Pediatric Dentistry|Yokosuka Dentist「Arakawa Family Dental」
4-Chrome-6-5-Maboricho Yokosuka, Kanagawa
It’s about 9 minutes on foot from Keihin kyuko
Main line “Mabori Kaigan Station”
We hope to give our children a lifetime of good oral health. Taking your child to the dentist on a regular basis is very important, but professional dental care alone will not guarantee your child a lifetime of good oral health. The most important goal is that we teach our children the proper day-to-day care for our teeth beginning at home. It is important that they understand how to do this, in order to become successful at achieving a healthy life with proper oral hygiene.
With this in mind, we offer the Prophylaxis Program that helps reduce the risk of cavities for each child. In addition to this program, we give advice on “how to” for families that have a history of bad teeth. Please feel free to request a consultation with us so that we may help you and your family have a bigger, brighter smile!
Flow of Pediatric Dental Treatment
As a dentist, I always want to make our children as comfortable as possible while visiting our clinic. Our hope is that your child will feel comfortable enough here, and we can make a long lasting relationship with healthy permanent teeth. We also provide advice about preventative dentistry, orthodontics, and promising comprehensive support.
Examination
This will include the following:
・X-Ray examination
・Intraoral Photography
・Saliva Examination (If needed)
・Inspection of plaque leftovers
・Inspection of your teeth for cavities and gingivitis
＊If you are in pain or urgent treatment is required, this will be our priority and will be taken care of first before anything else.
Preventative Care
This will include the following:
・Fluoride Application
・PMTC (Cleaning of the teeth using exclusive equipment by experts)
・Brushing your teeth tutorial
・Sealant
Dental Treatment
At Arakawa Family Dental, we know that going to the dentist can be scary, but we do not believe in forcibly holding down children when they do not behave or are afraid. Practice makes perfect. This is why we start with practicing walking into the clinic. Then we move on to practicing having them sit in the chair. The more they do it, the more comfortable they will be and it can become a more fun environment.
Preventative Counseling for Dental Cavities
During your visit to our clinic, we will explain your child’s current condition, the treatment policy, and the points for prevention of cavities. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to let us know.
Regular check ups
Depending on the risk of cavities, regular check ups are required every three to six months.
Children can wait for their appointments while playing in the Children’s Space.
The hygienist will call you when it’s your turn.
Let’s put on an apron when you sit in the treatment chair.
Let’s check inside your mouth!
The doctor cleans inside your mouth!
When your mouth becomes clean and shiny!
I will also show you how to brush your teeth!
After you work hard, you can turn the wheel on the toy machine.
What will it be?
You got a cool toy!
Let’s Prevent Infection with Mutans (oral bacteria)
Do you know the phrase “The Window of Infectivity”?
Mutans is the name of the bacteria that causes dental cavities.
There are no mutans inside the mouth when babies are born.
So, how do the mutans come to grow inside their mouth?
Mostly, the reason is from an infection, usually from the mother or other family members. This enables babies to grow teeth. The colonization of the infection occurs generally at the opening of the window of infectivity. The window begins between a year and seven months old to two years and seven months old, just after the teeth start to erupt. So how do we prevent this infection? The time period, which is also known as the Infection Window, is an important time because the prevention of this type of infection will lead to less cavities as an adult.
How do you Prevent Infections with Mutans?
Conservative Sugar Intake!
The bacteria, including the Mutans, are attracted to sugar.
So by ingesting sugar, the Mutans bacteria will increase, and this cannot be decreased by just rinsing your mouth. So be careful with ingesting too much sugar and please do not give your children sugar as often. If you do give them sugar, please make sure that they brush their teeth right away.
Parents, once your child has brushed their teeth, please brush your child’s teeth again before bedtime.
While your child is small, brushing is essential. Please make sure to brush your child’s teeth with a toothpaste containing fluoride. Children may think it does not taste good, but in order to prevent cavities, brushing properly after every meal will be the best way to prevent them.
Children’s Brushing Instructions
At Arakawa Family Dental, we teach our children how to brush their teeth. We advise parents and family members to watch their children while brushing their teeth so that we can make sure they are doing it properly. We also give advice on which products are the best to use.
Our Clinics Efforts
Pediatric Correction MRC System
The MRC System is a system for preventing and correcting tooth alignment of children from ages five to twelve years old. By eliminating the cause of bad tooth alignment, it is possible to eliminate the need for orthodontic treatment. This is a new orthodontic treatment that the Australians invented, approaching the “cause” of malocclusion.
Please click the link for more information regarding the MRC System.→
The Pediatric Benefits of visiting Arakawa Family Dental
Fully-Equipped Floor for Children, Highly Specialized Treatment
The Second Floor of our clinic is a floor exclusively designed for children who are undergoing a dental examination. This is designed not only to make children more comfortable, but it is also designed to make adult clients feel more comfortable as well. With our children being treated upstairs, this gives our adult clients peace of mind while getting their own treatments done. This specialized dental treatment for our little ones is designed to give our parents more peace of mind.
Children’s Space/Free Childcare
We have a space where children can play during parent's appointments. We have specialized staff members who will watch your child. This is also a place where children can play before their own treatment. It is a very relaxed environment with a fun atmosphere! Free childcare is provided during all appointments.
Recommended Treatment for Each Child
The majority of children are often scared of the dentist. The instruments, smells, and sounds are scary to young children. That is why we recommend children to see and touch the instruments prior to future treatments. The more that children are around them, the less scared they will be. For children who are three years and older, we recommend independent treatments. This helps the child become more independent and less scared of the dentist.
What is Children’s Independent Treatment?
