In case you haven’t heard, January is Children’s Dental Health Month. This provides dental professionals with an opportunity to help their children improve their smiles, and to educate parents on how they can make those results last.
Being a parent is obviously difficult, though oral hygiene doesn’t have to add to that. Keep these tips in mind and your child’s smile will be protected for a long time to come.
Schedule Routine Checkups
Typically, dentists recommend bringing your child in as soon as their first birthday, or whenever a tooth begins to emerge, whichever comes first. This allows them to check on the health of the gums and ensure that the baby teeth are set to come in properly.
After that, children should come in for regular checkups and cleanings twice a year, just like anyone else.
Daily Brushing
It’s a good idea to start brushing your child’s teeth as soon as their first tooth sprouts. You can do this with a specialized infant toothbrush and a miniscule amount of fluoride toothpaste, no bigger than a grain of rice. Once your child has enough teeth for them to touch each other, you should also start flossing them.
You should be sure to supervise children while brushing all the way up to the age of 6; young kids have a propensity to accidentally swallow toothpaste, so you should help them not to develop this habit. For this reason, children ages 2-6 should also only use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste while brushing.
Smart Snacking
Few things are more important to children than snack time, but as a parent it’s good to make sure that your child is eating things that are healthy for their teeth. Fruit snacks and sticky candies are popular among kids, but they can be absolutely terrible for teeth. Calcium-rich snacks like cheese and yogurt are excellent alternatives. If you have trouble dissuading your child from candy, you might offer them chocolate; this is washed away more easily than sticky or gummy candies.
About the Author
Dr. Moji Chandy has a true passion for dentistry, and it affords her the unique ability to incorporate a variety of strategies and cutting-edge technology into her treatment plans. She received her dental degree at New York University, and practiced in New York for a year before moving to Texas. Here, she’s a member of the Texas Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
If you have any questions about how best to improve your child’s smile, she can be reached at her website or by phone at (972) 492-6700.