Oral Health in Children

Dental Care for Children:  Recent studies conducted in America show that children are prone to a wide variety of periodontal diseases apart from the normal cavity formation in the tooth.  These findings have made the importance of good oral habits to be instilled in the children at very young age to prevent them from cavities, gingivitis etc. Registered dental practitioners have listed down the following tips for a good oral health regime:

Proper oral habits can be instilled even in the infancy stages, before the eruption of teeth.  The gums of the infants can be cleaned thoroughly after every feed with the help of a gauze pad or wet infant cloth so as to massage the gums gently and to remove any traces of food particles.  Once tooth has erupted they can be brushed with the help of a soft bristled, small toothbrush with very little fluoridated toothpaste.  Regular usage of fluoride toothpastes can prevent the tooth from decay.  Fluorine is normally found in most of the mouth rinses available in the market, they are found in community water supplies, and also found in certain foods.

At the early ages of two or three years, the child can be taught to brush properly.  The dentists advise to brush in the up and down direction of the gums and teeth but they do not recommend the side way/ horizontal brushing action.  Care should be taken until the age of seven years of the child and assist them in gentle brushing and flossing even they have learnt the act of brushing their teeth, to avoid damage to the gums.

Regular oral health appointments needs to be taken right from the age of one year of the child, as this enables to find any cavities in the preliminary teeth and to find any developmental problems arising.  Regular checkups with the dentist will create a habit to meet the dentist and provides a positive experience which is very much needed for the young children to prevent fear when problems arises and to cooperate well with the known dentist.  Upon discussion with the dentist, they might also provide discounts for the checkup which when scheduled in a proper way, both the dentist and the consumer benefits out of this agreement.  Regular checkups help the dentist to be aware of the dental history of the patient right from the beginning.

The child should be mentally prepared by discussing about the nature of tooth, possible outcome of diseases of the teeth incase of improper food habits and due to improper oral hygiene.  Also the child should be made aware of the possibilities of pain when tooth decay or any problems to teeth occur, also the procedure to correct certain abnormalities of the teeth may cause pain should also be explained to them.  It is not recommended to inform the children that no pain will be experienced during such problems.

It is good to find out if the water supply to the house is fluoridated or not.  In case of no fluoridation, it is good to discuss with your dental practitioner or dentist as to how supplementation can be made.  Certain problems like baby bottle tooth decay, which may be caused due to the exposure to sugar containing liquids for quite sometime should be discussed and find ways to prevent the tooth from decay and any other dental diseases.