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In our clinic, there are cases where we ask a parent to leave the room if a child is afraid of treatment. Children, who do not do well at the dentist, tend to depend on their parents for comfort making this a dependable environment. As a result, there are many children who lose the chance for independent. In our clinic, we do not forcibly hold down a child during their treatment. We want them to be comfortable first and gain their trust so that they may be comfortable enough for future treatments.
- Advice from Us
★Please do not lie to them, “It does not hurt, you will not feel a thing.”
★Please refrain from phrases that are not true, “I do not know if it hurts.”
- Please support your children with positive words.
Encourage them not to be afraid of the dentist.
It is important to encourage your child to cooperate, please do not force them to cooperate.
Our Pediatric Dentist
After graduating from Kanagawa Dental University, Dr.Komori has proven that she is the right doctor for the job. At Arakawa Family Dental, we specialize in Pediatric Dentistry. So please know that your child is in good hands, and she has mastered all treatments for children’s oral care.
Arakawa Family Dental Formula for healthy Teeth in young children
Free Fluoride Application
Fluoride application is most widely known for protecting the teeth. We want to make sure that everyone has a fighting chance in preventing cavities!
The clinic superintendent (Dr. Arakawa, Yuki) supervised the fluoride application manual in Nagano prefecture during his time working for another clinic. If you have any questions or concerns about fluoride application, please do not hesitate to ask.
Supervised by Yuki Arakawa
（Part-time lecturer at Kanagawa Dental University, Medical Corporation Smile and Wellness, but working at a dental clinic）
Prevention of Dental Cavities with Sealant
The grooves on the back of the teeth are deep and can be hard to reach with a toothbrush. “Sealant” is a method of filling the grooves with resin materials, preventing cavities from forming on the teeth. Preventative effect is high.
Care at Home
Preventative care at a dental office is important, but if you do not do the care that was suggested at home, you will not prevent cavities from forming. We will make sure that your child has the correct toothbrush and show them how to properly brush their teeth. We want to provide our children with the proper tools in order for them to become successful at their own oral hygiene.
Pediatric Correction
For anyone who is uncertain about what the right treatment is for his or her child
Parents are often worried about the growth of their child, and many people worry about the alignment of their children’s teeth. “Are they ok the way they are or should I get them braces?” This is a very common question among parents. When alignment of the teeth is bad, that child may have a problem with their appearance and can have a lack confidence while smiling. It may also become difficult to brush their teeth, which could result in cavities and periodontal disease. The way they chew will also be affected and various problems may arise. Although our clinic has the ability to perform orthodontic treatments, we would like you to understand the merits and demerits of treatment to your elementary school aged children, and want you to make sure that this is the best decision for your child.
Click on the link to learn more about Children’s Orthodontics.→
About 75% of Children Have Malocclusion
Did you know that 75% of children are more prone to developing Malocclusion? Malocclusion may influence a dysfunction of the muscles around their mouth. Genetic influences cannot be changed, but the effects of muscles can be improved by conducting exercises during the time of their growth period.
Causes of Muscle Dysfunction around your mouth
- Mouth Breathing
- Incorrect Swallowing (how to swallow)
- Sucking their thumb
- Bad habits: leaning on their cheeks, sleeping on their backs, and chewing only on one side.
Breathing through their mouths may cause bad breath. You inhale various pathogenic bacteria and may cause adverse effects on the body.
Are you a Mouth Breather?
- Always with open mouth
- Symptoms of Asthma atopic, allergies, hay-fever
- Lips are dry and cracked
- Groggy in the mornings after waking
- Stained front teeth stand out
- Sore throat and easy to catch a cold
- Bad breath
- Fatigue easily
- Snore while sleeping
Children who show at least one of these signs may be a mouth breather.
About Correction Time
- Phase 1: Correction of child’s jaw-bone to arrange the foundation
- The first stage of the treatment changes the size of the jaw bone by inducing the permanent teeth to align properly. This occurs during the dentition period where the baby and permanent teeth are mixed.
Once they have a jaw as the foundation, we want to make room for permanent teeth to grow in properly. Your child must continue regular examinations until their permanent teeth grow in naturally. The treatment period can last anywhere from a year and a half to two years.
- Adult correction for attaching second stage device and moving teeth
- In the second stage, after the permanent teeth have grown, the braces are attached and the full-scale treatment is performed. The aim is to align the teeth at the perfect position by using braces and eventually make a normal occlusion. This treatment period lasts anywhere from two to three years.
Orthodontic treatment MRC System for Children
What is the MRC System?
Our clinic is an accredited MRC Dental Clinic!
The MRC system is a new Orthodontic treatment, born in Australia, which approaches the “cause” of Malocclusion. It is a system for prevention and correction of children’s teeth alignment from three to twelve years of age. You can eliminate the need for Orthodontic treatment by eliminating the cause of bad tooth alignment. Our goal is to treat teeth that are growing into healthy dentition by elementary school graduation. This is not the conventional treatment that shifts from first term treatment to second term treatment.
Features of the MRC System
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- No Extractions!
- No extractions. We will not pull any teeth.
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- No Braces!
- No braces. We will not use any fixed type of orthodontic equipment.
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- No Retainers!
- No Retainers. It is not necessary to install a back-track prevention device (Retainer).
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- Better Faces!
- Better Face, More natural looking jaw line! It will make a healthier facial appearance.
MRC Treatment System
Orthodontic treatment is the use of a wire; like the shape of a tooth. The goal for MRC Treatment is to eliminate the cause of the deteriorating tooth alignment.
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Should be worn 1 hour during the day and at bedtime.
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Depending on the condition, expansion devises may be used together with the MRC System.
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Staff will teach your children the exercises that need to be done at home in order to improve the muscles around their mouth. It is important to do it everyday for two minutes.
Examples of the Cases for MRC Treatment
