Every work day of the week, scientists associated with the National Institutes of Health diligently labor to make the answer to that attention-grabbing question a resounding "yes." What parent would not race to be the first in line if an anti-cavity vaccination became available tomorrow? Quite naturally, our next reaction would be to procure our own personal dose as well!

The sobering fact is that CHILDREN GET CAVITIES. An undeniable FACT is that nothing accomplished in a dental office is more stressful for more people than the attempt made to save a child's tooth suffering from a big cavity. Even our hydrokinetic LASER has limitations.

At Family and Cosmetic Dentistry of Southern Illinois, we try to keep dental information direct, accurate, and simple. The BEST ADVICE we can give you regarding any child's dental health is to begin routine dental checkups at the age of three and stick with that commitment until the child leaves home as a young adult. Are you a parent or grandparent? Find a dental office you and the child are comfortable with, visit every six monts, and follow their advice.

While a vaccination in the true sense of the word is not yet available for dental decay, many dental offices offer reasonable and reliable cavity prevention solutions. At Family and Cosmetic Dentistry of Southern Illinois, we have had great success with the placement of SEALANTS. Dental sealants are placed on the permanent back teeth starting with the "six-year molars." A sealant is a hard resin coating bonded into the pits and grooves in the biting surface of the tooth that very effectively seals out cavity-causing acids and debris. Four back teeth can be protected for the cost of filling one tooth that gets a cavity. We GUARANTEE that the biting surfaces protected with our sealants will remain cavity-free for at least ten years, or we will refund the fee paid for the sealant when we treat the cavity. (All we ask in return is that we have the opportunity to examine and repair sealants every six months during the regular cleaning and exam appointment.)

What about preventing cavities in baby teeth and those areas of permanent teeth which cannot be sealed? At your child's six-month checkups, we give tons of advice if your child is cavity-prone. Additionally, at each one of these visits, our wonderful dental hygienists, administer gentle cleanings and concentrated fluoride rinse treatments, caringly provide home-care instructions with your child's choice of toothbrush, and examine the dentition with necessary radiographs… all for a single, convenient fee that never varies from visit to visit aside from the 3-5 % annual adjustment for inflation. If that professionally orchestrated event does not prevent your child from getting a cavity, at least we catch them when they are small AND your child gets to grow up with a POSITIVE view of the dental office.

Put simply, the only anti-cavity vaccination presently available is dental disease PREVENTION. Give your child the gift of a "six-month dental visit," and start NOW!

Almost all of us at Family and Cosmetic Dentistry of Southern Illinois are parents, including Dr. Loughran. We plan to further develop this website to make this section more of a helpful resource for parents and family issues, and more interactive for children whose generation is SO computer-savvy. Our research has exposed us to excellent sources of information related to children. We hope these links assist you along the exciting, challenging, and gratifying journey called parenthood.