Every parent wants to avail of good dental care for their children. Right from the child’s early toddler days, parents take extra care to clean the gums and teeth of their young children. Good dental care is the basic foundation for healthy teeth. Teeth are the first step in chewing and processing food, which leads to the better digestion of food in the body. In this article, we talk about Dental Care for Kids.
Dental Care for Kids
- Clean the gums of your toddler with a damp cloth to remove any food particles and thus avoid the build-up of bacterial plaque on the teeth.
- Once children get teeth, brush their teeth with an infant toothbrush. There are also different baby toothpaste available in the market.
- Help them to spit the toothpaste out of the mouth and not swallow it. It is important that you help them to brush their teeth till the age of 6 years.
- It is important for children to gargle their mouth with water after food, in order to avoid bacteria and cavities.
- Teach them to brush their teeth, at least twice a day.
- Avoid candies, sugary foods, gummy candies, lollipops etc., as they erode the enamel and cause cavities. Insist on rinsing their mouth after eating these kinds of food.
- Help them to eat their regular three meals and snacks. Ensure that they rinse their mouth after eating. Eating many small meals will help in maintaining tooth hygiene.
Also, some important information relating to teeth is listed below for your ready reference –
Cavities
The health of your child’s teeth primarily depends upon their oral hygiene and eating a nutritious diet. It also depends upon the amount and quality of saliva, which helps to rinse the food and bacteria. Sugar, starch and bacteria create acids that dissolve the tooth structure and cause cavities.
When sugar and starch mix up with bacteria in the mouth, they can form acids that dissolve the tooth’s original structure and causes cavities. When your child is constantly exposed to sugary foods, white bread, candies etc., then a sticky film i.e. plaque is formed on the tooth enamel. This further generates an acid attack on the tooth enamel. Large cavities can be more painful.
Some of the symptoms of having cavities are:
- Tooth Pain.
- Sensitivity to cold, warm and spicy foods.
- Extreme pain in the night.
In order to avoid cavities, you can adopt the following preventive measures –
- Include a healthy and nutritious diet filled with lots of fruits, vegetables etc.
- Snacks should be replaced with healthy foods like nuts, fruits etc.
- Avoid sugary and sticky foods like candies, toffees, chocolates etc.
- In case of toddlers avoid sippy cups and pacifiers as they can carry bacteria, which is not good for oral hygiene.
- Brush and floss your children’s teeth at least twice a day.
Dental appointment
It is important to get your child to see the dentist when they become about 1 year old. It would be even better if you can show them to a dentist around the appearance of the first tooth. Let the dentist examine your child’s teeth and guide you properly with all the preventive care measures, like proper brushing habits, cavity prevention etc.
You can also ask questions and get advice from the dentist. A proper dental history will be recorded for future use. For children, there is a specialist like a pediatric dentist. You can take your child to a pediatric dentist. Most of the dental costs are included in health insurance plans.
Brush and floss daily
Depending on the child’s age choose the right type of toothbrush, toothpaste etc. Use the proper technique to brush the teeth. You need to brush gently in a tiny circle. Continue brushing for at least a minute. Young children below 5 will rarely allow you to brush their teeth for more than a minute.
These are some tips for maintaining your child’s oral hygiene. You can start early so that their teeth are strong and healthy.
Hope you enjoyed this article Dental Care for Kids.
Please read our earlier article Natural Ways To Whiten your Teeth.
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Tags: avoid cavities, brushing teeth, children dental care, Dental Care for Kids, flossing
