Dr. Clark wants to know: What are your plans for Memorial Day weekend?

Memorial Day weekend, a time when Americans reflect and honor the men and women who have served to protect America and ensure our freedom, is almost here. For many people, getting out of town for three days after months and months of school or work spells sweet, sweet relief.

At Pearland Pediatric Dentistry, we know Memorial Day weekend is ripe for travel. After all, it’s unofficially the start of summer 2010 and time for a season full of vacations, adventures and great memories with parents or friends.

What about you? What are you up to this Memorial Day weekend?

Whether you are headed to barbecues, a camping trip, hitting the great American roads with family or just having fun in the sun this weekend, our staff wants to hear all about it!

Share your experience at Pearland Pediatric Dentistry with the world!

At Pearland Pediatric Dentistry, we are committed to providing your child with the highest quality of dental care. Our goal is to make every patient’s visit pleasant and educational.

Our practice is based on preventive care. We strive to teach good oral care that will enable your child to have a beautiful smile that lasts a lifetime. Establishing lasting relationships with our patient families, based upon mutual trust and open communication, is very important to us.

Whether you've visited our office for a week, months or even years, we'd love to hear your feedback about how our office is faring! There are lots of ways you can share your thoughts about our practice with the rest of the world, but we encourage you to head to our Google Local page and write a review there. Or, if you'd like, you may post a review on our Yelp listing.

After all, reviews help Dr. Pamela Clark and Dr. Suha Reddy create wonderful kids smiles in Pearland, Alvin, Shadow Creek Ranch and surrounding communities.

You may write a review here.

Thank you and enjoy your week! Our team looks forward to reading your reviews!

Is your local playground safe for your child?

Spring is here summer is rapidly approaching, and that means your kids will probably be spending lots of time outside. Playgrounds are everywhere from your backyard to the neighborhood park, and it's important to know what safety features to look for before your child hangs out parks here in Pearland, Alvin or Shadow Creek Ranch.

At Pearland Pediatric Dentistry, we found some important safety tips on the American Academy of Pediatrics' website that we'd thought we'd share them with you today. Here's to a happy and safe spring and summer, from Drs. Clark and Reddy and our entire team at Pearland Pediatric Dentistry!

* Carefully supervise young children using playground equipment. Keep children from shoving, pushing, or fighting.

* The surface under playground equipment should be energy absorbent. Use safety - tested mats or loose fill materials (shredded rubber, sand, wood chips, or bark) maintained to a depth of at least 9 inches.

* Install the protective surface at least 6 feet (more for swings and slides) in all directions from the equipment.

* Swing seats should be made of something soft, not wood or metal.

* Children should not twist swings, swing empty seats, or walk in front of moving swings.

* Put home playground equipment together correctly. It should sit on a level surface and be anchored firmly to the ground.

* Never attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, or pet leashes to playground equipment because children can strangle on them.

* Cap all screws and bolts. Check periodically for loose nuts and bolts and broken, rusty, or sharp parts.

* Install playground equipment at least 6 feet from fences or walls.

* Check for hot metal surfaces on equipment such as those on slides, which could cause burns.

Dr. Clark wants to know: Is your child a mouth breather?

At Pearland Pediatric Dentistry, we know breathing through the mouth instead of the nose may lead to trouble for kids. Now we have proof, thanks to a study published in the January/February 2010 issue of the journal General Dentistry.

Kids who typically breathe through their mouth - most often children who suffer from allergies - experience problems getting enough oxygen into their blood, a condition that affects their weight, size and sleep, which often affects their performance in classroom and daily life.

Dr. Yosh Jefferson, who authored the study, also notes that if left untreated, mouth breathing can cause dental and facial abnormalities. But there's good news: mouth breathing is a treatable condition. Doing so, however, requires early diagnosis and treatment. Since Drs. Clark and Reddy see their patients every six months, they may be in a position to identify the symptoms of mouth breathing.

If you suspect your child is a chronic mouth breather, please give our team at Pearland Pediatric Dentistry a call at 713.436.4080.

For more on mouth breathing, we encourage you to read the rest of the Dr. Jefferson's article. For more on children's dental health, head over to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services web site.