Healthy teeth, hygiene tips for children
We must take care of oral health from childhood. At the time when the first baby teeth appear in the baby it is essential to take hygienic measures to have healthy teeth throughout life and prevent cavities and other problems. Instilling children with the habit of brushing their teeth every day, avoiding the consumption of sweets or restricting them only for special occasions and periodically visiting the dentist are some of the necessary measures to maintain healthy teeth.
Tips for maintaining healthy teeth
In the dental hygiene also plays a very important role education. So that parents can instill in their children the habit ofe brush your teeth every day and thus avoid potential oral problems in the future, take note of these recommendations:
1. Oral cleansing from the first day. The hygiene of the mouth should not be limited to when there are teeth. Parents should clean the baby's gums daily with damp gauze in warm water to avoid bacteria.
2. The milk teeth also have to be taken care of. Milk teeth must be taken care of in the same way as permanent teeth, since they fulfill important functions such as chewing or talking. If the child has decay in a temporary tooth, the risk of the permanent tooth becoming infected is much greater.
3. Parents should supervise the brushing of their children. As soon as the first teeth come out, you should start cleaning them with a brush with a small head of soft bristles and preferably without toothpaste to prevent children from swallowing it. After three years, the child can participate in brushing, but always under the supervision of an adult to ensure that it is done correctly.
4. Teach them how to brush their teeth. For the youngest to learn to brush properly, without leaving any piece and without risk of eroding their enamel, it is advisable to establish a methodical order for them to remember it easily: brush up and down and up even the gums to avoid accumulation of Tartar between the gum and the tooth, brush the teeth and the inside of the teeth, use dental floss to remove the remains that remain between the teeth and finally clean the tongue.
5. Periodically explore the mouth. Parents should check their children's mouth to detect the presence of tartar, phlegmon or possible cavities. This exploration will also serve to evaluate the primary dental eruption and to observe if there is any defect in the enamel, since a strange color of the tooth can indicate some ailment.
6. Be a good example. Children often imitate the behavior of the elderly. You have to share the time of brushing your teeth with your children at least twice a day, especially at night before going to sleep. The nocturnal brushing is the most important, since during sleep the salivation decreases and the teeth are less protected against the bacteria that produce cavities.
7. Fun. It is advisable to turn the brushing into something "fun", accompanying it with small games to create an enjoyable routine for the little ones.
8. Limit the consumption of sweets. It is not necessary to eliminate sweets from the child's diet, but to control and limit their consumption, since it increases the risk of decay.
9. Replace your toothbrush. The child's toothbrush must match the child's age. Parents should also take care of changing it every three months, which is recommended by professionals.
10. Visit the dentist periodically. Ideally, the child goes to the dentist when he has completed two and a half or three or if he has all the temporary teeth. At that time the dentist can perform a first examination of the state of your mouth and assess whether the diet is correct, as well as dental hygiene. The most important thing is that the child goes without any pathology so that he does not associate the dentist with pain or fear.
After 7 or 8 years, children can already have a first dental cleaning. In addition, early visits to the dentist will help us diagnose problems such as a bad dental position or cross-bite that can be easily solved in children's age thanks to orthodontics, improving the child's smile and health, chewing and even , the phonation.
Advice:Gustavo Camañas, Medical Director of Vitaldent
