10 Oral Health Tips for Children

Dr. Anil Lahoti Dr. Anil Lahoti Jan 10, 2019 839 0

10 Oral Health Tips for Children

You do not need to wait till your infant actually gets teeth to start the base for good oral and general health. In order to get pearly white smile when you age as an adult, you should practice good dental care as a child. Good nutrition and oral hygiene should be started right away as your infant starts growing. When you take care of your teeth as a kid, it leads to an overall lifetime oral health. And, remember the first stage is to form good habits, right from the start. It depends on you as a parents to develop healthy oral habits and punctual routine for your child to prevent tooth decay and other tooth related problems from arising.

So, here are top 10 oral health tips for children, take a look -

  1. Begin with appropriate oral hygiene habits as soon as possible - Start by cleaning your infant’s gum and newly growing teeth. After every feed make sure you wipe their gums and cheek with gauze pad or damp cloth. Just use a peck of toothpaste in the beginning and for gum cleaning, you may not use that also. 
  1. Brush with caution - As and when your baby’s teeth start coming out, brush them calmly and with caution. Use a soft bristle toothbrush with just fluoridated toothpaste. 
  1. Teach your kid - As your child reaches 3 years of age, you can start to teach your baby right brushing moves with just pea sized toothpaste. Keep an eye on how they are brushing. Make them brush their teeth in front of you. Model right technique. As your child reaches 6 years of age, he should develop the confidence to do it alone. You can also teach them flossing then. 
  1. Keep a check on the water supply - find out if the water supply coming to your house is fluoridated. If not, then find out the supplement options from your dentist. Some of the food items also have fluoride. Also make sure that your child doesn’t waste excess water while brushing. Make sure you teach them when you open the tap and when you close it 
  1. Combat baby bottle tooth problems - Do not allow your baby to sleep with bottle filled with milk or water or pacifier. When teeth are developing, then sugar containing fluid may potentially decay the teeth when exposed for long period. There are higher chances of tooth decay under such conditions. 
  1. Avoid sugar content - With formula milk, you ingest a lot of sugar in your child’s mouth. Remember it takes saliva at least 30 minutes to wipe out the acidity created by decay causing bacteria. A sugar snack every hour will not allow your child’s mouth to bacteria free every and thus increase the risk of tooth decay. Thus limit the supply of sugar. 
  1. Book a dental appointment - You should take your child to a kid’s specialist dentist during his/ her first birthday. Time to time teeth check-up is also important for a proper oral health. Your general dentist may tell you points to prevent dental problems and tooth decay. Getting cavities check in the primary days is also important. 
  1. Avoid cavities - Speak to your dentist about the fluoride usage and dental sealants to keep your baby’s tooth safe. Sealants avoid the leftover food from getting stuck in spaces between teeth and tiny grooves. The topical fluoride helps in strengthening the enamel and protects it against decay.
  1. Be calm - If you are worried about your visit to your dentist, then do not share these feelings with your child. Make sure you prepare your child from before about the meeting. Encourage your child and fight his/ her fear related to the visit. Do not mention words like decay, tooth pain, tooth hurt in front of your child as it may lead to thoughts which your child wouldn’t have even thought of.
  1. Keep your house childproof - As per the research, the kids below the age of 7 sustain half of the dental issues to their primary teeth playing with home furniture and taking anything in their mouth. So, make sure your kids doesn’t chew things. Avoid keeping such things in the house.

Important note:

The primary teeth of a baby commence formation before birth- around 6 weeks of the pregnancy and starts to mineralize during the 4 months of pregnancy. In order to give the right dental development to your child, the diet of the mother should be full of all nutrients, majorly protein, phosphorus and calcium.