Protecting our oral health is quite important to maintaining overall wellness. Teeth play an important role in our body. Teeth enable us to chew food, which allows for proper digestion. Moreover, teeth also help pronounce words correctly when we speak and can be attractive when we smile. Unfortunately, tooth decay can take away these benefits.
There can be many causes for tooth decay. This oral health issue can be experienced anytime and at any age. Children are also vulnerable to tooth decay. Thus, the kid dentists at Peak Family Dental Care always suggest parents to get the dental checkups of their child done regularly.
Tooth decay in early childhood days commonly begins in the form of cavities or “dental caries.” The first symptom starts with the formation of white spots on the enamel, which later change to brownish or black spots. In children, the front four teeth seem to be more affected as these teeth are mainly used to chew sugary candies.
A Few Causes for Tooth Decay in Children
- Presence of bacteria in the mouth
- Consumption of excessive sugary food can cause microbes to multiply fast leading to thinning of enamel and the eventual formation of cavities.
- Mothers usually settle their babies at night with a bottle of milk in their mouth. Usually, the milk contains sugar that can cause bacteria to accumulate in the mouth resulting in decay of milk teeth of toddlers.
Now, it is a known fact that prevention is better than cure. Hence, every parent should take a few steps to maintain their toddler’s oral health perfectly. These methods when followed regularly will help in preventing tooth decay in children.
Here are a few beneficial tips to avoid tooth decay in small children
- Never ever keep the milk bottle in the mouth of the sleeping baby. You need to remove it as soon as your baby has finished drinking milk or when the baby falls asleep.
- Once your baby starts sitting, feed them fruit drinks using baby cups and not a feeding bottle.
- Brushing teeth twice every day will keep the teeth healthy. You can start brushing teeth as soon as a single tooth emerges fully. You can soak the baby toothbrush in water before brushing their teeth.
- You can ask your pediatric dentist to suggest good effective baby toothpaste to brush your toddler’s teeth. Along with teeth, you can brush the gum line of your kids too.
- It is beneficial to avoid the habit of giving sugary food to your toddlers often. Even natural sugar edibles like honey and fruit juice aren’t good for your child’s teeth.
- Milk-based foods and drinks should be reduced after your child is one year old. You can give low fat-milk, which has less lactose, to your toddler.
- You can give them sugar-free medicines to avoid sugar components remaining in their mouth after sleep.
In short, don’t induce the habit of tasting sugary edibles in childhood. You can start visiting a trustable pediatric dentist as soon as your child tooth starts erupting teeth. Follow these golden rules to keep your child’s teeth healthy.
