Learning to practice ideal oral hygiene habits from a very early age is fundamental for children. Teaching a child in regard to the importance of taking care of her or his teeth and gums from the beginning can aid in developing a healthy smile that can endure for life. Parents should be extremely involved with their child’s dental hygiene, though, much earlier than the presentation of the first primary tooth. Infants are born with an entire set of 20 primary teeth underneath the gum line in both the lower and upper jawbones. Even as the first primary teeth commence to emerge, around the age of 6 months, the state of a baby’s oral health can potentially impact her or his adult smile.
From the moment that a baby’s first primary tooth comes through, the chance of developing cavities gets higher. Many babies might suffer from serious tooth decay, such that their primary teeth must be extracted fully due to the incapacity for restoration to health. This kind of instance most frequently happens whenever an infant is continuously put to sleep with a bottle filled with juice, milk, or any other sort of sugary drink. Commonly, the upper front teeth are harmed the most in such situations, but tooth decay can be generated in any other teeth as well.
When a baby’s tooth is extracted or lost too soon because of oral decay, injuries, trauma, or any other reason, crowding and spatial issues can happen with the immediate emergency of permanent teeth. It is beneficial for the baby’s teeth to be sustained and maintained as healthy as feasible since this highly decreases the chance for decay and improper eruption of permanent teeth later on. Thus, focusing on ideal oral health in children, specifically from birth, can help determine a solid and healthy smile for many decades.
Via consistent and ideal oral hygiene habits alongside visiting the dentist regularly and very early, tooth decay is highly preventable (in numerous cases). In the general guideline of the International Association of Pediatric Dentistry on infant oral health care, dentists recommend that an initial oral assessment visit should happen in the first 6 months of the eruption of the primary tooth and not any time later than 12 months of age. Furthermore, it is advised that throughout this infant oral health visit, prospective guidance must be offered regarding the effects of the nutritional diet on the dentition.
The diet counseling suggestions carry value. In fact, longitudinal research has shown that children 3 years old with caries lesions often consumed cryogenic food at 12 months of age. Diet counseling problems stay the same among all children of all ages, even though there do exist certain infant-specific problems.
With aging, come the changes and expansion of oral hygiene practices and routines. To most properly take care of your child’s mouth starting from birth all through toddlerhood, take into consideration the following recommendations:
Following every feeding, kindly clean an infant’s teeth and gums using a clean damp washcloth or a gauze pad. Do not prop a bottle in an infant’s mouth or allow a baby to feed at free will. Additionally, never putting a baby to sleep for a nap or bedtime with a bottle is of utmost importance. Keep in mind that dental decay can spread from a parent to the child via saliva, so parents should refrain from testing the temperature of a bottle directly with their mouth. The avoidant of sharing utensils and washing a bottle nipple or pacifier is just as important. It aids in obstructing the spreading of bacteria that leads to tooth decay.
Commonly, the first tooth emerges when a baby reaches 6 to 8 months old. Keep putting to work the previously recommended practice of cleaning a baby’s gums using a clean damp washcloth or a gauze pad. Following the presentation of the first tooth, switch to swift and light brushing of the teeth and gums with the use of a soft-bristled toothbrush. Do not use any toothpaste. Moreover, ensure to continue gently massaging the gums.
Additionally, while the baby starts increasing his or her consumption of drinks and solid foods from a sippy cup, parents must begin weaning their child from the bottle, little by little. Keep on reading to learn more about weaning and sippy cups.
Keeping track of the normal look of a child’s teeth and gums is also of extreme importance. The parent should often search for white or brown spots on the teeth which might denote tooth decay. If you notice any new spots or strange ones, contact the dentist for an appointment straight away.
In this situation, the parent must set the child’s very first dental appointment, and as above mentioned the dentists suggest that a child visit the dentist no later than the first birthday. In addition, asking the dentist about infant fluoride supplements, in the event that the household drinking water is not fluoridated, is always a smart idea.
