Pediatric Dentistry
Every parent wants their child to grow up healthy and happy. It’s never too early or too late to take proper care of your kid’s teeth. After all, teeth are given only twice in a lifetime, and their health must be taken care of with great responsibility. In this article, you will find all the information about pediatric dentistry that parents should know about.
When to start brushing your child’s teeth
The first milk teeth appear at the age of about 6 months. Many questions arise in the parents’ minds: at what age should they start brushing their kids’ teeth, how to choose hygiene products, is children’s toothpaste safe, what to do if the child does not want to brush their teeth, and many others.
Let’s start with the first months of a baby’s life. Many mothers feel that nothing needs to be done while the baby is breastfeeding. However, the frequent and prolonged presence of milk or food in the mouth provokes the appearance of caries. For gentle cleaning of plaque, you can use special fingertips with silicone bristles. Such a brush not only cleans but also massages the gums, which is especially important when teething.
How to properly brush kids’ teeth
You need to brush your teeth twice a day. Besides the quantity, the quality of the cleaning is also important. The main cause of tooth decay is poor oral hygiene. It is difficult for children to clean out food debris that is stuck between the teeth and in the fissures, which is why small black specks of caries appear. To avoid giving bacteria a chance, you need to brush your teeth after eating, both in the morning and in the evening. When a child does this before eating, after eating, there are residues that microorganisms feed on and the products of their vital activity destroy enamel.
Teeth care tips
- Teach your child to rinse their mouth with water after a meal in the middle of the day. The need for such a procedure is associated with microorganisms that feed on food debris in the teeth;
- Eliminate caramel and other sweets from the diet, which “stick” to the teeth and provoke the multiplication of microorganisms, which in turn contribute to the development of caries. If you want to spoil your children sometimes, give preference to chocolates. In small amounts, chocolate (not caramels) is healthy;
- Correct diet. For a child to smile with pride and be healthy, fruits and vegetables, dairy, and meat products should be present in the daily diet. And, of course, don’t forget about the fish.
For the proper development of the jaws, children need to chew on something hard: an apple, a whole carrot, nuts, crackers, and similar foods.
