As parents, we don’t want to see our children smile with incomplete and decaying teeth. Although young children still do have their milk teeth that could be replaced when pulled out, it is still important that parents should know how to take good care of their children’s teeth, how to prevent them from getting tooth decay, and to prevent cavities to keep their beautiful smiles healthy.
I have listed down some useful tips that you could apply for caring for your child’s teeth. Learn more about children’s dental health as you read my article.
Teach them Good Habit
A toddler usually asks for a bottle of milk before going to bed, then it would make her fall asleep. But that is not ideal because the sugary cling to their teeth causes tooth decay. If you must give him a bottle before bedtime, make sure that it contains no sugar. If possible, just give them a bottle of water.
Sugar can be seen not just in milk. Medicines, vitamins, juices, and some of their foods contain sugar. It is important that you would be able to teach them a good habit of brushing after taking milk, juice, and sugary foods.
Brushing, Flossing, and Rinsing
Cleaning teeth is crucial for children as not all of them enjoy doing it. It is important that your kids are beginning to learn how to and when to do the proper brushing, flossing, and rinsing of teeth. At first, young children especially toddlers will make a quarrel for not wanting to brush, floss, and rinse. So you need to be patient and make it clear to them the importance of why they should do it.
As the child begins to have teeth appear, that’s the time when should you teach them to brush twice a day with the use of an infant toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste. Teach them to floss when they already have teeth that touch each other. Plus, creativity is a plus to make it a children-friendly task for them.
Stop the Use of a Pacifier Starts at 2 Years Old
Letting your child use a pacifier is beneficial in some other ways. But there is a limit to that because too much use of the pacifier would affect their teeth line up. It would also change the shape of their mouth.
Regular Checkup with the Kids Dentist
To ensure the healthy oral hygiene of your child, he should see the kids dentist as he reaches one year old. Early preventive care could save much money in the end. As stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dental care costs for children who have started their regular check-ups earlier are 40% lower rather than those who started at the age of five.
Kids dentist knows how to treat their young dental patients in a professional and a child-friendly manner, so kids would feel easy to be at the dental clinic during the schedule of a dental checkup.
The early childhood stage is when children are best fit to learn things. Don’t miss this moment that your child could learn more about dental good habits, proper brushing, flossing, rinsing, factual about the use of a pacifier, and the importance of visiting a dentist. The earlier they would learn, the better they would know about proper oral hygiene.