Oral Health

You may be surprised to learn that the most common chronic childhood disease is tooth decay. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 40 percent of children have tooth decay by the time they reach kindergarten, making dental cavities five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever in children. Health care professionals know, however, that this is one disease that is very preventable. Here are some tips for giving your child a healthy, happy smile:

• Start with good oral care habits early—Even before your baby’s teeth come in you should start cleaning his/her gums twice a day using a clean, soft cloth. Good times to do this are after a morning feeding and before bedtime. When the child’s first teeth come in, you should continue cleaning with a cloth or use a baby’s toothbrush and water. All baby teeth should be in by age two, and around this time, you can begin to use a pea-size amount of fluoride toothpaste on the brush. Don’t start using toothpaste until your child is able to spit instead of swallow after brushing. All children should brush at least twice a day and floss once a day.
• Avoid sugar—Sugar reacts with bacteria in the mouth to form acid, which then causes tooth decay. Limiting the amount of sugar your children consume and feeding them fresh fruits and vegetables instead of cookies, candy, and soda is much healthier for their bodies and smiles!
• No bottles to bed—Milk, formula, juice, and other sweet drinks have sugar in them, and when a child sucks on a bottle filled with these liquids right before bedtime or a naptime, the liquid pools in the mouth and the sugars react and destroy the front teeth (known as baby bottle tooth decay or BBTD). If you do need to put your baby to bed with a bottle, fill it with water.
• Fluoride—Fluoride is a mineral that is beneficial to oral health because it actually strengthens tooth enamel and works to prevent tooth decay. Fluoride is found naturally in many foods and is added to drinking water in most cities and towns. Fluoride is also added to toothpaste (however, to avoid fluoride toxicity in young children, it is recommended children don’t use toothpaste with fluoride until they are old enough to spit it out after brushing).
• Regular dentist visits—Your child’s pediatrician should check your child’s general oral health at every visit. It is also important that you take your child to see the dentist regularly starting around the first birthday or six months after the first teeth come in.