Are You Making These 6 Mistakes with Your Kid’s Teeth?

1. Bottled Water

Bottled water is fashionable and is marketed as being a healthy and easily portable choice, but did you know your kid’s pediatric dentist would almost certainly advise drinking tap water?

Public water supplies are very highly regulated and monitored, and most contain fluoride, which is great for your kid’s teeth. In fact, many dentists regard fluoridated tap water as being one of the best public health innovations over the last few decades. Bottled water frequently doesn’t contain any fluoride, and although it is great for hydration and is far better than soda, plain old tap water is still best. Drinking tap water is also more environmentally friendly and a lot cheaper!

2. Unsupervised Teeth Brushing

As soon as they are able, your kid will almost certainly want to brush their teeth on their own, and you probably want to encourage their independence. However, unless you supervise their teeth brushing then how can you be sure your kid is actually brushing all their teeth or that they are spending long enough on tooth brushing?

Children (and their parents!) need to spend at least two minutes brushing their teeth. It should take approximately thirty seconds to thoroughly clean each quadrant or quarter section of the mouth. Unfortunately, many kids will get bored way before those two minutes are up. One way to get around this problem is to make tooth brushing more enjoyable.

Start by getting your child involved when you buy their next toothbrush and toothpaste. Allow them to choose a child-sized brush they like, perhaps in the shape of their favorite superhero or cartoon character, and to pick out toothpaste in a flavor that appeals. One thing that can be very helpful is to purchase an electric or battery-operated toothbrush with a built-in timer so that your kid knows exactly how long to brush.

Also, try brushing your teeth at the same time so they can copy your hand movements. You could even let them brush your teeth for you while you guide their hand. It’s just something that can make tooth brushing a bit more fun for you both. Once your child is finished brushing their teeth then you could use plaque disclosing tablets. These are special tablets that are chewed, and which stain any plaque left on the teeth a nice bright color. Plaque disclosing tablets can be very useful for highlighting areas that your child has missed brushing in a way that is more fun.

3. Disregarding Cavities

. Some parents still think that milk teeth or a child’s primary teeth aren’t important, and unfortunately, dentists often hear parents say that these teeth are going to fall out anyway, so why take care of them?

Primary teeth are very important in helping your child’s jaws to develop correctly, and one of the most important functions is in helping your child’s adult teeth to come through properly. When baby teeth are removed too soon, often the remaining baby teeth will shift out of place, so there isn’t enough room for the adult tooth to come through in the right position and orientation.

Children who lose their baby teeth too soon are more likely to need orthodontic care when they are older. Additionally, learning to talk and eat lots of different foods is far trickier when teeth are missing or if a child is in pain due to a cavity.

4. First Dental Visit

Kids need to visit a dentist by age one, normally as soon as their first tooth pushes through their gums. If your kid hasn’t got any teeth by age one then you should still take them to visit a dentist, just to check that everything is okay.

There are a lot of good reasons for taking your child to visit a dentist at such a young age. For a start, it will help get your child in the habit of seeing a dentist regularly so that they become accustomed to receiving professional dental care. It’s a great way to make sure your child doesn’t grow up with dental fears and phobias.

Another nice thing about taking your child to visit a pediatric dentistry center by age 1 is that you can get lots of useful advice on how to look after your kid’s teeth at home. Not surprisingly, many new parents are a little unsure about how to brush their child’s teeth or even which toothbrush and toothpaste to use. prophylaxis dentist

A good pediatric dentist's office can help you with all these things and answer any questions you might have about your kid’s oral health. It’s a great way to get some good professional advice and practical help.

5. Sleeping with the Milk Bottle

Sending your child to bed with a bottle of milk or juice might seem like a nice way to soothe them to sleep, but it could damage their teeth. The problem with this habit is that your child’s teeth will be coated with sugar while they sleep, greatly increasing the risk of childhood cavities. The problem is made even worse because your mouth produces less saliva during sleep, and the drier conditions allow cavity-causing bacteria to thrive.

6. Disregarding Your Own Dental Health

Failing to look after your dental health. Did you know that tooth decay is an infectious disease? In fact, the decay-causing bacteria in the mouth can be spread to others through kissing or by sharing utensils. If you have a young child and have poor dental health, then you will have more bacteria in your mouth that you are likely to spread to them every time you kiss them or lick a spoon or pacifier. Having kids should be a great incentive to look after your own dental health. That way, the whole family can enjoy having healthy teeth and smiles.