Breastfeeding | Loveable Smiles Dentistry

May 05

Healthy Mouth, Healthy Baby

Quite often Dr. Korenman hears a common “myth” or wives’ tale about cavities and pregnancy.

Women share with him that they had perfect teeth until they got pregnant. That all of their calcium leached out of their teeth and into the baby’s bones causing all their cavities.

The reality is that the calcium does not leach out of teeth.

There are several reasons why many pregnant women and new moms get tooth decay:

Hormones change during pregnancy causing the gums to be more susceptible to infection.
Many women experience nausea during pregnancy not allowing them to eat let alone put a toothbrush in their mouth. So the teeth aren’t getting cleaned.
Many women can only stomach certain foods and often give in to cravings that contain a lot of sugar and/or carbohydrates. These foods can cause tooth decay.

If you are pregnant, one of the most important medical appointments you can make is to call your dentist.

Why? Because the bacteria that cause gum disease may increase a mom’s risk for delivering prematurely.

Gum Disease & Developing Babies

There is a link between uncontrolled gum disease (and the mom may not even know she has gum disease as 80% of people have it) and pregnancy complications such as premature labor and preeclampsia (rise in blood pressure).

A study exploring the possible link between gum disease and preeclampsia found that 50% of the placentas from women with preeclampsia were positive for one or more periodontal pathogens.

Scientists believe these infections cause a rapid increase in certain fluids in the body that, in turn, induce labor. It’s not necessarily the infection itself but the body’s response to the infection that causes the premature birth.

Mom’s Hormones and the Baby’s Teeth

Pregnancy causes hormonal changes that increase the risk of developing gum disease, which can affect the health of their babies.

Studies have shown that bacteria responsible for tooth decay are passed from the mother to the child in utero. The more frequently you give in to the craving for sugary snacks, the greater the chance of developing tooth decay.

Additionally, pregnant women with acid reflux are also at a greater risk of tooth erosion and

periodontal problems as the acid dissolves away the protective coating of teeth (enamel) leaving them weakened and at a very high risk of needing extensive (and expensive) restorations.

Dr. Korenman recommends that women visit his office as soon as they learn or their pregnancy. Dr. Korenman and his team will test for any dental health problems that might affect your baby.

If you are diagnosed with gum disease, Dr. Korenman can design a safe treatment plan to treat it and to help you keep it under control.

For the health of your unborn baby, we urge you to call Loveable Smiles for your Total Health Dental Care appointment at 972-231-0585.

This is just one of many examples of how we treat people, not just teeth.

Mar 31

Newborn having trouble nursing? Take her to the dentist.

Thanks to laser technology, Dr. Larry Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson, TX has been helping infants who have trouble nursing due to tongue-tie and lip-tie issues. (He was featured on WFAA Channel 8 about the service. http://www.wfaa.com/videos/news/health/2015/02/24/simple-solution-helps-nursing-babies/23965539/)

These are photos of recent babies Dr. Korenman has helped.

On the left we have baby Eden who was having trouble staying latched when she was nursing. Immediately after her procedure, she was able to latch on deeper and stay latched longer. Her parents also opted to have her receive the laser frenectomy to prevent improper spacing between her front teeth.

On the right we have precious twins Lincoln and Addison.
Lincoln was having problems latching and also difficulty keeping his bottle and soother in for an extended period of time due to the tongue and lip ties. Afterwards Lincoln quickly went back to sleep!

Dr. Korenman suggested he take a look at Lincoln’s sister Addison who also was found to have a lip tie as well. She, too, was having latching issues and required a shield prior to the procedure but now she’s nursing better and no longer uses the shield.

Thanks to advances in dental technology with a Laser Frenectomy, which uses cool water during the procedure, there is virtually no bleeding, no pain, no risk of infection and the healing is almost instantaneous for infants. The procedure takes less than 1 minute.

Tongue and lip ties are very common, but often not diagnosed even when it causes problems. Lip tie is usually missed as well as it is under the upper lip and actually causes more pain to the nursing mothers than tongue tie.

The “wait and see” approach can lead to more problems
• Nursing and eating
• Nutritional issues
• Speaking
• Inability to develop proper airway which has been correlated with asthma, sleep disorders (possibly S.I.D.S.), allergies, ADD/ADHD
• Spacing between the upper front teeth as well as improper location of the teeth as they erupt

And the issues can persist on into adulthood causing sleep disorders and the myriad of health issues related to that.

Dr. Larry Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson provides Laser Frenectomy for tongue and lip tie issues.

Please call our office at 972-231-0585

Dr. Korenman was interviewed by Janet St. James on WFAA about frenectomies for newborns.

Jan 19

Affordable & Successful Laser Frenectomy for Tongue Tie & Lip Tie in Dallas, TX & Richardson, TX

Thanks to laser technology, Dr. Larry Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson, TX has been helping infants who have trouble nursing due to tongue-tie and lip-tie issues.

Here are more photos of babies Dr. Korenman has been able to help recently!

The Laser Frenectomy at Loveable Smiles in Richardson uses cool water during the procedure. There is virtually no bleeding, no pain, no risk of infection and the healing is almost instantaneous for infants. The procedure takes less than 1 minute.

