Dental Hygiene Tips For Your Child’s Teeth
Having healthy tips is really important for the overall health of a child. Teeth help children talk and eat. A really strong oral care will help set great dental habits that will be respected in the future. Bad oral care leads to disease, teeth problems and infection.
The big problem with dental hygiene for children is that it is not at all fun. Remember that kids learn by playing and investigating. With this in mind, Lafayette Dental recommends making dental hygiene fun. You can do this with tips like:
- Allow the child to choose his/her toothbrush. This allows choosing one with a favorite character or color.
- Watch videos with children or read them books talking about hygiene.
- Let the child choose the toothpaste, as long as it is a good one. For instance, the child can choose a favorite flavor.
- Use timers to be sure that kids brush teeth for the needed two minutes. Alternatively, play a loved song to track time.
- Make sure that you reward your child when proper oral care is respected. Obviously, you do not want to offer sugary treats but you can give them something healthy, like an apple slice.
- After the dental visit, arrange some fun.
The Importance Of Fluoride
Fluoride is much more important for dental health a child than what many parents believe. It is useful to reduce primary teeth cavities, just like with adult teeth. Tooth enamel is also hardened. Most of the kids will get fluoride through the drinking water supply since cities normally add it to the tap water. However, this is not always the case so be sure that the water supply in your region actually offers that. Also, if you use water filters, make sure it does not remove fluoride.
Fortunately, oral fluoride supplements are available. Be sure that you discuss the topic with the dentist, who can also offer fluoride cleaning or varnish. The dentist will tell you how much fluoride is needed so that the child’s tooth is not harmed.
When To Start Brushing
Proper dental hygiene has to start as the child is still a baby with a toothbrush that is child-size and soft. This should happen around the age of one or two. Make sure that you brush the teeth of your child 2 times per day and you can add a small quantity of toothpaste in the event that it does not include fluoride. Fluoride toothpaste should only be used when the child is older and can spit out toothpaste. Even then, just small amounts are needed at first.
Remember that the child needs help until around 8 years old. This is when the switch to a larger toothbrush happens. Switch out the toothbrushes every 4 months or when its bristles start to look worn.
Diet
The last really important thing to remember is that cavities tend to appear when many sugary foods are consumed. This is why healthy food choices have to be made. Basically, the most important thing is to avoid having too much sugar in the diet of the child, like through sweetened drinks, fruit juice or soda. Sweet drinks and snacks should be limited to just between meals. If sugar is consumed, brushing teeth is needed right after.
