Yes, At Ballarat Family Dental, we love treating children! We strongly believe that all good habits start young. We hope we can help children as young as 1 year old to understand the importance of looking after their teeth. Our waiting area is children-friendly and our surgeries are well equipt with the latest technologies to help dental treatments be less of a chore. We hope to build a long-term relationship with the children as well as their families so that sustainable dental health is achieved.

We usually recommend a child's first check up to be around 1-2 years old. This visit will be an introduction to the dentist. We encourage parents to read books about going to the dentist or talking about what the dentist might do at the check up before coming in for it so that the child is alerted. We can recommend you some suitable books to read together before the check up when you make your appointment if required. During the appointment, there will be a lot of touching and feeling of the instruments to familiarise the child to the surgery. They may have a fun ride in the dental chair either by themselves or with a parent or guardian. If willing, we may have the opportunity to "count the teeth". Young children are very good at sensing the adults' emotions so we encourage all parents and guardians to be as positive as possible with the dental visit regardless of what is achieved at the first appointment. If we are lucky and get a good look at the teeth, we will be looking for things such as early childhood decay, developmental defects and assessing the effectiveness of the home care regime. Even if we don't manage to check the teeth that day, there will usually be a discussion around the home care routine and diet to make sure that appropriate measures have been taken to encourage healthy habits from a young age.

Dental X-rays help dentists visualize diseases of the teeth and surrounding tissue that cannot be seen with a simple oral exam. In addition, X-rays help the dentist find and treat dental problems early in their development, which can potentially save you money, unnecessary discomfort, and maybe even your life. The frequency of getting X-rays taken of your teeth often depends on your medical and dental history and current condition. Some people may need X-rays as often as every six months; others with no recent dental or gum disease and who visit the dentist regularly may get X-rays only every 2-3 years. If you are a new patient, we would take X-rays as part of the initial exam and to establish a baseline record from which to compare changes that may occur over time.

The best way to ensure your teeth stay strong and healthy is to have routine check ups, scaling and cleaning with a dentist who knows your history. This will assist in keeping your teeth at their best, monitoring growth and movement, picking up early signs of tooth decay and to prevent gum disease. A regular dental clean is important as it helps remove "tartar" and dental plaque, which may not be removeable with regular brushing and interdental cleaning at home. This plaque and tartar is essentially made of bacteria and can cause damage to your teeth and surrounding structures if not removed for a long time. During the clean, an ultra sonic scaler is often used. This will also allow for any poorly adapting old restorations to be identified so that they can be smoothed out or replaced if necessary.

We encourage everyone planning to have a baby to have a thorough comprehensive check up before they fall pregnant. This is so that there are no unnecessary surprises or emergencies during your pregnancy. Most preventative and restorative procedures in dentistry are considered scientifically safe for pregnant women. However, there are certain medications and procedures that may not be recommended. Please inform us if you are or suspect that you might be pregnant so that extra care can be taken. We still encourage regular check up and cleans for all pregnant women to prevent conditions such as gingivitis during the pregnancy.

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for the general health. Some of the potential damage from smoking can occur to the oral health and may be irreversible. This effect is magnified when combined with alcohol, especially for the oral cancer risk. Should you be interested in quitting smoking or would like to gain further insight into the status of your oral health, please let our friendly staff know.

Cracked tooth syndrome is a term used to describe a tooth that has fractured. A fracture can be caused by excessive biting and grinding, heavily filled teeth that have become weakened or trauma. Depending on the depth of the fracture there are multiple restorative options such as using filling material/crowns, bridges, denture or implants.

Oral dental appliances can help people who suffer from snoring or obstructive sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea can cause tiredness and poor concentration amongst other serious health issues. We can point you in the right direction, should you require management of sleep apnoea.

Also known as Bruxism. Tooth grinding and excessive clenching of the jaw can begin and happen at any stage of life. It will usually present at a stressful time in life, such as exams/financial strain or day to day stresses. Bruxism can happen during the day or night. At night it is harder to control, this is where a night-splint is recommended to be worn to prevent jaw pain and damage to teeth. Sometimes the bruxism habit is symptomatic of an underlying and undiagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). If there is a possibility the OSA being the main cause of bruxism, then a standard nightsplint is contraindicated.

On the initial visit, the dentist will provide a comprehensive examination of the oral structures, which includes the teeth, gums and the other soft tissues. A thorough scale and clean of the dentition is also performed, unless otherwise specified. If there is a specific complaint, we will provide treatment for that and schedule the Scale and Clean for another time.

It is recommended to have a check up before dental whitening procedure because this will allow the dentist to assess the real cause for the discolouration. This would allow for appropriate information to be provided to the patient before deciding to undergo the treatment. A scale and clean is also recommended as the whitening solution works by being in contact with the tooth surface to brighten the teeth. By removing any calculus (tartar) and extrinsic staining from the tooth surface prior to tooth whitening, this would increase the efficiency of the whitening gel and to avoid a blotchy result. The gel cannot whiten the tooth structure if there is too much extrinsic staining or calculus on the surface.

Don't panic. Locate the tooth and if it's clean and you think you can reposition the tooth into the socket in the correct orientation, do so as soon as possible. This would give the tooth the highest chance of healing success. If you are unable to do this, place the tooth in your mouth under your tongue. Alternatively, place in some saline or milk and contact us to arrange an emergency appointment. DO NOT wipe or touch the root of the tooth.

With extensive treatments you will be given a comprehensive treatment plan including the expected costs. Should you wish to discuss any concerns regarding payment plans, our reception staff are available to discuss your options.

Yes, we do.

On site parking is available subject to availability.