MARC THOMAS

There is a correlation between stress and grinding. If there are ways to reduce stress in your son's life, this may help. If not, a night guard will reduce the wear and tear on the teeth from grinding. 

Marc D. Thomas, DDS

A Caries Risk Assessment (CRA) should be a free service provided by your pediatric dentist. If you are a DIY type you can go to AAPD.org and search for caries risk assessment. The second option in the search results takes you to a paper. There are three tables in the middle of the paper that are the CRA. Use table 3 and answer the 14 questions. Seven is a great age to do this as adult teeth are coming in and you want to be sure that his habits and protective factors are in place for lifelong healthy teeth.

Marc D. Thomas DDS

There is a big difference between a "root canal" that is done on permanent teeth and a "pulpotomy" that is done on baby teeth. A root canal may take and hour or two, is very invasive and is used to preserve an adult tooth. A pulpotomy is used to save a baby molar. 

A pulpotomy is a 5 minutes procedure that involves removing part of the nerve and putting some medicine inside the tooth. Generally a pulpotomy is done when the cavity is close to or into the nerve of the tooth. If it is not done, the tooth may get infected. From experience kids usually get an agonizing toothache Friday at 6 PM when it is nearly impossible to find a dentist for the weekend. If a baby tooth becomes abscessed the best usual treatment is extraction. There is a misconception that an early extraction is OK since it is a tooth that will fall out anyway. Commonly if a baby tooth is lost prematurely, the other teeth move together and there is less room for the permanent replacement tooth to come in the future. This can cause a major and expensive orthodontic problem. In short, a pulpotomy may be the best way to keep a baby tooth out of pain until it is the right time for it to fall out.

Marc D. Thomas DDS

Yes, especially for children over the age of 6. At 6 the adult molars and incisors begin to come in and typically the teeth become tighter at that time. Flossing ensures that the area where the teeth tough is kept clean. 

Marc D. Thomas DDS

There are a couple things. Explaining that it is normal, that all of his friends will do it and trying to get him excited about the tooth fairy can help. If you have a pet such as a puppy you can explain and show him with the puppy loses baby teeth. Finally, you can research his favorite cartoon character. Chances are there is a book or a TV show of that character's first visit to the dentist or losing his first tooth. In summary the idea is to normalize the idea of losing teeth.

There is no published data to answer your question so this is my personal opinion and draws from my patients that are lactose intolerant. There are many common non-dairy sources of calcium such as orange juice, soy milk and enriched flour. I would look at the dietary information on the breads and cereals that are being eaten and it is probably a sufficient amount of calcium. You also want to check to make sure that Vitamin D is optimal. From a dental standpoint, the lactose intolerance should not affect his long-term dental health as long as his calcium and fluoride are optimal, he avoids sweets and brushes and flosses well. There are common cavity preventive strategies that your dentist can share such as sealants, fluoride varnish and regular check-ups.

Spacing between baby teeth is a good, healthy thing at 4 years of age. There is a decreased risk of cavities and it may be positive for her future dental alignment. Generally, the front adult teeth are wider than the baby teeth. If the spacing is even and not excessive, this can translate to very straight permanent teeth. A good way to predict would be to have your daughter have an X-ray to check the alignment of the developing front permanent teeth. 
Sometimes, people have a strong flap of skin connecting the upper lip to between the front teeth called a "frenum" or "frenulum." If this flap is too thick or strong, it will keep a gap or "diastema" open on the front teeth. This is the most common way to have spacing on the permanent teeth and sometimes requires a minor surgery to be removed. 
Marc D. Thomas, DDS

There are two parts to answering your questions. First, children should brush their own teeth when they develop the dexterity to do so. As your son continues to learn how to write, his ability to brush will naturally follow. Second, children need to develop a willingness to brush and an understanding of its importance. This is more variable and can take several more years to develop. Finally, I would add that engraining the habit of brushing for two minutes, twice daily now and brushing every surface of every tooth will benefit him as he begins to brush his own teeth. 

Marc D. Thomas