Early Childhood Caries: Oral Healthcare for Babies

Although it may sound unbelievable, even babies are exposed to dental caries, and each year there are thousands of such medical cases reported.

Left untreated, the early childhood caries can cause several health complications. As a parent, it is extremely important to work out for your child a proper daily dental care regimen, which will be respected.

The first teeth of the babies appear when they are between 3 and 8 months old. The dental caries in babies can be identified if you observe stains or little white spots on the teeth.

It is extremely important that if you notice such changes, you take your baby immediately to a dentist; otherwise the problem will get worse in the future. There is a misconception according to which babies should not be taken to the dentist, since they will loose their teeth anyway.

This is the worst decision you can take, and by ignoring the issue, the caries will develop even more, causing oral health problems.

If the baby looses its teeth prematurely, there is a great risk that the permanent teeth will grow misaligned. Moreover, because of this premature loss of baby teeth the child might develop speaking, eating or chewing problems.

The most often reasons for which babies develop these premature caries is actually the feeding bottle. Even though you might think that the bottle plays a very good role as a pacifier and you let your baby go to sleep sucking on the bottle, this is a bad decision.

The teeth of the baby are exposed to quite a prolonged contact with sugary ingredients found in juices, teas and sometimes in the milk as well. However, if you still want to let your little one go to sleep sucking on the bottle, make sure you fill it up with pure water.

The sugary ingredients found in milk and other juices actually combine and form acids, which are extremely harmful for the health of the teeth. Make sure you offer your baby extremely healthy snacks during the day, such as raw fruits and vegetables.

Even if milk contains certain levels of sugar, it is extremely healthy and it helps the baby develop properly. Rather than offering all kinds of sugary drinks to your little one, make sure to offer him milk.

When the first teeth of your baby come out, it is advisable that you take him for a dental checkup. Thus, any problems will be spotted early, and complications can be avoided properly.