Baby Teeth Need Dental Care Too
May 28th, 2009
Baby little, tender teeth – how often do we really pay attention to them? Baby teeth care is important, even if their life is too short, even if they look young and healthy. In fact, baby teeth care importance is much bigger. The future permanent teeth, the way your child learns to chew and speak, his future dental care habits and, what is not less important, his attitude towards the dentist – all of them depend on these first teeth and the way they are treated.
It’s absolutely wrong to ignore baby teeth care. A 2007 report, made by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that the number of children with tooth decay is increasing. The number of 2 to 5 year-old children with cavities increased with 28 percent between the 1999 and 2004 period of time, in comparison with only 24 percent between 1988 and 1994 years.
More and more children are restoring their teeth. However, the prevention is possible, and according to Dr. Thuan Le, an assistant adjunct professor in UCSF’s Division of Pediatric Dentistry, there are three main tips on baby teeth care.
First Baby Teeth Care Tip: Learning oral hygiene habits
Baby teeth care includes cleaning teeth twice a day since the early childhood. It can be done with a small, soft-bristled brush, about four minutes. You can let the child brush his teeth firstly, but then repeat the procedure because his weak hand muscles are not able to maneuver properly.
A low-fluoride toothpaste can be used for baby teeth care process, but only a pea-size. Dr. Le accents that using much fluoridated toothpaste for children under 2 or 3 years old may lead to fluorosis. It is considered one of the main causes for future enamel defects and vulnerability to cavities.
Dr. Le adds “There is a weak and inconsistent evidence that the use of traditional fluoride supplements (fluoride droplets or tablets) prevents dental caries in primary teeth. However, mild to moderate dental fluorosis is a significant side effect that appear.” from a systemic review, published in November 2008 in the Journal of the American Dental Association.
Another important element of baby teeth care is flossing. Begin doing it as soon as the child’s teeth touch each other. Pay more attention to the back molars. They have grater risk for decay.
If baby teething hasn’t taken place yet then gently wipe his gums with a wet, wrapped around your finger washcloth. “You need to develop oral health habits as early as you can,” Dr. Thuan Le says.
Second Baby Teeth Care Tip: Healthy eating habits
“These days children snack and drink many times a day. Besides, all that stuff is full of fermentable carbohydrates and sugar. They call it the modern diet”, Dr. Le reports.
Candies, crackers, chips, soda, juice, milk, and other foods that contain starch and sugar represents the cause to all your child’s teeth problems. The bacteria bind strongly to teeth and produces an acid that destroys baby tooth enamel. That’s why baby teeth care includes renouncing any long contact of food with teeth.
Doctors strongly recommend not to allow children pouch food in checks, suck on a bottle for hours, nurse throughout the night. Even sticky foods like dried fruits and fruit roll-ups are harmless only if your child brushes his teeth after that, or, at least, has a drink of water.
So, to reduce the risk of tooth decay, let your child snack with fruits, vegetables, and cheese, instead of sweets and carbohydrates, drink clear water instead of a sweetened beverage or juice. And never share your child’s utensils and pacifiers with your mouths. The infection can be easily passed and the tooth decay is inevitable.
Third Baby Teeth Care Tip: Regular dentist visits
Dr. Le and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry say that your first child’s visit to the dentist should be before he is 1 year old or six months after the baby teething. Unfortunately, only 1.5 percent of parents who have infants do care about their child’s teeth health, compared to the 90 percent who see a physician.
Dr. Le says: “Many parents consider that baby teeth care is not needed because these young teeth will be replaced by adult ones. However, not treated tooth decay can seriously influence the child’s long-term development and well-being. One of the possible consequences is a destroyed bone underneath the infected and then untreated tooth.”
So, take care of your child and his teeth, because as long as he is small enough, your child depends on you. Also check out reports about free dental work and free dental care for kids on WorlDental.org.
Categories: Teeth
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