By Gentle Touch Dentistry Richardson
Start off with Your Dental Visits Early:
If you as a parent, have some kind of dental anxiety, you are quite likely to be passing down those fears to your kids even without realizing that. Starting off with the dental appointments as soon as the first tooth of the baby appears help erase dental fears from your child in future. This is indeed more important rather than visiting the pediatric dentist only after being plagued with fear about cavities or other problems.
This practice among parents, also help dentists problem areas before they become serious! A treatment plan can also be chalked out accordingly. Moreover, the more the child sees a dentist, the more dental hygiene practices can be instilled in him.
Be Careful of the Drinks:
It is commonly known that sugary beverages are not good for the teeth. The fact behind this is that bacteria get to feed on the sugar content that is left back on your teeth. The sugar content breaks down into acids that attack the enamel of your teeth. This leads to decay and eventual formation of cavities in your baby’s teeth. Thus, drinks that are to be avoided are – sweetened fruit juices, chocolate drinks, aerated soft drinks, too much of formula feed etc. Even if they are consumed at times, two norms need to be strictly followed:
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- Wipe the baby’s teeth with wet cloth or tissue even after having the drink.
- Preferably make the child use sippy cup or a refillable bottle, such that liquid does not wash the child’s teeth as far as possible.
Sugary drinks taste good. Especially therefore, they are very dear to kids and hence, weeding them out is not going to be easy, but that is the best thing that can be done for the child’s long term benefit.
Preferably, Lead by Example
No matter whichever practice it is, your children take cues from you, sometimes even without you noticing it. Therefore, your pediatric dentist would highly advice you to make brushing and flossing a family activity every morning and bedtime too. If your mornings are too hectic make sure that this is a regular practice at least once a day! Also keep in mind that brushing should last for at least two minutes and cover all surfaces of the teeth and tongue.
However, if your child is under age two, then you must be brushing and flossing for them.
Finally, there are brushing apps nowadays to help kids! Most brushing apps for children, try making a game out of brushing and flossing every day. You can also create a chart to track progress and reward your children for their good behavior along the way. Eventually, you will notice that the habits will become so routine that rewards are no longer needed to serve as incentives.
