Four Tips For Maintaining Your Child's Dental Health

Many parents have heard the myth that caring for baby teeth isn't as important as caring for permanent teeth because the baby teeth are temporary. However, promoting your child's dental health from an early age is important for providing a healthy foundation for permanent teeth to grow into, and also for instilling good dental habits from an early age. Here are four tips to help you keep your child's teeth healthy.

Clean Your Baby's Gums

Just because your baby's first teeth haven't grown in yet doesn't mean that you shouldn't be paying attention to oral health. Plaque can still build up on your baby's gums, potentially causing the gum line to recede. Over time, the gums can recede so much that they are unable to support baby teeth or permanent teeth when they grow in.

To prevent this problem, it is a good idea to gently go over the top, back, and sides of your baby's gums with a damp washcloth. Doing this after every feeding will remove the thin layer of plaque that is on your baby's gums, and will also prevent the sugars in milk from clinging to the gums and promoting plaque buildup.

Take the Bottle Before Bedtime

While it can be tempting to let your child go to bed with a bottle or pacifier so that they sleep soundly, this can be very bad for their dental health. Babies and toddlers will suck on bottles or pacifiers intermittently throughout the night, and may even go to sleep with them in their mouth. Saliva production is reduced during sleep, allowing bacteria to grow on your baby's teeth and gums more quickly than it would throughout the day.

Letting your child sleep with a pacifier or with a bottle containing milk, fruit juice, or formula can lead to a condition known as baby bottle tooth decay. This condition mainly affects the front teeth and gums that are in contact with the bottle. Cavities from baby bottle tooth decay can be so severe that they require fillings, crowns, or tooth extractions are required to repair your child's teeth.

Give Your Child Tooth-Friendly Snacks

It is okay to let your child have chocolate and other sweets as an occasional treat, but these should not be a part of your child's daily diet. Instead, you should opt for tooth-friendly snacks. There are several snacking alternatives to sweets that provide more of the nutrients that your child needs to grow, and that are also healthier for his teeth.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are highly nutritious, and will also improve your child's dental health by manually removing plaque and pieces of food that are clinging to the teeth. Cheese is high in calcium that strengthens teeth, and is also an alkaline food that helps to neutralize the acids produced by plaque.

Don't Forget About Preventive Care

The best way to ensure your child's dental health is to engage in preventive care, and the best preventive care is provided by a pediatric dentist. It is a good idea to take your child to regular dental checkups even if he or she is not experiencing any dental health problems. A good rule of thumb is that your child should have their first dental visit by their first birthday.

Pediatric dentists from places like Dentistry For the Entire Family provide preventative care by assessing your child's diet and current dental condition to determine their risk for developing cavities. They will also educate your child about why dental care is important in kid-friendly terms that he or she will understand. Tooth cleaning and polishing, fluoride treatments, and dental sealants that ward off tooth decay are all methods that a pediatric dentist will use to protect your child's teeth.

Maintaining your child's dental health from an early age is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. Keep these tips in mind so that your child will have a bright, healthy smile for a lifetime.