A Parent’s Guide to Oral Health for Their Kids and Teens

Helping your child grow strong oral hygiene habits is quite a challenging task, but the benefits of keeping the teeth strong and healthy throughout the various stages of childhood to adulthood cannot be denied. Cavities can be filled through dental techniques, but a tooth with filling will have a compromised structure when compared to any untouched tooth. It is a fact that all restorations done on a teeth wears out with time, so a filling done as a teenager can lead to a much expensive and larger restoration as an adult. The best dentist Mississauga or dentist in Brampton can guide you the suitable steps necessary for better oral health. But for now, let us understand a few things:

Infants and Toddlers

Most children will eventually lose all their teeth and grow a different set as they grow, yet the health of these teeth are vital for the proper spacing and development of the adult teeth. Toddlers have a long and frequent experience of sugar consumption, as the food they eat mostly contains it. Formula milk and breast milk both contain various forms of sugar that contributes to bottle mouth. Babies often fall asleep with little milk in their mouth. This develops into plaque and causes decalcification. Bacteria can also get transferred from the parents mouth causing it to develop cavity.

Precaution Steps

• Avoid sharing saliva through feeding spoon, etc
• Use water and milk only in bottles
• Finish feeding before putting the child to bed
• After each feeding, wipe the child’s gum with damp cloth.
• Allow children to brush themselves, then you finish the brushing.
• Children should brush twice a day
• Floss your child’s teeth at least once a day.

Kids and Teenagers

During these stages of life, transition can be quite difficult. Therefore, unsupervised oral hygiene can lead to future tooth problems. Children during their adolescence face a period of resistance for any kind of hygiene. He parent should check this and keep an eye on the hygiene practices.

Tips to Take Care

• Use a time to see that the kid is taking time to brush. At least 2 minutes of brushing is necessary.
• Provide sufficient flossing tools to them and ensure that you are there to help them when needed.
• Cavities, plaque and bad breath create a negative impact about the character. Talk to your children about it. So they understand the problem involved.
• Model good oral hygiene for your children, so they get a positive message.