Babies’ & Toddlers’ Good Oral Health Importance

Baby teeth, also known as milk teeth, play a vital role in a child’s physical, emotional, and social development. However, many parents are under the impression that since they will eventually fall out, taking care of the primary teeth is not important or necessary.

Why Do They Matter?

In this article we will mention just some reasons why Baby Teeths’ Oral Health is important for your child:

• Health and Nutrition

Unhealthy teeth can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Untreated tooth decay can cause serious infections, which can quickly spread to other parts of the body and even require hospitalization at this time.

• Position of Permanent Teeth

Baby Teeth guide the adult teeth in the right position. If a child loses the teeth too early, new teeth can open up space and create new spaces that cause imperfections.

• Development of The Facial Bones And Muscles

Suppose decayed baby teeth are not treated in time. In that case, tooth decay will quickly spread to developing adult teeth in the form of infection, hindering their development and leading to permanent damage.

• Self-esteem

Missing teeth can cause low self-esteem to children and will make them feel uncomfortable, thus more problems arise like your child missing out on school, sports, and other social events.

• Speech Development

In the case of toddlers, baby teeth help to correct word pronunciation.

Mistakes Parents Make With Their Children’s teeth.

Keeping in mind that baby teeth are essential for a child, these are some mistakes you should avoid to take care of your children’s teeth:

• Not Giving Importance To Baby Checkup

It is recommended that the child’s first visit to the dentist occurs by age one or within six months of their first tooth.

• Let Babies Go With A Bottle Or With Their Fingers On Their Mouth

When you do this, bacteria in the baby’s mouth use all the sugar as food and produce different acids that later attack the teeth and cause teeth removal.

• Not Brushing Their Teeth

It is always necessary to have a home oral care routine. When your kids don’t brush their teeth, they can get permanent problems such as bacteria in their mouth, food particles on their teeth, and their teeth tend to decay earlier.

• Avoid a High Sugar Diet

Avoid eating or drinking juice, flavored milk, soda, fruit snacks, cookies, and candy. When you eat a huge amount of sugar, plaque erodes the tooth enamel, and it causes tooth decay and gum disease.

Try to avoid consuming sugar and keep your teeth clean to keep oral health damage away.

Tips to Improve your Kid’s Oral Health

Remember that only you can help your kid develop the habit of maintaining good oral health. Having said that here are some tips to keep your child’s baby teeth healthy:

• Motivate your child by brushing teeth together

Kids always do what they see their parents do. Creating a routine oral care habit will motivate them to brush their teeth every day.

• Start brushing their teeth early.

A child’s dental ridges and tongue need to be wiped often with a moist gauze pad; this will help teeth to keep them clean and healthy.

• Use age-appropriate toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Follow the instructions of brushing the teeth twice a day for around two minutes. Don´t forget that kids under three years old need the smallest amount of fluoride toothpaste and kids between the ages of three to six only need a small amount of toothpaste.