A child should undergo an oral assessment from the dentist by 1 year of age. At this juncture, the parent must brush the child’s teeth for them using plain water only twice daily. The parent should continuously avoid any transfer of decay-causing bacteria and germs to the child by refraining from any habits that transfer saliva, such as sharing drinks. Moreover, similar to the previous stage, make sure to frequently check the child’s mouth for irregular white or brown spots that might demonstrate proof of tooth decay. Instantaneously schedule an appointment with the dentist if you notice such spots.
At 24 months old, approximately, parents must start to brush the child’s teeth twice per day with a pea-sized amount of toothpaste that contains fluoride. The child must be taught to not swallow the toothpaste and spit it all out following the brushing. Typically, toddlers require assistance when brushing their teeth at least until their hand coordination becomes fully developed, but the parent must commence teaching them during this stage how to brush their own teeth. The majority of children should be capable of brushing their own teeth without the need for any supervision by the time they reach 6 to 7 years. Bear in mind that excessive fluoride can lead to tooth staining. When your child has two teeth to touch, you should start flossing their teeth each day.
The majority of children develop their full set of 20 baby teeth by 30 months, and by the time they turn 3 years old, they shouldn’t be sucking their thumbs or fingers or using pacifiers anymore. Never discontinue the routine checkups for suspicious white or brown spots on the teeth that might denote cavities, and every time irregular spots appear in the child’s mouth, an appointment must be made with the dentist, right away. During this stage in a child’s life, he/she must routinely visit the dentist for checkups and cleaning, following the schedule suggested by the dentist.
The dentists note that breastfeeding is the optimal technique for infant feeding, with sole breastfeeding for the initial 6 months, followed by incorporation of iron-enriched solid foods from 6 to 12 months old. It has been noticed that infants who are fed more breast milk than infant formula or who are breastfed for a longer amount of time, have a lower chance of being overweight during adolescence or older childhood. According to the International Association of Pediatric Dentistry, ad libitum nocturnal breastfeeding should be ceased following the first primary tooth’s eruption.
Differently from the dentist’s breastfeeding suggestion, numerous infants around the world are not breast-fed. Nearly 1 in 4 infants is breast-fed at 6 months of age. Thus, bottle-feeding emerges as the predominant technique of infant feeding, with approximately 95% of 6-month-old to 5-year-old children having utilized a baby bottle. Infant formulas obtain cariogenic potential and are acidogenic. Therefore, patients need to be aware of the pernicious impacts of the inappropriate usage of the bottle and the requirement for good oral hygiene practices over the first tooth’s eruption. Parents should be advised against putting their children to sleep with the bottle.
The dentist’s suggestion is that the infant must be breastfed for a minimum of 12 months and thenceforth for as long as it is mutually wanted. It has, nevertheless, been noticed that breast-feeding for over one year and during the night aside from eruption of teeth might be related to early childhood caries. The same has been suggested for the connection between prolonged baby bottle use and dental caries. Pediatric dentists counsel patients to adhere to the dentists; pieces of advice that infants should start drinking from a cup as they approach their first birthday and avert from the bottle at 12 to 14 months old.
To diminish the chances of cavities, please continue reading:
The suggestion from dentists is for infants to consume only 4 to 6 oz of fruit juice each day, meaning 1 food serving of fruit. They also suggest however to encourage infants to consume pureed or mashed whole fruits. The chances of sugars being added to commercial preparations should be taken into account. Dentists warn that fruit juice does not provide any nutritional benefit for infants who are younger than the age of 6 months.
Malnourishment can be related to the excessive consumption of fruit juice. Moreover, juice drinks that reconstitute from concentrate might have additional sweeteners.
It has been noted that juice drinks and juice appear to substitute milk and formula intakes throughout the transition phase of infant nutrition from 6 to 24 months old. Nine out of ten children have had fruit juices by the first year of their lives.
