Dental Care Can Prevent Disease-Not Just Replace And Repair
Dental care is extremely important in maintaining wellness and health. Involving care of the gums, interrelated mouth structures, and early recognition of cancerous lesions, dental care also includes the prevention of future dental disease and repair of damaged teeth. Countless cases have shown that people suffer from dental problems mainly due to lack of proper dental hygiene awareness, excess intake of sugar, and just being plain old lazy in keeping the teeth and gums clean.
Keep in mind that baby teeth are not as strong as permanent teeth. If they are not subjected to proper dental care, their teeth can decay and cavities can appear quickly. I am sure you do not want to jeopardize your child’s dental health at a very early age. Another thing is that most dental health care facilities do not offer dental treatment to infants or children below 3 years old, so it is your responsibility to keep his teeth strong and his mouth clean.
Here are 3 tips in taking care of your baby’s teeth:
Regularly visiting a professional dentist for cleanups and checkups can help prevent dental problems and help maintain optimal dental health. Any person concerned about their well-being and dental health should not wait for a toothache to have to visit a dentist. Dental experts help prevent gum disease through professional dental treatment to avoid decay and gum disease complications like periodontitis. Dental visits also help combat oral cancer, which causes deaths by the hour everyday in the United States alone, as announced by The Oral Cancer Foundation.
Do not let your baby get used to sleeping with a feeding bottle in his/her mouth – especially if it is not water. Whether it is milk or juice, never give harmful bacteria on the child’s mouth something to feed on. Chances are he/she would develop the nursing bottle syndrome, which is a serious dental disorder. Even an infant’s mouth is not exempted from having bacteria inside. These bacteria feed on sugar and if the bottle is left overnight with a drink with sugar, the bacteria secrete acids that attack the enamel of the baby’s tooth, causing it to rot and decay. Instead of using milk or juice before bedtime, use water.
Permanent teeth begin to appear at around 6 years old. Before this time, you should ensure that you use tooth paste that do not have high levels of fluoride as these could damage the teeth in a condition called flourosis. It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry that you use fluoridated toothpaste after your baby has reached 2 years old.
By making sure that your kid’s teeth are sound, you are teaching the importance of dental care. It would be a great advantage sooner or later. If your child is educated early in dental health care, you would hardly spend on dental treatments and emergency dental care. With this in mind, you are assured that your child’s teeth would grow in perfect condition.