Compassionate Pediatric Dentistry in Durango, CO
Personalized holistic care for infants, toddlers, children, and teens
We care deeply for the health and well being of every patient in our practice and especially our children. It is working in collaboration with parents as well as utilizing our team’s skills, tools, and expertise that we feel confident in providing your family with the highest level of pediatric dental care available, in a comfortable, safe, and nurturing environment.
Thank you for entrusting your child to our practice!
Dr. Rothchild has a rare talent for reassuring, soothing, then treating children.
Many of us parents have unpleasant and sometimes terrifying memories of dental care when we were young. It doesn’t have to be that way.
If your child needs dental care and fears the experience, give them the gift of a visit with Dr. Rothchild.
Sadie’s Story
We offer a variety of holistic minded dental services for children. It is our firm belief that early diagnosis and intervention is extremely important for the health of every child, and for the future growth and development of the dentition and airway.
The initial examination starts not only with cavity detection. Our evaluation includes a questionnaire on sleeping and behavioral habits, to help us evaluate the airway for sleep disorder breathing patterns. We also look at the tonsils and nasal airway, as they too can cause issues with sleep disorder breathing.
Many dental materials are known to have toxicity to the body. Traditional mercury fillings (amalgams) contain mercury for instance, and stainless-steel crowns contain nickel. In September 2020, a landmark declaration of the FDA recommended against placing mercury/ amalgam fillings into children’s mouths. We have been pushing for this measure for over 40 years, so this is an encouraging step in ending this practice. Based on our philosophy, we do not place mercury or amalgam substances in our patients’ mouths, and we haven’t for over 35 years, since these findings have become clear in our decades of research. We also do not use stainless steel crowns, as the nickel in stainless steel contains can in some forms be considered a carcinogen.
At our practice, we only place biocompatible dental materials that do not cause toxicity to the body. Some of these more body-friendly products include BPA free composite materials and non-metal crowns.
LASER techniques have become an innovative and non-invasive way to diagnose and treat patients safely and effectively. In 9 out of 10 of our patients, procedures can be performed gently without the need for numbing the patient with anesthesia. In these cases, we like to utilize our Fotona Lightwalker LASER instead of the traditional hand piece. It is fast, pain free, needle free, blood free and suture free. Children, parents, and adults love it! This procedure is also much less invasive and safer to promote your child’s comfort, confidence, and oral health.
We are respectful of our families’ decision not to incorporate fluoride into the dental care of the child. Our materials therefore do not contain fluoride, and we also do not recommend fluoride treatments.
Radiation is present in our everyday environment from the sun, our electrical devices that we use at home and at work, and our smart phones. Radiation, unfortunately, is a part of our modern living.
Mindful of the radiation exposure that we all experience, we take only digital X-rays and take only what is needed to perform a proper examination. Digital X-rays minimize the amount of radiation necessary to negligible amounts. We also have a specialized digital X-ray machine that takes a 3-Dimensional image of the complete oral cavity to give us a more thorough view of the patient’s mouth, teeth, airway, and any orthodontic issues. We will recommend this X-ray in specific cases. Again, we will only do what we feel is necessary to aid in the diagnosis of dental, orthodontic and airway issues.
Nutrition plays an enormous role in the health of the child. We feel that a good healthy diet along with with proper foods, brushing, flossing and routine checkups will aid greatly in the prevention of decay, encourage optimal oral health, and improve the overall growth and development of the child. We look at the child’s diet in addition to their brushing habits, and recommend non-inflammatory and non-allergic foods, as well as a healthy and balanced intake.
We have an All-Star team that is experienced in making your child comfortable. We can utilize color therapy glasses, as well as aroma therapy to put your child at ease for their procedure. In some specific cases where anxiety is more prevalent, we may recommend nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to help relax the child. In rare instances, usually depending on the severity we may recommend the procedures be performed under general anesthesia at Mercy Regional Medical Center. Doctor Rothchild has been on the Attending Staff at Mercy Medical and has had privileges there for many years.
Part of our evaluation includes screening for tongue tie issues, which could significantly impede the growth and development of the jaw, not to mention issues with swallowing, speech, and digestion. Dr. Rothchild is trained in evaluation and tongue tie release treatment. He and his team are also certified in myofunctional therapy. Myofunctional therapy is essentially physical therapy for the tongue, to aid in teaching the child methods of strengthening the tongue for proper function and position in the mouth. Studies have found that myofunctional therapy before and after tongue tie release treatment significantly aids in the recovery of the tongue tie release procedure.