Preventive pediatric dentistry: fewer cavities, easier visits, healthier habits
Preventive dentistry is more than a cleaning every six months. It is an ongoing plan for reducing your child's individual cavity and injury risk while making dental care familiar rather than frightening. At SmileWorks, preventive visits combine examination, cleaning, fluoride when appropriate, risk assessment, growth monitoring, and practical coaching for families.
Educational content only. Your child's diagnosis and treatment plan require an in-person dental evaluation.
Reviewed by Dr. Gabriela Asensi, DMD, MPH · Last updated September 22, 2026
This page is about the ongoing preventive program at our Tallahassee office. If you are getting ready for a first appointment, your child's first visit covers what happens that day. Here: how fluoride, sealants, X-rays, mouthguards, and cavity-risk coaching fit together over the years.
What a preventive visit includes
The exact visit changes with age. A toddler may need a quick knee-to-knee exam and parent coaching. An older child may have a cleaning, fluoride, X-rays when indicated, sealant evaluation, gum assessment, and review of brushing and diet. Growth and bite development are tracked at every visit, including habits like thumb-sucking as they wind down.
Fluoride
Professional fluoride can strengthen enamel and reduce cavity risk. Frequency is individualized based on age, home fluoride exposure, previous decay, enamel quality, and overall risk. For selected early lesions we also use silver diamine fluoride and other minimally invasive preventive options.
Dental sealants
Sealants are thin protective coatings placed in deep grooves of susceptible back teeth. They do not replace brushing or fluoride, but they can make cavity-prone pits and fissures easier to protect. Our parent guide Dental sealants for kids covers what the appointment is like.
Digital X-rays only when they add information
X-rays help us see areas that cannot be evaluated directly, including between teeth and developing permanent teeth. Timing should be based on clinical need and cavity risk rather than an automatic schedule for every child. Our low-dose digital X-rays are described on the technology page.
Cavity-risk prevention
We look at more than brushing. Frequent snacking, sugary drinks, bedtime feeding patterns, enamel defects, dry mouth, orthodontic appliances, and previous cavities can all change risk. The plan we give you is specific to your child, and it changes as they grow.
Sports mouthguards and injury prevention
For children in contact or collision sports, a well-fitting mouthguard can reduce dental trauma risk. The best design depends on age, eruption, and whether the child is in orthodontic treatment.
SmileWorks makes custom sports mouthguards, fabricated in-house or by our lab, so the fit matches your child's mouth rather than a boil-and-bite blank. Ask at any preventive visit.
Questions families ask
How often should my child see the dentist?
Every six months is common, but children with higher cavity risk or specific needs may benefit from a different interval.
Does my child need fluoride if we use fluoride toothpaste?
Professional fluoride may still be recommended depending on cavity risk. The dentist considers home exposure and individual risk before advising frequency.
Are sealants only for permanent teeth?
They are most commonly used on susceptible permanent molars, but selected primary teeth can also benefit when anatomy and cavity risk warrant it.
Do you take X-rays at every cleaning?
No. X-ray timing should be based on age, cavity risk, clinical findings, and the information needed for diagnosis.
Do you make sports mouthguards?
Yes. We fabricate custom mouthguards in-house or through our lab, including designs for children in braces. Bring it up at a preventive visit or call to schedule.
Where this fits in the bigger picture
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF)
A no-drill option that arrests selected cavities, plus Curodont remineralization and other early-intervention options.
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) →Cavity treatment for kids
What happens next after "your child has a cavity," stage by stage.
Cavity treatment for kids →Your child’s first visit
What happens at the first appointment, what to bring, and how long it takes.
Your child’s first visit →Guide: dental sealants for kids
What sealants are, what the appointment is like, and how they prevent cavities.
Guide: dental sealants for kids →Tallahassee pediatric dentists
Meet the board-certified pediatric dentists and request a pediatric appointment.
Tallahassee pediatric dentists →Pediatric dental emergencies
Same-day care for knocked-out or broken teeth, toothaches and swelling.
Pediatric dental emergencies →The easiest cavity to treat is the one a child never develops.
Call to schedule a preventive visit at our Tallahassee office.
Call to schedule pediatric visits — online booking returning soon.