Dental Health for Kids

Articles

Feb 1

You’ve probably been told to visit a dentist every six months for routine cleaning. During these visits, your dentist will check for tooth decay, gum disease, and other oral hygiene-related issues. It is recommended to visit the dentist every six months to catch potential problems early — before it becomes a serious procedure or life-altering problem. February is Children’s Dental Health Month, and we’re going to focus on why oral hygiene is an important habit to build in your child’s routine.

At around six months old, your baby’s teeth will start to come in, or erupt, through their gums. Teeth usually start to emerge from front to back, beginning with the incisors. In all, babies are born with 20 teeth that are gradually replaced by 32 permanent adult teeth as baby teeth fall out, or “shed.” These first couple of teeth prepare your child for solid foods in addition to enhancing their already adorable smile. Children’s teeth have thinner coatings of enamel, which makes them more prone to tooth decay — making developing good oral hygiene an incredibly important part of your child’s routine. It is recommended to introduce your baby to the dentist once their first tooth emerges to make future visits less stressful.

Why Children’s Dental Health is Important

Interestingly, oral health is linked to several other centers in the body. A routinely cleaned mouth can stave off heart issues, blood circulation issues, lung issues, pancreatic and kidney diseases, and inflammation in the brain. Halitosis, or bad breath, is the least of potential worries. The mouth is a gateway for nutrients to enter the body via our eating habits. A well-balanced meal will prohibit unwelcome bacteria from gathering in crevices and building up into tartar. If these unwelcome bacterias enter the bloodstream, they travel throughout the body and affect the systems within. Late-stage gum disease has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, and strokes.

Children who haven’t seen a dentist regularly may have periodontal disease, also known as gum disease. Fortunately, this can be prevented with routine care. Encourage your child to brush their teeth and floss at least twice per day. Brushing teeth removes excess food particles and plaque. Plaque build-up is what becomes tartar, a hard mineral deposit that rests at the base of the tooth on the gums. Flossing will agitate those food particles and loosen them from between the teeth, helping to remove them from the mouth to prevent future problems.

Ways to Introduce Dental Hygiene to Your Child

Establishing a routine with your child will take diligence on your part. Both an early morning and evening routine that involves brushing and flossing teeth will improve your child’s health on many levels. Setting a timer during brushing will help your child adopt proper brushing habits. Make sure to use the proper toothbrush for their age and an adequate amount of toothpaste. Flossing may be more challenging to introduce, but using flossing sticks may be the easiest way for little hands to reach hard-to-get areas of the mouth. Flossing sticks come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors that help to encourage routine use.

Introducing your child to the dentist can be a stressful experience for some families. Communicate to them that this is a simple part of their overall health management and needs to be done. Some may choose to elect a pediatric dentist for their early years for many reasons. Dentists that cater to children will likely have fun movies playing, colorful rooms, toys, and puzzles. A pediatric dentist will be better equipped to provide a great experience to your child because they will likely meet them on their level, making their first visit a welcoming experience.

Eating a Balanced Diet

Earlier, we touched on the importance of eating a balanced diet. Among a slew of other drawbacks to processed foods, ingesting too much can lead to excessive build-up on the teeth. Your mouth’s bacteria will feed on the sugars and starches left behind by processed foods. These bacteria will form acids that wear down the enamel on your teeth, which leads to tooth decay. Keeping a healthy mix of fruits and vegetables available for little hands will not only help them reach their daily vitamin requirement, but the crunchy texture will help to scrub their teeth. In fact, eating raw vegetables each day will help clean plaque and freshen your breath. Here is a list of foods to incorporate into your child’s diet to boost oral health:

Cheese, milk, and yogurt. These foods are typically low in sugar and high in calcium. Calcium contains casein, a protein that fortifies tooth enamel.
Water. Drinking enough water during the day will help flush food particles that could get caught between teeth.
Crunchy vegetables like celery and carrots. Celery could be considered a natural dental floss, and the added water within celery helps promote saliva production. Saliva helps to remove unwanted particles from building up in the mouth.
Leafy green vegetables. Leafy vegetables contain calcium and folic acid, two essential nutrients teeth need to remain strong.
Apples and pears. These fruits promote salivation, which will neutralize acids that eat enamel.
Nuts. Eating nuts, such as peanuts, almonds, or cashews, will increase the calcium and phosphorus in your diet, and help to scrub your teeth while you chew courtesy of their gritty texture. Phosphorus is a mineral that binds with calcium to strengthen your bones and teeth.
Fatty fish and meats. In addition to adding protein and phosphorus to your diet, chewing meat and fish promote saliva production.
Cranberries and raisins. Cranberries are full of polyphenols, which are antioxidants and prevent cell damage. There is research that supports raisins in fighting tooth decay courtesy of oleanolic acid. Oleanolic acid reduces inflammation and plaque.

Incorporating these types of foods will help promote oral health and your health overall. Our occupational therapists at Tilton’s Therapy for Tots can help your family establish healthy routines and goals for improvement in your child’s dental health.