Introduction
Many times, people don’t think that maintaining a baby’s teeth is not as important as others. However, it is important to take care of your baby’s teeth even before their first tooth. According to the American Dental Association, babies are born with twenty teeth below their gums that usually began showing between ages six months to a year old. A full set of teeth is usually present when they are three years old.
Thus, properly caring for your baby’s gums and teeth will go a long way, and it can go a long way in their adulthood, especially if they continue. Top-notch pediatric dentists or top-notch dentists for the whole family, like Gainesville dentistry, will also express that taking care of babies’ teeth and gums even before they get their first tooth is very important.
In addition to getting routine dentist visits for your baby, the following includes more tips on how to take care of your baby’s teeth and gums?
- From birth to the first tooth– use a soft washcloth or a gauze, damp it, and gently wipe your baby’s gums. Do this after each feeding. Once the baby gets his/her first tooth, take the child to the dentist.
- From the first tooth to age three– brush your baby’s teeth with a baby’s toothbrush and toothpaste that is the size of a grain of rice. Bush them once in the morning and once at night.
- From ages three to five– brush his/her teeth twice a day for two minutes each time. By now, the amount of toothpaste should be the size of a pea.
- Floss– the moment your child has two teeth that touch each other, you can start flossing your baby’s teeth.
- Sealants– serve as an extra barrier between your child’s teeth and cavity-causing bacteria. According to the ADA’s Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry and the Centers for Disease Control, molars have nearly an 80% reduction of risk of decay. Also, school-age children without sealants are approximately three times more likely to have cavities more than children with sealants.
Taking these steps will go a long way to ensure your child has healthy teeth and gums.
What to Watch for When It Comes to Your Baby’s Teeth?
Many parents are not mindful or do not know that certain common things they allow their baby to do are harmful to their teeth and gums. For instance, a baby’s tooth decay usually occurs as a result of parents using the baby bottle as a pacifier to calm a fussy baby or when they place their baby to bed with a bottle. As a result of doing this, your baby’s front teeth are vulnerable to becoming decayed from sweet drinks, even those that are 100% natural, fruit juice.
Also, many times your baby will throw his/her pacifier, and thus it will need to be cleaned. Bacteria can already be passed through the baby’s saliva and then when the air hits it, more bacteria are more likely to get on the pacifier. And of course, there will be a lot more germs and bacteria once the pacifier lands on the floor or another surface.
Conclusion
Baby’s teeth and gums are very important to pay more attention to than you may realize. And if you take the above tips above seriously, your child won’t have to suffer from issues with their gums and teeth nearly as much as other children do.
