Within one week we get to celebrate TWO birthdays, and its for our TWO favorite pediatric dentists!!!
We wish you both the most wonderful year filled with joy and happiness!!
We love our newest Employee of the Month! She is the queen bee of the office and the one you see out and about at schools, daycares, festivals and more!
We are so lucky to have you at Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics!
Happy National Dentist’s Day to our favorite pediatric dentists and orthodontist, Drs. Lindhorst, Theriot and Darsey! Thank you for always having fun and making our patients smile! We appreciate you!
We couldn’t do our jobs without our fabulous dental assistants!! We might be biased, but Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics has the best!! They wear many hats around the office and keep everything running smoothly, help kiddos smile throughout their appointments from start to finish, keep the doctors running on time, and more. They do it all and we so appreciate you!! Thank you Yvette, Jackie, Abby, Candy, Shayla & Stephanie!
More about our dental assistants: Visit our meet the team page!
Its contest time again friends! We have a fun dental trivia for you! Stop by and participate before the end of the week!
Cavities, also known as caries or tooth decay, are the most common chronic disease of childhood, yet cavities are preventable. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children to get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.
Brush your child’s teeth twice a day for 2 minutes. Parents should help with brushing until they can clearly write their own name.
Floss to clean in between the teeth.
Fluoride helps to make enamel stronger and protects teeth against cavities by fighting acid & erosion.
Avoid sticky snacks like gummies, candies, cookies and crackers because those will linger on the teeth longer. Instead, try yogurt, cheese, fruits and veggies!
Water is the best drink for your teeth AND your body! Serve water at mealtime rather than juice or soda.
We’re celebrating all month long! Come visit us at Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics!
Visit the ADA and CDC websites for more information and fun activities that you can do with your kids! Visit the ADA.org / Visit the CDC.org
We are so excited to announce our first 2024 Employee of the Month! Our team voted for….
We are so lucky to have such an awesome dental hygienist at Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics!
We hope you had a blast! Happy birthday!
Enter your name in our birthday party box at the front desk for YOUR chance to win a birthday party sponsored by HPDO!
Many parents struggle with helping their child break thumb or finger habits for years. That’s because they cannot be removed like pacifiers can! Some children wean themselves at an early age, but most will continue the habit well into the school age. We tell all our families that little can be done until the child is of an age that he or she understands the importance of quitting this habit. Children under three years of age rarely can be convinced to stop sucking the thumb. Stopping the habit before permanent teeth start erupting is important because sucking on fingers can cause changes in shape of the teeth and jaws called “malocclusion”. It also introduces germs in the mouth, and can affect their social development when a child seen sucking their fingers by their peers.
We advise our families to first start with positively talking to their children about stopping or giving rewards for stopping. Physical barriers can also be used as reminders during idle or tired times. Those range from gloves, plastic thumb/finger guards, or an appliance made by the dentist.
Today’s blog is specifically about the TGuard (as seen in the pictures). It’s a plastic, soft, flexible, and comfortable medical device that can be worn by the child as a physical barrier and reminder not to suck their finger or thumb! It’s 100% BPA-free and contains no harmful phthalates. It’s easy to put on and take off, and the straps come in various fun colors. For more information about the T guard, visit their website: www.tguard.com.
All habits are hard to break! We realize that it takes work and dedication to get rid of a habit, and we believe in a team approach. Any unwanted changes to the jaws and teeth will eventually be corrected either be itself or by orthodontic appliances (which can be costly). We try to provide parents and children encouragement and resources they need on this journey. If you have questions about your child’s finger sucking habit, give us a call at 713-861-4000 or come see us at Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics!
We are so excited to announce our newest Employee of the Month! Our team voted for….
Thank you for all your hard work day in and day out for both our pedo and ortho teams!
We are so lucky to have at Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics!
We hope that everyone is enjoying holidays with their families during this magical time of year.
As always, we are so thankful to have you in our dental family. Thank you for a memorable year and trusting us for all your kids' dental needs. We all truly blessed to continue watching your littles grow.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all of our HPDO families!
We had so many laughs and some tears reminiscing about our fantastic year.
Secret Santa and White Elephant games were so much fun as well! We are truly lucky to have a one of a kind team that enjoys doing what they love everyday!
Its contest time again friends! This time we want to know what you are thankful this holiday season.
Write it down on an ornament and place it on our tree. If your name gets picked at the end of the month, you will be our winner!
Contest winner will be picked December 18th!
Its time for our monthly announcement of a superstar employee!! Our newest Employee Of The Month is our fun, busy, hard-working, positive dental assistant…
Way to go!! Congratulations! We love our team at HPDO!
Thank you for being a part of our Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics family!
We consider you among our greatest blessing.
We would like to wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving!
May you enjoy a grand feast and most of all loving company.
Many patients inquire about teeth whitening or bleaching, whether they’re starting to lose those first very opaque white baby teeth and growing in the more yellowish looking adult teeth, or our teenagers that have just completed their orthodontic treatment. Its important to know that bleaching may not be for everyone! Here are some of the biggest considerations:
AGE: Firstly, we do not recommend bleaching under the age of 16, and that is because the teeth have not fully matured yet. The pulp chamber or nerve of the tooth is still enlarged up until this age. When the teeth are whitened, this could irritate the pulp and cause it to become sensitive or to encounter nerve damage.
DENTAL HEALTH: Secondly, we cannot recommend bleaching for a patient that has active gum disease, dental caries, abnormal tooth conditions or currently is wearing any sort of orthodontic appliances in the mouth. Whitening solutions can enter the tooth and progress decay by further weakening the tooth leading to sensitivity, pain and even infection. Whitening products or bleach do not work on existing dental restorations like composite “fillings” or crowns, so its important to consider that the entire tooth may not have an even esthetic result, especially on the front teeth. Teeth that have conditions that effect the outer or inner coloring of the teeth may not respond to bleaching. These conditions include erosion (i.e. acidic diet, medical conditions like reflux/GERD, etc), enamel hypoplasia, internal tetracycline staining, previous trauma causing an internally discolored tooth, and more. For these conditions its better to consider endodontic treatment and/or veneers/crowns to achieve the desired result.
What are your OPTIONS? In the later teen years, we recommend first trying with a gentle over the counter product such as Crest whitening toothpaste or Whitestrips with parental supervision. Testing these out first will help the patient gauge how sensitive their teeth may be, if there are any allergies to the whitening agents used in the products, and if they can be reliable/consistent to use these products. If the patient tolerates these well and they still want to achieve a better result, then we recommend prescription products performed by the dentist. We make customer retainer trays that accurately fit the patient’s teeth to hold the proper amount of a higher concentration of teeth bleach that is effective and safe for the patient to use.
Bleaching is not a permanent solution and must be repeated as needed, especially because foods and drinks can re-stain the teeth over time. Bleaching should be done in a dental office by a trained professional who understand risks of damage to enamel, gums and other intraoral soft tissues and are able to educate and protect patients from such problems.
Want to know if your child is a candidate for teeth whitening? Come see us at Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics!
We are so excited to announce our newest Employee of the Month! Our team voted for….
She is our general manager and does just about everything for our entire team! She’s the best!!
We are so lucky to have you Stef on our team at Heights Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics!
Happy Halloween from the entire team at Heights Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics!
We hope you have a spooktacular time dressing up, carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating! The best way to prevent cavities is to avoid the sticky candies, choose things that melt like chocolate instead, and don't forget to brush and floss!
