A Caring Touch with Dr. Amanda Campbell: Pediatric Dentistry and Special Needs Care

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Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Dentistry for Kidz podcast. I'm your host, and today we have an incredible guest who truly lives and breathes kids dentistry. Joining us is Dr Amanda Campbell, whose passion for helping kids, especially children with special needs, shines through with everything that she does. Dr Campbell is the co founder of mighty smiles dentistry Las Vegas. She graduated from the University of Colorado dental school and trained at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she honed her skills in creating positive, stress free dental experiences for kiddos of all ages. But here's something really cool about Dr Campbell. She's not only a fantastic Kid's Dentist, but she's also a former college soccer player and a huge lover of the great outdoors. Oh, and did I mention she and her husband have seven rescue dogs? Yeah, seven. So welcome. Dr Campbell, thank

Dr. Amanda Campbell: you. I appreciate it, and it's actually eight now. So really stepping up our game. Yes,

yes. Okay, so for our first question, it's going to be, what inspires you to pursue a career in kids dentistry, and did any of your personal experiences to shape that decision.

Dr. Amanda Campbell: Yeah, so actually, my sister has special needs, so growing up, I was kind of always in and out of her medical appointments, and I was lucky enough to go to one of her dental visits, where her pediatric dentist kind of walked me through everything, and I kind of just fell in love with it that day. So it was, you know, I wanted to go to medical school, and then I met him, saw how he interacted with my sister and me and our family, and I kind of just changed my mind that day and went, you know, dove straight into into dentistry. So it was a, I was kind of taken off guard. But, you know, I definitely feel like I made the right choice. So I'm lucky that, you know, I was able to have that experience.

Really cool story. Yeah, and how early do you think kids just start visiting dentists? So our

Dr. Amanda Campbell: recommended, you know, our recommended timeline, of course, if you don't have questions before, that is either by the age of one or when their first tooth comes in. And that's more just to, you know, get established with, you know, a dental office, a dental home, and then also kind of creating good habits, especially if it's your first kiddo. Some parents may not know, you know, the ins and the outs. So it's more just to, you know, get acquainted, and for us to kind of answer questions and give guidance when those first teeth come in, so you can make, you know, healthy habits as they continue to come in and and continue to grow. Uh huh.

And seeing that you deal with children, I can see that a lot of them could be anxious or nervous. Are there any specific techniques that you use to make the environment more fun or comfortable?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: Yeah, so, I mean, every every kid is different, right? So I think just through my experience and my you know, being doing this, been doing this for a long time, every kid approaches different, but honestly it's just a lot of talking, the more you can distract them, make it fun, not necessarily just about the dentistry, I think that eases not only the kids anxieties, but the parents as well. Because parents come in with their own preconceived notions or their past experiences too. So and that can feed into each child's, you know, visit. So I think making both parties feel comfortable is is a huge, huge thing for me, and it's, it's easier to break, you know, the the bridge between, between that, especially on the first visit, you know, making both people feel comfortable. And I feel like that results in a really good

visit. And, um, diving into another topic, yeah, what exactly is milk bottle carries, and how does it develop in young children.

Dr. Amanda Campbell: So basically, what that pertains to, it can be bottled milk or it can be breast milk. It's basically, usually happens at night. So if a kid is, you know, feeding at will, what happens is the the plaque from the from either milk sits on the teeth when we fall asleep, you know, we usually, that's when we get dry mouth, and that plaque sticks on the teeth, and that's really the the first step of the of the cavity. And then if you continue to have that habit, then, of course, the the cavities can progress rapidly. So the enamel in kids is much thinner. So once it starts, it's pretty hard to stop. Once it's through that first layer of the tooth structure. Yeah.

And do you think the bottles or sippy cups have anything to do with the how susceptible it is for tooth decay to develop in babies and toddlers?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: I don't necessarily think it's the sippy cup or the bottle. I think it's what's inside. So I mean, it's okay to use that, you know, throughout the day, you know, for short periods of time, but it's the constant exposure of whatever you know is in that container, whether it's milk or Gatorade or other things like that. So for me, it's not necessarily the the device that's delivering the material. It's what's inside of it more than more so than anything.

Okay? Okay. And do you what would you say? Are there early warning signs that a child has milk bottle carries, and do you think they could do anything to help prevent it?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: Yeah, so the earliest signs are going to be like super white areas on the teeth, mostly around the gums, like where it's kind of scalloped if you see those super, super chalky white areas, that's actually the first sign of a cavities. Because what happens is the plaque or the bacteria sits on those areas. That's the most common spot for it to build up, and it kind of sucks out the vitamins from the teeth, and it turns it that really, really white. At that stage, the tooth is still okay. It doesn't, you know, it doesn't need to be treated, but if that's left untreated and not cleaned, you know, continuously, that super chalky white area will then eventually progress into, you know, a brown, sticky cavity in which we have to fix. So if anybody sees those areas, you want to make sure that you're really getting the bristles of the toothbrush or even like a warm washcloth before bedtime to help prevent that cloth from kind of sticking in those areas and progressing because at that stage when it's super white again, it's it's, you can prevent it from getting worse. It's never going to go back to the normal tooth color, but that white area, you can keep that just as it is, and hopefully for a long time, if you catch it early enough

