teeth. The longer you wait, the more extensive and the more expensive the treatment becomes. If you come to me and there's a little problem, it's usually very, very easy to take care of and not very costly either. But if you wait and let the problem fester or then we're dealing with paying swelling, infections, big cavities. And sometimes the treatment costs, you know, starts costing quite a bit too.

Angelina Huang: 00:10:11

So Dr. Alice, so how do we know we have a cavity and when to go into see you?

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:10:17

You don't. So that's the honest truth. So the best thing to do is just going in to see the dentist every six months. That's what we recommend twice a year. And in between the six months checkups, if you ever notice any kind of weird sensation, any discoloration, anytime, when the shape of your teeth, that seems to feel a little bit different, you have sensitivity, but definitely contact your pediatric dentists. Take a picture, email or text that to your dental office, most pediatric dentists will be happy to take a look and see patients in between the six months appointments to that's what we're here for.

Angelina Huang: 00:10:55

Okay, thank you so much, Dr. Alice. So I guess we're closing up now what are the top things do you think parents and kids should know, for their oral health?

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:11:07

I was say and this is kind of a repeat of what we have already talked about. start going to the dentist early and go regularly. Okay, that's number one. Number two, definitely, definitely try to avoid candy as much as possible. Again, it should only be consumed for special occasions, we should never stop candy at home. And we definitely don't want to pack fruit snacks daily with school lunch. That's a huge problem. And number three, for all the kids that I see above age four actually recommend them to use a fluoride mouthwash as early as they understand how to sit and not swallow the toothpaste in the mouthwash. And the fluoride is a very, very effective tool for strengthening the enamel which is a superficial layer of our teeth. It makes her teeth stronger, harder, less prone to decay, and it works very, very well. So those are I think the three top things.

Angelina Huang: 00:12:07

Thank you so much, Dr. Alice. So I guess I want to clarify for the kids. So while you're brushing routine, do you recommend two times a day,

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:12:17

two times a day at least and then anytime during the day. If you feel like your mouth feels a little bit yucky, you can definitely do an additional time of brushing. So kids that have braces, sometimes things get stuck in there. I've definitely recommend students to bring an extra set of toothbrush into their school backpacks, and maybe brush after lunch too. But for most people two times a day is deficient

Angelina Huang: 00:12:44

two times a day so they would brush loss and then use the fluoride mouthwash.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:12:52

Yeah, mouthwash. In the morning. It's optional definitely mouthwash at night. After you do the mouthwash try to not eat or drink anything. So when we go to bed, there's a little bit of extra fluoride sticking onto the teeth all night.

Angelina Huang: 00:13:07

Thank you so much, Dr. Alice. You're the

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:13:10

Thank you, Angelina.

Angelina Huang: 00:13:12

So before we wrap things up, is there anything else you would like to tell the audience?

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:13:18

Just hope everyone had a great Halloween and had a lot of candy? Halloween. It's been two weeks already. So parents, it's time to throw away all the candy and get that mouthwash out so we can start repairing the enamel.

Angelina Huang: 00:13:34

Thank you so much, Dr.Alice.

Dr. Alice Chen: 00:13:36

Thank you, Angelina.