‘Brush, brush, brush,’ says Myakka City cavity fighter

Myakka City resident Kevin Monizdasilva, 12, a student at Imagine School of Lakewood Ranch, says he has earned the right to be the official spokesman for his generation when it comes to the dental health of children.

“I’m the best at brushing my teeth,” Kevin said Wednesday while getting one of his regular cleanings from clinical coordinator Mimi Apostle at Children’s Dentistry of Manatee, 5714 21st Ave. W., Bradenton, which is where Kevin has gone for dentistry, under the care and mentorship of Dr. Bryan J. Morgan, since he was 8-years-old.

“I brush every morning and every night so I don’t get cavities,” said Kevin, who believes with his circular technique, his soft-bristled manual brush and eagerness to even brush his tongue, all things he learned from Dr. Morgan, he might be the best boy brusher in the United States.

He has gone six straight visits, covering the last three years, without a cavity.

“I floss, but not all the time,” Kevin said. “But I am working on that. I will never have to worry about mean adult dentists that will come around.”

Kevin’s family, which includes the equally-as-impressive-with-a-toothbrush Nathan, 11, is surprised that Kevin has turned into Myakka City’s boy cavity fighter.

“Four years ago,” says Kevin’s mother, Galina Rogacheva. “Kevin had dental anxiety so bad he wouldn’t sit in a dental chair. He had to be sedated. But Dr. Morgan has turned him completely around to where he now loves to go to the dentist and to talk about the good things that can come from it.”

Kevin’s story is oft-repeated

Kevin and Nathan’s natural father lives in Miami and did take the boys, when they were very young, to a dentist, according to the boys’ mom.

“I think it was a community clinic,” Rogacheva said.

When the boys moved in with their mother in Manatee County, their impressions of dentists were not good, Rogacheva said.

“It was overwhelming, especially for Kevin,” Rogacheva said. “He would not sit in the chair. The first time he had to be put under general anesthesia. But ever since then, Kevin has been laughing and smiling.”

Rogacheva likes how Dr. Morgan tells kids that brushing gets rid of the “cavity bugs” and that even when the water spray is done in the chair the bugs are getting zapped.

Kids also seem to love that Dr. Morgan wears wild colored socks and always Converse sneakers.

“I don’t know how he does it,” Rogacheva said of Dr. Morgan. “He never pressures a child into something uncomfortable. He walks through the procedures and gets down to a child’s level and becomes their friend. My kids wholeheartedly trust him.”

Give Kids A Smile

Besides Kevin’s dentist, Dr. Morgan, others are spreading the word with their voices and actions about the importance of pediatric dentistry in February, which is Children’s Dental Health Month.

Volunteer student dentists will be at work helping medically needy children during the upcoming “Give Kids a Smile” event at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s School of Dental Medicine, 4800 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch.

Children who don’t qualify for any traditional means of dental care will be given free dental screenings and cleanings, X-rays and sealants and, if needed, minor fillings and simple extractions, said Joel Welin, a LECOM spokesman.

The third-year event, which is set for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 4, is for children age 2 to 18 accompanied by a parent or guardian, Welin said.

Parents or guardians are asked to set an appointment time for their child by calling 941-254-1698 or emailing at lecomgkas@gmail.com.

Walk-ins will be seen on a first-come-first-served basis, Welin added.

At last year’s event, LECOM dental students provided more than $70,000 worth of dental care to nearly 200 pediatric patients, Welin added.

Marty the Marauder, the Bradenton Marauders mascot, will be at the event from 8:30-10:30 a.m., Welin said.

Kids should have dentist at age 1: Morgan

Nearly 25 percent of children younger than age 5 have cavities and many kids enrolled in Medicaid receive no dental services throughout the year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Morgan, 33, agrees with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry which recommends that children already be well established in a dental home by their first birthday as teeth begin to come in on average around six months of age.

“We are seeing kids much younger than we used to and that comes down from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics,” Dr. Morgan said. “We have the opportunity to meet them at a much younger age and build a rapport.”

