Pediatric Dentistry
in Hales Corners

According to the Academy of American Pediatric Dentistry, children should start seeing a dentist as soon as their first tooth begins to erupt or when they turn one year old, whichever comes first. Seeing the dentist from a young age has a variety of benefits and helps your child become more familiar with the process of a dental appointment.
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If your child is older than one year old and has not yet been to the dentist, we encourage you to bring them in for an appointment right away. Just give us a call at (414) 529-3253 or stop by our office at 5535 S 108th Street, Suite 1, Hales Corners, WI 53130 to get started.

This depends on the age of your child and how many teeth they have. If they are between the ages of 1-2 and do not yet have most of their baby teeth, Dr. Keeling will simply clean each tooth and perform a basic oral exam to identify any potential issues. Then, he will answer any questions you may have about your child’s oral health and development.

If your child is older and has most of their baby teeth, one of our hygienists will perform a gentle cleaning to remove any plaque and tartar from their teeth. Then, Dr. Keeling will perform a comprehensive oral exam to look for signs of cavities or oral development issues. He may also recommend x-rays, if necessary.

Bringing your child to the same dentist from a very young age has a number of great benefits. First, it ensures your child is familiar with the process of a dental appointment and that they know what to expect during routine treatments. This helps them avoid developing dental anxiety in the future and encourages them to form a more positive attitude toward oral care.
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Additionally, it allows you and your child to form a real relationship with our staff and Dr. Keeling. Routine appointments help us learn more about you and your child, track their oral development over time, and provide better care based on the insights we gain from seeing your child regularly. Contact us today to make an appointment.

First, we recommend that you teach your child a little bit about the basics of dental care. You can check out children’s books on dentistry from the library, read them child-focused articles about oral care, or watch YouTube videos. Helping them understand a little bit about what will happen at the dentist will make them feel more safe and comfortable.
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When you schedule your appointment, we highly recommend that you bring your child in first thing in the morning. Well-rested kids are less likely to be cranky and act up in the dentist’s chair, so this will help your visit go more smoothly!
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Before the appointment, you can tell your child a little bit about what will happen at the dentist, using positive language. Let them know that Dr. David Keeling will look at their teeth to make sure they’re strong and healthy, and that their teeth will be gently cleaned to keep them shiny and bright.
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Do your best to use only positive language, and to maintain a good attitude. Kids are very responsive to how their parents feel. If you’re nervous or anxious about bringing your child to the dentist, your child may respond by feeling scared. But if you stay positive and act like their visit isn’t a big deal, they’ll feel less nervous about the idea of seeing the dentist.

We offer a wide variety of dental services for kids of all ages. The most important service is a six-month teeth cleaning and oral exam from Dr. David Keeling. Regular consultations with Dr. Keeling at our office will help him track your child’s oral health and development, and prevent common early childhood dental health issues like cavities. 
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However, cavities can still affect kids who maintain good oral hygiene habits, so we also offer restorative dental care at DK Dental Care. From dental fillings for minor-to-moderate cavities, to dental crowns and even root canal therapy, Dr. Keeling and our team can completely restore your child’s smile if it’s been damaged.
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Dr. Keeling will also keep an eye on your child’s oral development as they grow, and conduct basic orthodontic screenings to ensure that their teeth are emerging properly. If they aren’t, we can refer you to a qualified orthodontist for interceptive orthodontic treatment.

The most important thing is to brush their teeth twice per day for two minutes using fluoridated toothpaste. You will need to brush your child’s teeth for them until they are about six years old, or are coordinated enough to tie their shoes without help.
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Beyond this, you should floss their teeth once per day. Brushing alone cleans only about 60% of the surface of your child’s teeth, so flossing is critical for removing food particles and plaque that can contribute to tooth decay. Kids can usually learn to floss on their own when they’re about 10 years old, but until then, you’ll have to floss for them. 
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Finally, make sure you see Dr. Keeling every six months for preventive care such as an oral exam and teeth cleaning. This ensures that he can keep an eye on your child’s oral health and development, answer any questions you may have about caring for their teeth, and catch potential issues like cavities early. 

Yes, x-rays are completely safe for children because we expose them to very minimal radiation through the use of digital x-rays. We also don’t take x-rays unless they are necessary to ensure that your child never needs to be exposed to radiation, even in safe doses, unless there is a specific reason to. 

Something to keep in mind is that we are surrounded by radiation all around us, all the time. X-rays emit less radiation than a short plane trip or just eating food for a year. We are exposed to five times more background radiation in a day than in two bite-wing x-rays.

