For paediatric oral health, preventative care both at home and in the dentist office is important. In recent years, cavities and tooth decay have become more prevalent in infants and toddlers. However, good preventative care can help avoid this risk.
Brushing and flossing are often first thought of for a child’s preventative dental care. Other important factors include:
Diet
Providing your children with a nourishing, well-balanced diet is one step to preventative dental care. Sugary diets lead to cavities and should be discouraged. Offering your child alternative snacks like celery sticks, carrot sticks, and low-fat yogurt are a good way to keep your child’s sugar intake low.
Oral Habits
Thumb sucking and pacifier use can lead to the misalignment of teeth. Fortunately, these habits fade over time with most children. If you’re having difficulty getting your child to stop their habit, our dentist can suggest strategies or provide a dental appliance for thumb sucking cessation.
Sippy Cup Use
The use of sippy cups are a good aid for phasing your child into their adult drinking glass period. Unfortunately, sippy cups filled with a more sugary drink like soda, juice, or milk can cause small amounts of sugary fluid to continually swill in your child’s mouth. This means there is a continued attack on your child’s tooth enamel. We recommend that you stop your child’s sippy cup use between 12 and 14 months or whenever your child has the motor capabilities to hold a drinking glass.
Sealants
For children and teens, tooth decay occurs most often on the chewing surfaces of back teeth. A dental sealant can be applied to the pits and grooves of chewing surfaces on the back teeth for cavity protection. Sealants can protect uneven surfaces that may prove difficult to clean for children. A sealant keeps germs and food particles from settling in the grooves of teeth. Typically, sealants are only applied to permanent dentitions only.
