Setting the stage for a lifetime of happy and healthy smiles with gentle and kind children’s dentistry

At Innovative Dental Care in Omaha, Nebraska, we love treating children – and it shows! We enjoy getting kids excited about taking care of their emerging teeth and gums. We know how to communicate with kids and know just the right words to use. So they are not scared, intimidated, nervous, or confused about their visit. Many of the kids we partner with get to know us and look forward to their visits, telling us all about what they’ve been up to at school, sports, clubs, or other activities.

And while “innovative” is in our name, our approach to children’s dentistry covers a lot of the “fundamentals,” such as clearly showing children the best ways to brush or floss or describing what we do at visits in a way that isn’t scary.

Services are highly personalized and evolve as your child grows. So, it is difficult to isolate just one service or even a few offerings. Below, we’ve highlighted some of the things that your children can expect to benefit from – to keep their smiles healthy, happy, and looking great:

  • The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that parents visit the dentist for the first appointment with their infant within six months of the first tooth erupting or by the child’s first birthday (whichever of these two milestones comes first).
  • These initial visits help us demonstrate to parents or caregivers how to clean infants’ mouths. Our dentist, Dr. Summer Gutschow, also examines your baby’s mouth to look for early signs of problems. Notably, it’s important to prevent ECCs (Early Childhood Caries), a form of tooth decay. Baby teeth may fall out, but they are critical “placeholders” for the permanent teeth that will later form.
  • We also provide guidance on tooth-friendly diets and nutrition and habits that support a healthy mouth. For instance, putting infants to bed with juice or milk can be a recipe for ECCs. Often, these drinks contain lots of sugars that are detrimental to young and grown-up mouths alike.
  • As your child grows, Dr. Summer may recommend professional preventive services to avoid potential tooth decay and another common cause of tooth loss: gum disease. As needed, she can apply dental sealants or coverings to protect decay-prone back teeth or safe Silver Diamine Fluoride to build the tooth’s natural armor or enamel.
  • Additionally, Dr. Summer has a keen understanding of and experience with oral appliances. She may recommend everything from mouthguards to protect against sports-related oral injuries to nightguards to prevent damage caused by chronic teeth grinding.
  • Patients never grow out of Innovative Dental Care. As they approach their late teens, we may pinpoint that the final teeth to erupt (third molars or wisdom teeth) are impacted or not developing properly. At this point, we can recommend gently removing or extracting them before they cause severe pain and other undesirable symptoms or complications.

Of course, this is just a quick glimpse into how we partner with children at every stage of childhood. Our kid-friendly team is supported in the mission of “fear-free” dentistry with “helpers,” like safe and calming “laughing gas” (nitrous oxide) or gentle dentistry with light-touch lasers.

To experience our approach to children’s dentistry, call (402) 933-8005 to schedule an appointment at our office, conveniently located along West Dodge Road. We can’t wait to meet you and your child!