and do you prefer any alternatives to milk or sugary liquids that would ensure hydration and health?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: My it's pretty boring, but my go to is always going to be water, right? So I understand that we want them to have milk. We need them to have all the, you know, the calcium, the vitamins, vitamins, the minerals, but my recommendation would be to break it up, right? So let them have whatever drink they're going to have within, let's say, a 30 minute period, and then in between that or the next meal, give the mouth the rest water. Just give it water that way, that it can recover from the pH and the, you know, the differences that we're changing the mouth with, with any type of substance other than water. I know water is pretty boring, but that's always going to be my

go to and just a random but more personal question. I had an earlier interview with your co founder, and she told us that the kids at your office particularly like toothpaste that's flavored. S'mores. Yes, any favorite toothpaste flavors yourself, I

Dr. Amanda Campbell: would say s'mores is a is a fan favorite, and chocolate, oh, we have a chocolate. We have a theme. We have chocolate s'mores and caramel. So, I mean, even dentists have sweet, you know, Sweet Tooth as well. So we, we try and play into that. But I would say that those are the two top favorites. I know, right, delicious.

It's really good and for yourself. Do you have any personal preference when it comes to the order of flossing, brushing or mouthwash?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: I don't. I mean, I think any provider you're going to ask is going to have their own personal favorite. I don't think there's a wrong way to do it, as long as you're doing those steps. For me, it's going to be mouthwash first, and then I like to floss to make sure that I get all of any, you know, little pieces of food out. And then I brush last, just because with flossing, you know, you can dislodge pieces. So I want to make sure that I kind of follow that up with the brushing afterwards. But again, any any order is fine, as long as you're doing it. So that's the dealer's choice,

important. And then how do you tailor your approach when treating children with special needs? And do you provide any special accommodations for them?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: Yeah, so again, it's case by case. I like to talk to the parents first. So obviously the parents are going to know way more about the approaches that work versus me coming in, right? So I kind of take the take the guidance from them, and go based off of them, right? So I have some patients that come in and the parents are super surprised that they do so well, which is great. I have other. Is that, you know, and I'll tell the parents, we can take it so maybe the first visit is just coming to look at the office and walk around so that it's more familiar. And then we'll bring them back in two weeks, and then we can sit in the chair, and they can brush the dinosaurs teeth like we have a little model. And then maybe the third visit, by the time they're comfortable, we can do a little bit more, but it's really tailored to each patient and which type of special need they have. You know, there's such a vast array. So really listening to the parents, I think, is one of the most important, you know, things for me, especially coming from a family that has someone like that, it's you as an advocate. You know you want to be listened to, because you know that person more than anyone else. So if I can, you know, let the parents know that I'm listening to them and I'm here to help we can, you know, create a good relationship and usually treat, you know, get, get to the end goal as as we move along.

Yeah, I think that's great of you, and also pertaining to yourself, since you now eight rescue dogs at home. Yes, clearly, have a love for animals. Do your pets have any influence on how you provide care or comfort to kids in any way?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: Well, I I'm sure, as you know, if you, if you check and you know, Dr Vanna um, we actually do bring some of our animals to the office. So I think having an animal is not only great for kids and and, you know, and the parents, but I think the staff too, right? Dentistry can be a very stressful environment. And just having a warm, fluffy face that's always happy, I think that really, you know, kind of breaks the tension, right? It's, it's not all about, oh, your your teeth, your teeth. It's like, oh, there's a puppy. So I think, you know, that plays a big factor. But having a love for animals also comes with having a, you know, working with children and having patience too, right? So animals can't necessarily verbally talk to us, but they give you cues, and I think that's important, and that also helps with with kids who are younger or even older that might be nervous, just kind of playing off of, you know, how their their body language, but, um, yeah, the the animals are are great, and it really diffuses a lot of situations, to be honest.

And do you prefer big, medium, small dogs? Which one?

Dr. Amanda Campbell: Well, we have an array. So at my house, we have all big dogs. We have golden retrievers, labs and Border Collies. So my preference would be on the bigger side of things. I've never actually had a small dog, so I find that they're a little bit louder, maybe a little bit more barky, so I'm not sure, but we have enough noise here as it is.

And then, for our final wrap up question, it would be, if you could give one piece of advice to anyone, such as Kid parent, about oral health, what would it be

Dr. Amanda Campbell: my one piece of advice? Oh, boy, that's hard. So when I was young, this is, like my favorite dad joke that I tell a lot of kids, especially the teenagers, when they're kind of grumpy. But my dentist was when I was young, and I'll always remember this. He said, You know, it's up to you, but just always, you know, only floss the teeth you want to keep, and of course, you want to keep all of your teeth. So to me, flossing is one of my favorite and most important things. You know, I feel like you could brush your teeth 1000 times a day, but those bristles are never going to get in between where the, you know, the little microscopic bacteria and food stays. So I think my favorite and my most recommended would be flossing.

Yes, I agree with that. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. This today was super fun, and we would just want to say thank you so much. Yeah, of course, I

Dr. Amanda Campbell: appreciate you having me on and it was, it was super fun, so let me know if you ever want to do it again. Of course,

thank you so much. I hope you have a sweet night. Bye.

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