How can you make your child cavity free?Clean your baby's gums and teeth after each feeding. Wipe his or her gums with a small wash cloth or gauze pad to help clear away food residue and to stimulate the gums. Once teeth start erupting, use a small soft-bristled toothbrush to clean them. Wet the brush bristles with water first.
Begin dental visits early. Your child see a dentist by his or her first birthday, although it's okay to wait longer. The dentist will check for cavities in primary teeth and for early developmental problems, such as a bad bite.
Prevent nursing-bottle syndrome. Tooth decay can occur when you give your baby a bottle filled with milk, formula, or fruit juice at bedtime or for long periods during the day. Extended exposure to the sugar in these liquids can also cause teeth to discolor. To prevent this, clean his or her teeth after each feeding and fill that bedtime bottle with water only.
Make sure your child is getting enough fluoride to strengthen tooth enamel and supporting bone and to help repair minor decay damage.
- Common sources are
- Fluoridated drinking water
- Fluoridated tablets and drops
- Fluoridated toothpaste and rinse
- Professional fluoride treatments.
Encourage good eating habits. Eacing a balanced diet will help your child have healthy teeth. His or her diet should include a variety of foods, such as fruits and vegetables, cereals, dairy products, and meat. Calcium is especially important for building strong teeth as well as bones, some of the best sources are milk, cheese, and yogurt.
Teach your child how to brush. Children are usually ready to learn by age 2 or 3. But you still must brush any missed spots. Most children don't have the dexterity to "go solo" until about age 7.
Make brushing part of a child's morning and bedtime routine. You can make it fun if you brush with your child or let him or her use a colorful toothbrush.
Make dental visits positive. When your child turns 2 or 3 years old, start encouraging a positive attitude toward dental visits by following these tips:
- Play dentist before making the real visit to familiarize him or her with what will happen.
- Avoid using negative words like drill, shot, or hurt.
- Answer questions honestly, but not too specifically. Dental professionals have special ways of explaining procedures to kids.
Protect your child's teeth with sealants. When your child's permanent molars come in, consider protecting them with sealants-clear plastic coatings the dentist applies to the chewing surfaces of back teeth.
Sealants form a barrier that keeps food and bacteria out of tiny grooves in the tooth. They are nearly 100 percent effective in preventing decay in back teeth.
If a tooth is lost prematurely... The adjoining teeth tend to close the space and new erupting first molar may tend to shift forward, to preserve the space left by the prematurely lost tooth and appliance is constructed which is known as Space Maintainer. This becomes necessary in order to provide sufficient space for the permanent teeth to erupt.
Space Maintainer
Crown In some cases where decay and bite problem has caused serious deterioration, a stainless steel crown is put to restore the tooth.
X-rays Periodic X-rays examintaion is done as a part of dental examintion to detect dental problems which are not clinically visible.
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