As dentists, we take routine dental x-rays once about every 3 years. This helps us detect problems that cannot be spotted solely through physical examination early and prevents problems from becoming worse, but does not unnecessarily expose your child to excessive amounts of radiation. 

When we do take x-rays of your child’s mouth, we take all necessary precautions, such as placing lead aprons around their torso. While OPG x-rays emit slightly more radiation than bite-wing x-rays, they are only typically necessary to look for impacted wisdom teeth or to plan oral surgery. 

They are used in moderation, only out of necessity. If your child ends up needing a single x-ray, you have nothing to worry about. Modern x-rays emit significantly less radiation than traditional x-rays and there is no reason to be concerned for their health.

A child’s baby teeth are crucial to their overall health, ability to chew and speak, as well as the proper eruption of the permanent teeth. If a child loses their baby teeth too soon, there won’t be a permanent tooth ready to erupt in its place. 

This will cause the surrounding teeth to shift, which will lead to orthodontic issues. The teeth will lean into the space, blocking the ability of the permanent tooth to erupt. This is why children who lose deciduous teeth too early need to get a space maintainer to hold the space open. 

It is also important to maintain good oral health in baby teeth because tooth decay and gum disease are entirely preventable. Losing a tooth makes it more difficult to eat, speak clearly, and have an aesthetic smile. Once your child loses a tooth, they will suffer from irreversible bone loss. This can alter their bite and the structure of their face.

The only way to know if your child needs braces is to have them come in for an orthodontic consultation. We recommend that you do this by the time they are 7 years old, as this ensures that any orthodontic problems can be corrected with early orthodontic treatment that reduces the need for future use of braces. 

Your child is at higher risk of needing braces if they have:

• Prematurely lost baby teeth
• A misaligned bite
• Crooked or overcrowded teeth
• Large gaps
• Breathe out of their mouth
• Engaged in thumb or pacifier sucking past the age of 4
• Difficulty speaking or eating
• Jaw pain

If you notice these symptoms in your child, contact us at DK Dental Care today to schedule an appointment with Dr. David Keeling.

Gum disease is caused by a buildup of plaque and tartar, but the good news is that it’s entirely preventable. By practicing good oral hygiene and being persistent about attending regular dental appointments, you can prevent the conditions that lead to gum inflammation and infection.

To prevent plaque accumulation, you need to brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste for at least 2 minutes. Remember to brush your tongue every time you brush and floss once a day. Even though flossing is the most neglected aspect of oral hygiene, this is why plaque gets stuck between the teeth and turns into tartar.

Tartar is just hardened plaque. The problem, however, is that it hardens into plaque quite fast (within 72 hours) and once it’s there, you can’t get rid of it until you go to the dentist. This is why attending dental cleanings every 6 months is so important. 

If you attended dental checkups frequently, we could detect the signs of gum disease early enough to reverse it before irreversible damage occurs. The symptoms of gingivitis are very mild and can be easily overlooked, but a dentist can notice the signs right away. 

During dental cleanings, we scrape away plaque and tartar and thoroughly polish and floss your teeth. This is an important step in preventing many oral health problems, including gum disease.

Many different dentists can treat periodontal disease. However, that doesn’t mean that every dental practice offers periodontal care and treatment. General dentists, pediatric dentists, dental hygienists, and periodontists all regularly perform periodontal treatments. 

A periodontist is a specialist in periodontal care so if you have a very severe case of gum disease, patients may sometimes be referred to a periodontist to get specialized care. However, if you have gingivitis or early-stage periodontitis, we offer treatments at our office through deep cleanings that can help you to reverse the infection and repair your gums.

You can technically cure gum disease in the sense that early-stage gum disease can be reversed. Gingivitis causes gum inflammation and gum recession but it doesn’t yet cause irreversible damage to your soft tissues and bone loss.

If it’s caught at this stage, we can reverse it through simple cleanings and good oral hygiene practices at home. The unfortunate reality is that symptoms of gingivitis tend to be very mild so if you don’t attend regular dental visits, it can easily go overlooked until it advances into periodontitis. 

Periodontitis cause irreversible damage to your gums and bone. When gum disease is detected at this stage, we can treat it with deep cleanings. However, oftentimes, the damage is already done. In the advanced stages, surgical intervention is often needed such as open flap surgery or gum and bone grafts. Technically, periodontitis is not completely reversible but the advancement of the disease can be slowed down. Through treatment, your gum pockets can be restored to normal healthy levels, your gums can be repositioned, and we can replace missing tissue with grafts. If you think you have periodontitis, contact us at DK Dental Care today to schedule a consultation with Dr. David Keeling.