HEALTHY TEETH START IN INFANCY
HEALTHY TEETH START IN
INFANCY
Healthy teeth are important
for your appearance but also for your health. Recent studies have shown that
children miss as much school for tooth problems as for Asthma. Anybody who has
had a toothache knows that it is not a pleasant experience. And those of you
who have never had a cavity are either very lucky or know how to take care of
your teeth. Tooth health has been
connected to other health issues as well, including heart trouble.
Baby teeth
Tooth care should begin
before the first tooth appears. Many people think that “milk teeth” are not
important because they will come out eventually. This is not true. “Milk teeth”
are important. Baby teeth are used to learn to chew and process food. Much of a
child’s growth occurs in the first five years which includes much of the
structure of the face and jaw. Missing teeth will impact that growth. They play a role in learning how to speak
both because they are used in speaking and they are important in face
development. Perhaps, most important,
baby teeth hold space open for the permanent teeth when they come in. If baby
teeth are missing, the mouth may not have room for permanent teeth.
Another issue is that decay
in baby teeth, especially if severe, can cause decay in permanent teeth. First
of all, the decay can actually go up to the growing teeth and children with
severe bottle mouth have had already decayed teeth grow in. Secondly, It is
thought that tooth decay is caused by bacteria, which will be present in the
mouth when the permanent teeth grow in, so one must take care of baby teeth.
Cleaning the mouth and
teeth
When do you start cleaning
your baby’s teeth. You should start
before the first tooth comes in. Aside
from keeping your baby’s mouth clean, starting early makes caring for teeth an
easy routine. If you try to start cleaning the mouth of an 18 month old you
will find resistance. From the start
clean your baby’s gums twice a day, after the morning feeding and before
bedtime at night. Here is how.
1.
Lay
baby on your lap with head towards you, face up.
2.
Use
a soft wash cloth
3.
Use
only water, no toothpaste of any kind
4.
Place
wet cloth over your finger and gently rub the inside and outside of the upper
and lower gums. Some theories recommend that you start at the outside and rub
to the center on one side then go to the outside of the other side and rub
towards the center. Do the outside then on the inside of the upper before going
to the lower gum.
When the first teeth appear
(usually between 5 and 7 months) it may be time to start using a small soft toothbrush
specifically made for infants. The toothbrush should be replaced every 2 months
(as should yours). The pediatric dental association recommends that NO fluoride
be used until a child is over 2 years old. It is not necessary to use
toothpaste at all until then (plain water will clean the teeth) but if you want
to introduce toothpaste be sure to get one especially made for infants.
Bottle mouth
In addition to cleaning the
teeth, there are other preventative measures that you should take. Most people have
heard of “bottle mouth”. This is decay in the front teeth due to extended
sucking on a bottle containing milk or juice.
This is particularly a danger when babies take a bottle to bed. Breast
fed babies do not get bottle mouth from breast feeding because it is a rare
mother who will let baby “nibble” on the breast for long enough to cause the
problem but it is not impossible. Use the bottle only for feeding and remove it
when feeding is over. Do not let the baby keep the bottle in the mouth when
sleeping. Remove it from the crib. The worst offender is juice bottles but milk
also contains sugars and will decay teeth. It is recommended that only water be
given in bottles after the evening feeding.
Some dentists recommend that juice never be given in a bottle. Introduce
the cup at about 8 months and there is no need to offer juice until it can be
taken by cup.
Other causes of decay
In that vein, avoiding
sugary foods as much as possible is helpful. For the teeth, continuous contact
with these foods is the problem so definitely avoid letting your little ones
walk around the house with snacks all day or chew on sweet biscuits for hours
at a time.
Bacteria is the main cause
of tooth decay and this bacteria can spread from mouth to mouth. If the whole
family has healthy teeth there is less chance that baby will have tooth decay.
In any case you should not put toothbrushes, spoons or pacifiers from your
mouth to the baby’s. Toys and pacifiers should be kept clean and the latter
should be replaced frequently. To avoid problems of misshapen teeth, it is
recommended that pacifiers be discontinued by about 15 months of age.
The dentist
The first dentist visit
should be early if only to help the child become accustomed to going to the
dentist. Some pediatric dentists recommend the first visit take place soon
after the first tooth comes in. Others
recommend sometime between the first tooth and the first twenty, which
means between 8 months and about 2 years. Around the first birthday is a good
target for the first dentist visit. If you have older children, it is easy to
bring the baby to a visit for one of the older children. The first visit rarely
takes more that about 5 minutes unless you have concerns but it helps baby
become comfortable about going and gives the dentist a chance to head off any
tooth or mouth problems that may occur.
It is important to take the
care of your baby’s mouth and teeth very seriously to lay a foundation for
healthy habits and healthy teeth throughout life.
No comments:
Post a Comment