Naptime Blog

Most parents are concerned with their baby’s health form the moment they become aware of the child’s existence.  Mothers take their prenatal vitamins, eat healthier, remain clear of alcohol and tobacco as well make other adjustments to ensure the pregnancy goes smoothly for the sake of the baby’s well-being.  They see their obstetrician monthly, preparing for a healthy birth.

When baby comes, the parents ensure the child gets care from his pediatrician, immunizing the child and following up on anything warranting follow up.  Parents regularly take the child to the pediatrician to make sure the child is growing and thriving as he should. 

Baby’s health does not stop there.  Good oral hygiene habits need to start from very early on in a child’s life, and maintaining oral hygiene even before a baby’s first tooth appears is key.  While you may not have to worry about decaying teeth, it is always good to remove the formula or milk from the baby’s mouth.  More importantly, it gets the baby used to the habit for when it is time to start actually brushing teeth.  And at some point baby will be getting that first tooth, so regularly cleaning the gums ensures that when that tooth comes in you are already cleaning it of milk. 

You might want to purchase the rubber cleaner that fits on parent’s finger to clean the gums.  However, a wet piece of gauze or a small washcloth wrapped around your finger does the trick as well.  And once the teeth start to emerge, you should get a baby toothbrush and begin to brush not only those first few front teeth, but the back gums as well.  This will get the child used to the feeling and getting into the regular habit of brushing the whole mouth and keeping the mouth clean and ridding it of harmful bacteria that can affect the teeth.

After baby’s first birthday, he is undoubtedly becoming more and more independent, and may want to brush his own teeth.  A child is not fully ready to brush on his own until at least five years old, maybe even later, however, it is never too soon to teach them how to start working on their own oral health.  Brushing teeth requires a level of coordination and skill that a toddler does not yet have, but it is never too soon to start practicing.  I found with my children that I would brush first, then hand them the brush to give them a turn.  Kids find it fun to brush.  It also gives them that feeling of “I am a big boy/girl!”  Plus, you are teaching them an invaluable lifetime habit that we all need.

Toothpaste is not necessary at this time.  There are a variety of tooth and gum cleansers that you can purchase if you prefer, which might also help the child to develop a habit, but it is not needed.  And because a young child does not fully understand the concept of holding something in his or her mouth without swallowing, fluoride toothpaste should not be used at all.  Ingesting too much fluoride can be harmful. 

I spent many years working as a dental assistant through high school, undergraduate school, all the way through getting my masters degree and becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist.  Four of those years were spent working with pediatric dentists.  It still amazes me how some parents do not see the need to invest so much time and energy on baby teeth, as they feel that they will fall out anyway.  It is important to have your child visit the dentist for his first regular dental cleaning from age two.  Again, not only are you creating a good habit for your child from very early on, you are ensuring that if there is cause for concern, the dentist will be able to pinpoint it at this early stage.  Baby teeth can decay just as adult teeth can.  If left untreated, the decay can make its way through the root of the tooth (and baby teeth do have roots until they are ready to fall out), can cause pain, can cause abscesses, and can cause other problems, like infection. 

Unfortunately, I saw many children who were never taken for regular dental checkups, whose parents did not teach them proper oral health from early on, and whose cavities were not treated when they were small.  By the time we saw the children in our office, it was because the child was in pain or the decay was very obvious.  The experience was not as positive as it could have been for many of these children, because treating a child with a mouthful of deep cavities, needing long appointments, anesthesia, mouth props, rubber dams, baby root canals, etc is not pleasant.

Keep in mind that often a small cavity is treated without the need to use anesthetic, the procedure is painless, the experience is fun (yes, fun!) and the child has no bad memories or fears of visiting the dentist.  Advances in dental treatment have come a long way in twenty to thirty years, and while previous generations may have had good reason to fear dentistry, this generation should not.

Many children today can grow up without ever getting a cavity.  Good oral habits from very early on can help ensure this.

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (7), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (Newborn)
www.nevaland.com