As a parent, the health of your child is your top priority from the day they are born. One overlooked part of every child’s health is their dental health; your child’s dental health is just as important as every other part of their body. With that being said, when it comes to the little one’s dental health, there’s no better time than now to start practicing excellent oral hygiene. Developing good oral hygiene is the first and best line of defense for many children dental issues such as
- Painful teeth and gums
- Difficulty chewing, eating, and sleeping
- Gum
disease and inflammation - Embarrassment when talking and smiling
Which are all very common oral diseases among children? Thanks our pediatric dental care service at My Smiles, your child’s primary teeth is guaranteed to stay healthy and strong.
Develop Good Oral Health Habits Early
Good oral hygiene should be practiced as early as infancy, it is very important, as a guardian, to practice some sort of dental hygiene regimen for your child as soon as possible. Whichever method you use to feed your child shouldn’t be relevant in whether you practice dental hygiene or not. Furthermore, even when your child hasn’t developed teeth yet, it is important to start practicing dental hygiene for them too. For an example, you can start by softly wiping their gums with a warm soft and wet washcloth. It’s important to be very gentle as you might hurt the baby’s sensitive gums. Once the baby starts to develop teeth, you can move on to a toothbrush, but be very careful with the type of toothbrush you use and make sure it is specifically designed for babies. Brush the baby’s teeth gently, take your time, and make sure their gums and mouth don’t get scratched in the process. Make this oral regime an everyday routine.
Even though your efforts aren’t being questioned, it is very important to set up dental appointments for your kids so our dentists can take a look. There’s no specific date for when a child’s first dental appointment should be set, but a dental appointment by the time he or she turns one or two years old is ideal. Normally, our pediatric dentist would examine your child’s teeth for any diseases and would remove any plaque build-up and other food debris that you might have missed. Like adults, children can too develop oral diseases from the bacteria that come from all of the stuck food in their teeth which if left untreated, can develop other dental illnesses such as gum inflammation, tooth decay etc. At My Smiles, we provide easy booking tools online to make it easy to book an appointment with our dentist.
When your children come of age where they can start brushing by themselves, as a parent it’s important to educate them on the proper ways to brush their teeth. Teach them to brush all surfaces of their teeth for at least 2 minutes, twice per day with toothpaste.
Help them floss between their teeth and along the gum line to remove trapped food. Make the process fun by implementing kid-friendly songs, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. Encourage them to brush their teeth after eating or drinking sugary things and give them rewards. Increase their water intakes throughout the day it will help reduce cavities.
Tips You Should Receive from Your Pediatric Dentist
Take every dentist appointment as an opportunity to learn more about your child’s oral hygiene. Make sure to ask any questions, but also make sure to remember every advice your pediatric dentists give. Any pediatric dentist should give you additional advice and expert tips for when it comes to the child’s dental hygiene. Typically, the advice will include but not limited to, flossing tips, toothpaste choices, the proper way to brush your child’s teeth and any other information based on the current condition of the child’s teeth.
Our pediatric dentist would also inform and address your child’s eating habits and give you tips to help protect the child’s teeth and gums. Even though this is common knowledge, our dentist will most likely advise you to refrain from giving your child food, and or candies that are rich in sugar and starch. All in all, our pediatric dentist will advise you on the importance of pediatric dental care as it will be important for their future dental health.
Things to Avoid as a Parent
- As a parent, it’s imperative to avoid leaving a bottle of milk or juice while your child falls asleep. Pediatric dentists have found that many children who have cavities are directly linked to falling asleep with a milk or juice bottle in their mouth. As a result, as a parent you’re advised to avoid this.
- Pediatric dentists also encourage parents to avoid on-demand breastfeeding during the night especially when the child’s first teeth start to develop.
- Encourage them to brush their teeth after eating or drinking sugary things and give them rewards.
- Increase their water intakes throughout the day it will help reduce cavities.
Common Questions:
What should I do if my child has a toothache?
The first thing you do is rinse the irritated area with lukewarm salt water, and if the child’s face is swollen, place a cold compress on the face. Give the child appropriate pain-relieving medication (preferably acetaminophen) for the pain and set up a dentist appointment immediately.
How often does my child need to see the pediatric dentist?
A pediatric dentist appointment every 6 months is recommended for every child.
Toothpaste: when should we begin using it and how much should we use?
As soon as possible! As soon as the child is born, but make sure to follow our advice on the second paragraph on how to properly clean a baby’s mouth, gums, and teeth.
How do I find a pediatric dentist in my hometown?
A simple Google search should be enough to locate the pediatric dentists near you.
All in all, make sure you take good care of your child’s oral hygiene from the moment they are born. You will be saving them from potential oral diseases in the near future and they will thank you later! Thanks for reading.
If you have any questions about your child’s dental health, you can give us a call or book an appointment with us online to ensure your child has a healthy and beautiful smile. At My Smiles Center in Joliet and Des Plaines, IL, our staff has some of the best treatment plans for your children.
Contact Us:
1475 E Oakton St. Suite 2. , Des Plaines IL 60018, United States
323 E Cass St. , Joliet IL 60432, United States
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