How to Care for Your Child's Teeth

Taking care of your children's teeth is really no different from the way you take care of your own teeth. You, as the parent or caretaker, can either give them a strong, healthy dentition or make them a dental cripple. The few small things mentioned here might make a difference not only in maintaining your child's oral health but psychological health as well. Most dental phobias stem from childhood, so the following will certainly minimize their negative dental experiences.

The most important thing you can do for your child is to give them fluoride supplements. These are dispensed by prescription only, can be in liquid or tablet form and are supplied either alone or in combination with a multivitamin. To this day it's difficult to understand why so many physicians and parents are reluctant to have their children take these supplements. Most of it is ignorance, however, some of it is a real fear that fluoride is a poison and that this supplement may cause more harm than good. This stems from the fact that fluoride was used as a rat poison and of course if taken in too great a quantity, will cause toxic effects. This idea has no bearing in this situation. If supplements are given, they are given in exact doses that will not cause any side effect whatsoever. However, as with any other prescription medicines, these supplements or vitamins must be out of the reach of children to prevent them from chewing more than the 1 they require each day. If your water system is fluoridated, and you do drink the town water, be sure to tell your physician or dentist this. Chances are that no supplements will be needed if the fluoridation is adquately dosed, but this will be determined by your physician. Fluoride alone has dramatically changed the caries or cavity rate for children over the course of the last 30 to 40 years. The immature enamel in youngsters (up to the age of 18) soaks up the fluoride and incorporates it into its structure, making it more impervious to the acids that bacteria produce. The caries rate in children is now 60 to 70 percent less than what is was when fluroide was unavailable. So if there's only one thing you do from this article, this would be the one to follow.

Another important idea is to make sure your children, not only brush, but do it properly. In toddlers, you should brush their teeth for them with a non-fluoridated toothpaste, since most toddlers swallow part or most of the toothpaste. As they get older, you can switch to a fluoridated dentrifice, but it would be a good idea to watch them or time them when brushing to ensure that they are doing an adequate job. Also make sure that every child is scheduled for a 6 month dental exam and professional cleaning. Children should start to visist the dentist for checkups when they're approximately 2 1/2 to 3 years of age. Another problem that is seen is that parents with dental phobias, many times relay this fear to their children, even in cases when they haven't had a dental visit. So don't transfer your dental phobia to your child. Let them acquire their experiences personally. Children these days don't need much dental work and therefore many dental phobias, that we see in adults currently, will not be formed during adulthood. Finally, when the children get their adult teeth, consider placing sealants on molars or any tooth deemed necessary by your dental professional. Sealants are plastic type coatings that are place over the deep grooves of the adult teeth. They prevent food from getting impacted in these non-cleansable grooves, cutting the caries rate in these teeth dramatically.

Although we can't change genetics and how prone we are to certain dental problems, we can certainly minimize them. By following the above you'll be setting a solid foundation for your children. Maintaining good oral health starts early. Your decisions will impact their dental health for a lifetime.

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