Dr. Korenman was featured on WFAA Channel 8 about the service.

You can watch it here. http://www.wfaa.com/videos/news/health/2015/02/24/simple-solution-helps-nursing-babies/23965539/

To schedule a consultation to check your baby for a lip or tongue tie, please call our office at Loveable Smiles at 972-231-0585.

Pediatric dentist Dallas Ft. Worth

Jan 19

Affordable & Successful Laser Frenectomy for Tongue Tie & Lip Tie in Dallas, TX & Richardson, TX

Thanks to laser technology, Dr. Larry Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson, TX has been helping infants who have trouble nursing due to tongue-tie and lip-tie issues.

Baby Neilah, 7 weeks old, was recently in the office to have a frenectomy for both her lip and tongue ties.

Before her frenectomy, Neilah’s mom, Hillary, shares the following:

She had a lot of discomfort with nursing.
She could hear “clicking” whenever Neilah nursed and a lot of milk would leak out of the corner of her baby’s mouth.
Neilah seemed to be swallowing a lot of air and experienced a lot of gassy, abdominal pain.

During the laser procedure, Hillary was able to swaddle her baby in a blanket and hold her during the entire procedure, which lasted about 1 minute.

Hillary shares that Dr. Korenman and his staff made the procedure very easy. She is grateful that the office hours at Loveable Smiles in Richardson were convenient and Dr. K’s fees were more reasonable that other providers she had researched.

After her laser procedure to fix her lip and tongue ties, Hillary reports that Baby Neilah is doing great! There is no clicking and she’s eating more when she nurses. Baby Neilah hasn’t been as fussy since the procedure and mom thinks this is due to Neilah not swallowing so much air when she nurses.

Dr. Korenman was featured on WFAA Channel 8 about the service.

You can watch it here. http://www.wfaa.com/videos/news/health/2015/02/24/simple-solution-helps-nursing-babies/23965539/

To schedule a consultation to check your baby for a lip or tongue tie, please call our office at Loveable Smiles at 972-231-0585.

Pediatric dentist Dallas Ft. Worth

Sep 09

Healthy Mouth, Healthy Baby

This blog post is the third in a series of articles to inform our readers about the connection between your oral health and your overall health; or in this case, your baby’s health.

The bacteria that cause gum disease may increase a mom’s risk for delivering prematurely.

Gum Disease & Developing Babies

There is a link between uncontrolled gum disease (and the mom may not even know she has gum disease) and pregnancy complications such as premature labor and preeclampsia (rise in blood pressure).

A study exploring the possible link between gum disease and preeclampsia found that 50% of the placentas from women with preeclampsia were positive for one or more periodontal pathogens.

Scientists believe these infections cause a rapid increase in certain fluids in the body that, in turn, induce labor. It’s not necessarily the infection itself, but the body’s response to the infection that causes the premature birth.

Mom’s Hormones and the Baby’s Teeth

Pregnancy causes hormonal changes that increase the risk of developing gum disease, which can affect the health of their babies.

Additionally, pregnant women with acid reflux are also at a greater risk of tooth erosion and periodontal problems as the acid dissolves away the protective coating of teeth (enamel) leaving them weakened and at a very high risk of needing extensive (and expensive) restorations.

Dr. Korenman recommends that women visit his office as soon as they learn or their pregnancy. Dr. Korenman and his team will test for any health problems that might affect your baby.

If you are diagnosed with gum disease, Dr. Korenman can design a safe treatment plan to help you keep it under control.

For the health of your unborn baby, we urge you to call Loveable Smiles for your Total Health Dental Care appointment at 972-231-0585.

This is just one of many examples of how we treat people, not just teeth.

Feb 25

Dr. Korenman Featured On WFAA

“Simple solution helps nursing babies.”

Health reporter Janet St. James of WFAA interviewed Dr. Larry Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson about tongue and lip ties and how a laser frenectomy can help with successful breastfeeding!

Click here to see the story.

Feb 16

Dental Lasers For Newborns?

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and many newborns are benefiting from a trip to the dentist thanks to Dr. Larry Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson.

After three weeks, it was painfully clear that breastfeeding wasn’t working for Heather Gaddy of Allen or her newborn daughter. For mom, she was getting blisters. For little Brynlee, she was choking and even stopped breathing.

Mom learned Brynlee was tongue-tied and had a upper lip tie.

Tongue and lip ties are very common, but often not diagnosed even when it causes problems.

The issue restricts nourishment and normal tongue movement.

The problem happens when the little flap of tissue hooking the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is too short to let a baby’s tongue latch on to the mother’s breast. Lip tie is where the piece of skin between the top lip and teeth is too long.

Thanks to advances in dental laser technology, tongue-ties are easily treated without any pain or bleeding and there isn’t any risk of infection and the healing is instantaneous for infants. The procedure takes less than 1 minute.

Traditional treatments for tongue-tie consists of “clipping” and it’s very difficult to find a professional who will perform a Frenectomy. It is no longer routinely taught in medical school.

The “wait and see” approach can lead to more problems: nursing and eating, nutritional issues, and speaking.

Learn more about the Laser Frenectomy for tongue tie and lip tie on our website.

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