Dental Hygiene: A Necessity For Kids
A child’s overall health is dependent on healthy teeth. They support a child’s speech and eating. The amount of dental care children need can be difficult for parents to determine. They know they should avoid cavities but are not always sure how to do it. Elders should ensure that they keep the bacteria friendly and play a positive role in their child’s dental health. One can’t completely eradicate bacteria from our mouths because the oral microbiome is crucial to maintaining oral and gut health.
Here are some recommendations and rules for kids’ dental hygiene:
- Let kids assist in selecting their toothbrushes. They can choose the one that matches their favorite character or color.
- Make sure children brush their teeth for 2 minutes by setting a timer. Or play their preferred song to help them keep time.
- Reward kids for maintaining good oral hygiene. Keep food and sweet treats away from them. Instead, provide an apple slice, a gold star, or something simple or healthy.
- Run a clean, damp washcloth over the baby’s gums before they itch from teething.
- Children under eight should always be watched while brushing because they tend to ingest toothpaste.
- Children can transition from a bottle to a sippy cup at six months of age. This helps stop liquid from gathering near a child’s teeth.
These are also important points to remember for your kid’s dental hygiene.
- Although it’s a common misconception, using fluoride-free toothpaste on children can help prevent cavities. In high or neutral pH, bacterial activity is constrained or impaired. Excessive fluoride can harm your child’s health and stain their teeth. Make sure your child does not consume any fluoride-containing mouthwash or toothpaste. When taking fluoride supplements, follow all directions
- Brushing disrupts the biofilm of bacteria on teeth, which, if left unchecked for more than 24 hours, causes slow acid erosion of teeth. For this reason, you should brush your child’s teeth twice a day, even if they occasionally eat sweets.
- Since these spaces are more difficult to keep clean, the prevalence of decay is typically highest there. If a flossing tool or gadget is introduced to a child at a young age, they can learn how to guard their teeth against food particles and resulting bacteria collecting in difficult-to-clean areas.
- The best diet for maintaining a high saliva pH and preventing tooth decay in children is not overly sweet or processed. The consumption of green leafy vegetables and calcium-rich dairy products, such as cheese and unsweetened milk, should be modeled for our children, even though this is easier said than done.
Depending on your dentist’s advice, plan on routine dental checkups for kids as they get older, anywhere from once every three months to once a year. Good dental health can be achieved by limiting sugary foods, encouraging regular brushing and flossing, and collaborating with your dentist.