“We want to meet them before serious dental problems occur,” Dr. Morgan added. “We are able to create bonds and relationships with these kids without having to meet them and dive right into a major procedure whether it be a filling, crown or extraction. It is a more more child-friendly atmosphere in pediatric dentistry. We have so many new advances.”

Those advances include changes in local anesthesia to make a child’s tooth more comfortable before starting. Also, nitrous oxide or laughing gas is used quite a bit and serves as an anti-anxiety tool.

“We now offer a wide array of very safe sedation options for the very, very young or very anxious or children with extra health needs who may not be able to tolerate receiving dental care in an office environment,” Dr. Morgan said.

The earlier that parents instill upon their children healthy dental habits, from hygiene to diet, the better, Dr. Morgan said.

“Having a child come in to see a dentist at the age of 1 allows him or her the opportunity to build a rapport with that dentist, become comfortable with the surroundings and also become comfortable with the team,” Dr. Morgan said.

“Brushing is important for a 1-year-old,” Morgan added. “Children will have teeth coming in around six months on average and as soon as a tooth becomes visible it is at risk for developing decay. Tooth brushing, once in the morning and, most critically, once at night, is important if the child is nursing or on a bottle. Brushing needs to be done between ingesting that milk or formula and going to bed.”

A pediatric dentist like Dr. Morgan can do a lot more than just check for cavities. He or she can check a child’s developmental milestones, dispense oral hygiene and diet tips, discuss child safety and what to do if a child would fall and bump a tooth, Dr. Morgan said.

Brushing, and doing it correctly, is critical

Since Dr. Morgan stands strong on brushing early, he finds it frustrating that some parents have their children brushing before they have the needed motor skills.

“What I am finding is that kids are expected to fly solo and be in command of their own hygiene from an age that is very unrealistic,” Dr. Morgan said.

Dr. Morgan has parents who still brush the teeth of their 8 and 9-year-olds. And he has some parents who don’t feel the need to brush their children’s teeth from age 3 or 4 and on.

“A child really needs to tie their shoes effectively before they have the ability to manipulate a toothbrush to brush well,” ?Dr. Morgan said.

Dr. Morgan says either an electronic or manual toothbrush is fine as long as it is a soft bristle. Brushing technique is also important, Dr. Morgan said.

“Kids are in a hurry,” Dr. Morgan said. “When they try to make haste in brushing their teeth typically they are going side to side. Sometimes they feel if they brush extra hard they are doing themselves a great service where, in actuality, they could be doing more harm than good.”

“We recommend slow, easy circular motions, letting the bristles do the work,” Dr. Morgan added. “We want to make sure the gums are getting clean as well as the teeth. These are things we hit home on every single time the child comes to see us.”

Brushing the tongue is also important and commonly missed, Dr. Morgan said.

“Parents often come in and say my child brushes four times a day and flosses but we can’t kick this bad breath,” Dr. Morgan said. “We tell them brushing the tongue will help that. You debride some of that plaque, that bacteria that sits there and harbors malodor.”

A colorful office makes a difference

Dr. Morgan’s brick office looks like every other office in the Tanglewood professional park roughly across the street from Blake Medical Center but the sculpture of a manatee in front gives a hint that something is different here.

Going through the front door one steps figuratively beneath the Manatee River. The walls of the reception room are a giant mural of a soft blue hue featuring manatees, turtles, dolphins and rays. There is also an iPad station with four tablets for children and a large play area.

Imagination Dental Solutions of Fort Lauderdale took Morgan’s ideas and rendered something special, but necessary, Morgan said.

“Coming to the dentist as a young child for the first time than can be a little daunting,” Morgan said. “We want to make a comfortable and inviting environment.”

Children’s Dentistry of Manatee is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at 5714 . Information: 941-792-6272.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 2:35 PM with the headline "‘Brush, brush, brush,’ says Myakka City cavity fighter."