Pediatric Dentists Educate Kids: National Children's Dental Health Month

Pediatric dentists feel that there is an increasing need to spread awareness amongst the people by marking February as National children’s dental health month. Many pediatric dentists across the country educate children about good dental habits, importance of oral health and offer free dental services.

According to recent surveys, it has been found that Americans consume large amounts of fatty food or snacks combined with soft drinks that are loaded with sugar. This trend is more prevalent among the children and become the major cause of tooth decay development. Pediatric dentists urge parents to start keeping good oral hygiene starting from the young age in order to enhance their children’s oral health.

Nutritious and healthy diet is what most parents want their children to have. But usually kids end up with a pack of snacks and soda in front of TV.

Latest studies found that the root cause for an aversion from healthy and nutritious food is the lack of awareness among the adults. Most parents forget to be the perfect example for their children and consume snacks and sodas as well. As a responsible parent, it is important to gain knowledge about the harmful effect on dental health of consuming large amount of sugar in the regular diet.

Most pediatric dentists attest that more and more children with milk teeth are reporting symptoms of tooth decay. The major cause of tooth decay is food rich in sugar content combined with poor oral hygiene. Food that has high level of sugar remaining between and on the teeth can become a breeding ground for development of bacterial infections that can cause tooth decay in the children.

Therefore, in national children’s dental health month, it is important to spread awareness about the harmful effects of consuming sugary foods and soft drinks during the meals only, as the saliva production can be controlled then. If your kid likes chewing gum, buy some of the latest sugarless chewing gums available in the market.

Most parents postpone their kid’s first dental visit, that often end up with emergency dental problems at the dentist’s chair. Parents must be urged to visit pediatric dentist since the first teeth appeared, and even before teething.