Your child practicing excellent oral hygiene every day at home is a massive part of keeping their smile healthy for life, but it can’t do the whole job on its own. Regular dental visits can catch developing oral health problems early on so they can be resolved before they become painful and expensive ordeals. Read on to learn more about the benefits of taking your little one to regular dental exams.

Pacifiers have long been used to soothe a crying baby, but misuse of them can lead to long-term consequences for your child’s developing smile. Constantly sucking on a pacifier or a thumb can cause dental problems such as alignment issues. Here’s what you need to know about how using these comfort objects can go wrong and what can be done to prevent “pacifier teeth.”