Your Greenfield family dentists, Drs. Bagley, Goodwin, and Hrinda are crazy about our young patients. Through our experiences as dentists and parents, we are well aware how frightening a child’s first dental appointment can seem. Developing good dental habits early on in life can translate into optimal oral health throughout all of your years. We dedicate our practice to providing warm, friendly, compassionate, and extra gentle care to our patients that are children. Our hope is that they will be loyal to our practice, as we are to them, for years to come. If you’re wondering more about dental habits in the earliest days of your child’s development, read on for more information.
The First Dental Appointment
Many parents ask when their baby or toddler should first go to the dentist. The general rule of thumb is that as soon as their first tooth erupts, you should schedule an appointment. This may seem counter-intuitive since most toddlers don’t have very many teeth to even be cleaned. However, dental checkups at this stage are for more than just preventive care. The jaws and teeth of babies and kids are still growing, so six month checkups can help us detect developmental problems in early (and more treatable) stages. Early diagnosis and intervention can prevent or reverse issues such as over-crowded teeth or (more…)
Do you enjoy chewing on a stick of sugarless gum after a meal, or whenever your breath doesn’t feel fresh? Over the years there have been some concerns about the long term health effects of various artificial sweeteners. Xylitol, however, is derived from natural substances, making it a safe means of sweetening gum without added calories and detriment to your dental health. In fact, not only does xylitol make gum taste good, but it can actually protect your teeth from decay and gum disease. Your 
Healthy gums are crucial in maintaining dental health. Natural aging brings a number of general health concerns, and gum recession is on that list. Unfortunately, you can’t guarantee prevention of gum recession, but you can turn to dental hygiene and preventive dental care to stave off the oral health complications that come along with growing older. Your 
It is lunch time, and you didn’t have a chance for breakfast. Your stomach was rumbling so loudly in the mid-morning office meeting that three people looked at you and laughed. You are starving. You can’t wait to join your co-workers at the restaurant up the street where you can order a burger so big, you can barely fit your mouth around it. Today, you’re just hungry enough to devour the whole thing. You open your mouth wide to take that first juicy bite and you feel a shooting pain in your jaw. Your 
You may expect to hear about dental based studies on various foods or extracts that can stop gum disease or tooth decay. Research on general health is an expected element of modern science. Studies on smiling might sound more frivolous. After all, a smile is just an involuntary reaction to happiness, isn’t it? Well, there might be more to the effects of smiling than we think, which is why there has been various science-based studies on the way we contort the muscles in our face, and how that might predict anything from career success to relationship success. Your 
We’re continuing a focus on the heart for February’s National Heart Month. You also may have noticed all of those delicious looking candy choices for another heart-centric February event – Valentine’s Day. Naturally, no 
Preventive dentistry focuses on the health of your gums and teeth so that dental issues won’t arise in the future. Think of preventive dental care as a similar concept to maintaining your car with oil changes and other such things that will keep the automobile from much more expensive and time-consuming mechanical work in the future. Periodontal disease (gum disease) consists of inflammation when gums are infiltrated by bacteria. Gum recession and tooth loss are down the road if gum disease isn’t tended to with help from your dentist. Periodontal treatments and a new outlook on prevention can help with future gum disease issues, but there’s no definitive cure for gum disease. However, your Greenfield family dentists, 
