Nowadays, parents have become more cautious about their children’s oral care, hair, skin, teeth etc. than ever before. They look after everything, from a small dab of dust on their clothes to their smile, to their hair-style and the list does not have an end. This article is about the hygiene habits of your children’s oral care. The kids under 6 years of age do not possess manual skills to brush their teeth. It becomes the responsibility of parents to help them clean their teeth. Sometimes, parents think that baby teeth are not important and these will fall out at the beginning of permanent teeth; however, baby teeth play an important role in helping your kids bite, chew and speak clearly. Baby teeth make space for the permanent teeth and guide them into the appropriate place.
Tips for Children’s Oral Care
Take Care of Baby Teeth
A good care of your baby’s teeth should be begun right from after the two-three months of his birth. A soft damp gauze, a clean washcloth or an infant gum massager can be used. Baby teeth are considered as the sole of the permanent teeth. The roots and positions of the adult teeth grow just below baby teeth; hence it is important to take care of your children’s oral care right from the beginning.
Nutrition
What your child eats and how often he eats are two main areas to notice. Dentists say frequent snacking is the main reason for tooth decay, cavities, and vanishing tooth enamels in kids. Usually, every child craves for snacks and parents feed them home-made snacks happily. However, also home-made snacks contain the same amount of white sugar as a Lay’s chips pack. Such white sugar contains carbohydrates and breaks into sugar after chewing. If this sugar contained food is allowed to stay in the mouth for a long time, it creates acid and it eats away natural enamel around the teeth. Parents should replace such snacks with fresh veggies, dry fruits, and home-made cheese.
Dental Hygiene
Your kid should brush once in the morning and once at night before going to bed. This is the ideal dental cleaning habit that your kid should follow. The toothbrush should always be small with gentle filaments. Dab a bit of toothpaste on the brush and help him brush with a small movement and slight pressure.
Measure Baby’s Fluoride Intake
Fluoride helps to remove tooth decay. Once the baby is six months old, you can ask doctors if he can take Fluoride supplements. Commonly, fluoride is available in the normal drinking water; however, it is better to take additional supplements at the time of baby’s new teeth.
Schedule a Dental Exam
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that your baby should get his first dental exam at the age of 1, or at the time of the appearance of his first tooth. If you take good care of those pearly whites, you can establish good dental habits for the baby in the coming years.
Flossing
Flossing is a very important practice for your kid’s teeth. As you see, your child’s two teeth touch each other, floss between them once a day to remove food bits. A normal regular floss or a plastic floss holder can do the job pretty well.
Toothbrushing Should be Fun
This is a common story of every home. When it comes to making your kid brush his teeth, there is a lot of drama outside of this daunting task. Here are a few tricks to make it more friendly for your child. Nowadays, kids are becoming fond of cartoon characters. Our market is inundated with such products as can make your child fall in love with dental cleaning habits.
