Life Smiles Dental Care is OPEN

Life Smiles Dental Care is OPEN to help you with your routine care. In response to the spread of COVID-19, to keep our communities safe we are taking numerous precautions. We are here to help you at Life Smiles Dental Care with all your dental needs. You may either call (602) 786-5484 or contact us through Virtual Consultation to book an appointment.

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Team Life Smiles Dental

We now offer Telehealth. Book a Virtual Consultation

New Patients: (602) 786-5484

Existing Patients: (602) 404-7266

4611 E Shea Blvd, Ste 250
Phoenix , AZ 85028 | Direction

Pediatric Dentistry for Phoenix

At Life Smiles Dental Care, Drs. Paul Nielson and Tim Schmidt provide excellent clinical dentistry and a genuinely caring chair-side manner to patients of all ages, including children. Dr. Nielson provides a wide range of general, restorative, and cosmetic dental care for patients of all ages, and he is fluent in Spanish. As fathers themselves, Drs. Paul Nielson and Tim Schmidt sincerely enjoy working with children and parents.

Our strategy is to let parents become part of their children’s dental healthcare team by working with our doctors and hygienists to learn how to take great care of young teeth at home, between dental visits.

Our goal is to educate you and your children about proper dental care throughout the phases of youth, to encourage lifelong healthy habits and reduce the risk for gum disease, decay, and other oral diseases.

We look forward to nurturing your child’s smiles. To schedule an appointment, call Life Smiles Dental Care, serving Phoenix-area families, at (602) 786-5484.

Tooth Development

Young children will develop 20 primary teeth, and all of these teeth usually erupt by age three.

Around age six to eight, the primary teeth will begin naturally falling out, and the body will replace them with permanent teeth. With good daily home care and professional dental visits, your child could retain his or her natural permanent teeth throughout life.

When To Bring Your Child to the Dentist

After they develop primary teeth, children need to visit the dentist twice a year. At these happy visits, the doctor will evaluate your child’s teeth and gums, and ask you about any issues you’ve noticed.

By age four or five, children should also have a professional dental cleaning twice a year. Gum disease can afflict any person of any age, so cleanings are very important. At a cleaning, the hygienist will identify any signs of gum disease and explain to you and your child how to deter the disease from progressing.

At checkups, the dentist will also look for signs of malocclusion, which means that the upper and lower jaws do not fit together well when the mouth is closed. Crooked teeth, inadequate space in the arch, and other issues can indicate the need for orthodontic treatment. We can identify these issues early, to allow for the best possible treatment plan.

When to Start Dental Care

The moment you bring your baby home, you can begin practicing good oral hygiene by gently wiping his or her gums with a soft, clean, moist cloth.

Around age four to six months, you’ll notice a first tooth erupt, probably on the bottom jaw, in the front portion of the gums. This is the time to schedule a first dental appointment, according to the American Dental Association. You should also begin brushing your child’s tooth daily, using a children’s toothbrush and a very small amount of non-fluoridated toothpaste. Once two teeth present side by side, begin flossing gently. A handheld, pre-threaded flosser works brilliantly for this job.

Children can start self-brushing around age three, but parents need to follow up by re-brushing for thoroughness. Once your little one is old enough to learn how to spit out toothpaste, you can advance to a fluoridated variety. If a child ingests too much fluoride, white, permanent, horizontal stains called fluorosis can develop on permanent teeth, even before they erupt. Starting toddlers off with non-fluoridated toothpaste is a great way to avoid these unpleasant stains in adult teeth.

About Brushing and Flossing

As your children grow through elementary school, they can begin brushing alone. However, parents should diligently check their children’s teeth and gums, to make sure their kids are doing a good job, and to identify any abnormalities, cavities, or redness of gum tissue.

Even through middle school and high school, children can become disinterested in oral health and begin neglecting daily oral care. As the parent, you should regularly re-establish a thorough dental hygiene routine with your children, when necessary. We can offer advice on how to encourage your children to brush and floss regularly.

It’s also important to note that hormones, asthma inhalers, and certain medications can increase the risk of gum disease. For this reason, we advise parents to pay close attention to their child’s oral health any time he or she begins taking a new medication, and at the onset of puberty.

Schedule Your Kids’ Visits Today

If your child has a toothache or incurs and injury to his or her teeth, call us immediately for an appointment. Otherwise, plan to schedule visits twice a year for all of your little ones, pre-teens, and teenagers.

Dr. Paul Nielson, DDS, MAGD earned a zoology degree from Brigham Young University before completing dental studies at University of Washington, Seattle. He has practiced dentistry for over a decade, and has followed continuing education to exceed the state’s licensing requirements. He’s a Master in the Academy of General Dentistry and holds membership in many professional associations. He’s especially interested in implant, cosmetic and sedation dentistry; and full mouth rehabilitation.
Dr. Timothy Schmidt, DMD, FAGD studied in Utah and Oregon, before serving at University of Washington School of Dentistry as an affiliate instructor. Then he returned to Arizona to serve his local community. As a member of several prestigious dental organizations, he aims to provide comfortable treatments delivering natural-looking and long-lasting results. He aims to raise dental healthcare standards through ongoing education, new technologies and by listening to patients’ concerns.
Dr. Jared Bishop earned his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University in Utah, after which he completed his dental school training at Midwestern University in Glendale. Having completed a 1 year residency, Dr. Bishop was also honored to practice dentistry in the U.S. Army for 5 years. As a member of the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Dental Association, and the Arizona Dental Association, Dr. Bishop keeps up with current dental technology, techniques, and materials to provide his patients with the highest standard of care.


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