Every parent wants their child to grow up with the very best opportunities, so they can get the most out of life and really live it to the full. To do so, good overall health is obviously important, but great dental health is also particularly vital. Over the past few years, there has been increasing interest in the link between a healthy mouth and a healthy body.
Although much more research is needed, everything points towards the two being closely connected.
How Soon Should I Worry about My Child’s Dental Health?
This is a really common question as there is a lot of misinformation about when and how to start looking after a child’s mouth. The simple answer is that good dental health can begin with oral care soon after a child is born. After your baby has finished feeding, you can gently clean the gums with a clean damp washcloth or a clean piece of damp gauze.
While it’s true they don’t exactly have any teeth to clean at this age. Cleaning a very young baby’s gums will gradually get them used to the sensation of having their mouth cleaned. This is so that when they actually develop teeth it should be a bit easier to brush them.
A Child Should Have Their First Dental Visit by Age 1
A baby may get their first tooth anywhere between the ages of six months to a year. When it emerges this is the time to think about booking your child’s first visit to a pediatric dentist. They should have seen a dentist by the time they celebrate their very first birthday. Again, this may seem young to some parents and caregivers but there are a lot of advantages in beginning a regime of dental care at this tender age.
Even though these first teeth will only last a few years before being replaced by adult teeth, it is a time when your child’s mouth will be changing and developing. Good pediatric dental care is essential at this age. It will help your child to grow up with a healthy mouth and by keeping a close eye on their development. Your pediatric dentist can detect any problems that are already developing, or which could be an issue in the future.
What Should I Expect to Learn about My Child’s Mouth from Their First Dental Visit?
A baby’s very first dental visit is likely to involve little more than a quick examination. Your pediatric dentist will want to take a quick look inside their mouth, probably with you sitting in the dental chair with your baby on your lap. That’s all that should be needed, as treatment at this age should be completely unnecessary. Even so, there’s a lot of useful information to be learned during this first visit.
In fact, the primary reason for seeing a pediatric dentist when a baby is so young is so parents and caregivers can learn more about their dental care. Pediatric dentists are specially trained to treat very young children and have completed several years’ additional schooling. This is to provide your child with the very best and most appropriate dental care. This means they know cleaning a young child’s mouth can often be a struggle for a new parent.
By showing you how to clean your baby’s teeth, your pediatric dentist can help make this whole experience much more pleasant for you both. Additionally, they can discuss the best kind of toothpaste to use. Often dentists will not recommend the use of fluoridated toothpaste until a child is aged two and has the ability to spit out the excess.
Is also important to make sure you use the right kind of toothbrush. A baby toothbrush has particularly soft bristles that will still get your child’s teeth thoroughly clean. They do this while ensuring they are comfortable during the whole procedure. Your dentist can also talk to you about more general dental care. For example, how your child’s diet affects their teeth and how to make sure they are receiving all the essential nutrients required for healthy teeth and bones.
Your dentist can also discuss how frequently they will need regular dental checkups.
Looking after Primary Teeth Helps their Adult Teeth
These first few years of dental care are very important. By looking after their primary teeth, you’re helping to make sure their adult teeth can erupt properly. Problems can arise when primary teeth are lost too soon due to accidents or disease. In the worst case where a tooth has to be removed too soon, your dentist can provide specialized appliances
called space maintainers.
It helps to hold open the correct amount of space until the adult teeth are ready to erupt. Without space maintainers, there is a risk that the gap left for their adult tooth could become smaller as other teeth drift towards it. This will result in the adult tooth becoming overcrowded when it eventually pushes through the gums.
Correcting Oral Habits like Thumb Sucking
Oral habits can often present a problem, affecting the development of jaws and teeth. If your child has a tongue thrusting, or thumb or finger sucking habit, your pediatric dentist can provide specialized functional appliances to help break these habits. If these habits have already affected the development of your child’s teeth and jaws, there are removable appliances that can be used to correct these problems.
Where this is the case, an early orthodontic evaluation might be the best way forward. This can identify the problems caused by oral habits and often treatment can be provided to coincide with growth spurts. This might sound a bit strange, but by timing treatment an orthodontist can help guide the growth of their jaws in a way that is highly advantageous. This type of treatment can help them develop a beautiful, healthy and balanced smile and facial profile.
These are only a few of the treatments and services that can be provided by an experienced pediatric dentist. By keeping a close eye on the way your child’s mouth is developing, your dentist can suggest the most appropriate treatments at optimal times. Dentists focus largely on preventative dentistry which is why they like to see their small patients at regular intervals for checkups and cleanings.
They also like to see their small patients come for other preventative dental care treatments like dental sealants and fluoride treatment. There are so many different things a dentist can do to help ensure your child grows up with strong, beautiful and above all healthy teeth and gums. At the same time, dentists very much hope they’ll grow up without any dental fears as dentists do their very best to make all visits to their dental office as much fun as they can be.