CARING FOR YOUR INFANTS AND CHILDS TEETH

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CARING FOR YOUR INFANTS AND CHILDS TEETH
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Caring for Your Infants Teeth

• Clean your infants mouth after every feeding
  with a clean soft damp wash cloth wiping the gums
  and new teeth.
• Dont put a baby to bed with a bottle or sippy
  cup containing anything other than water.
• Use a sipper cup only at mealtimes because over
  use can lead to cavities.

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Caring for Your Infants Teeth

• Encourage children to stop using a pacifier or
  sucking their thumb by the time the permanent
  teeth begin to appear (usually age 6).
• Wean your infant from the bottle to a regular cup
  before the first birthday to prevent baby bottle
  tooth decay.

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Meeting Your Infants Dental Health Needs

• Check with your dentist or physician about
  prescription fluoride supplements. In
  communities without access to fluoridated water
  supplements are recommend beginning at six months
  of age.
• Schedule regular dental visits by your childs
  first birthday.

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Caring for Your Childs Teeth

• At what age do children lose their baby teeth?
• By age 3, children usually have a complete set of
  baby or primary teeth.
• By age 10-16 most children have all their
  permanent teeth.
• Teach your young child to brush properly by
  standing behind them and holding the toothbrush
  correctly.
• Bedtime brushing is very important because germs
  and food can harm teeth during sleep.

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At What Age Do Children Start Loosing Their Baby
Teeth?

• Children can start loosing their baby teeth
  anywhere from the age of 5 until 7. Usually the
  two front teeth on the bottom are the first teeth
  to be replaced.
• Your second molars typically appear by age 12 to
  13. Some people have third molars which are
  sometimes called wisdom teeth. These can
  appear after age 16.

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Should Children Use a Different Toothbrush Than
Adults?

• Children should use a small brush with shorter
  soft bristles in proportion to the size of their
  mouths. Large brushes are difficult for children
  to maneuver in the small areas of their mouth.
• In addition to changing your brush every three
  months or when the bristles appear worn, its a
  good idea to toss those brushes after colds or
  sore throat.

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Should Children Use the Same Toothpaste as Adults?

• All you need from toothpaste is the fluoride.
  Fluoride helps strengthen your teeth and protects
  them from cavities.
• The brushing time and technique are more
  important than the toothpaste.
• Children should NOT be encouraged to use the
  baking soda or tartar control toothpaste, as
  these paste tend to be more abrasive than
  traditional paste.

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What Age Should My Children Be Able to Brush by
Themselves?

• By age 4 or 5, children should be able to brush
  their own teeth twice a day with supervision.
• Only a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste is
  necessary. Excess fluoride can be harmful.
  Fluoride toothpaste should be avoided until your
  child is 6 months of age.
• Teach children how to spit out remaining
  toothpaste and rinse with water after brushing.
• Check to make sure the molar teeth are getting
  brushed.

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When Will My Child Become Independent Enough to
Take Care of Their Own Teeth?

• By age 7 children should be able to brush their
  teeth alone.
• Make sure they clean the front, back and tops of
  all teeth.
• Gently brush all gum lines to remove germs.
• As more permanent teeth appear, ask your
  dentists staff to teach your child to floss
  correctly. (About age 9)

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Why is Candy and Other Sugary Food Bad for Teeth?

• Sugar on the tooth surface is changed to acid
  within 5 minutes time.
• Sugar Plaque Acid
• At first you see white spots (known as
  demineralization, the signs of tooth decay) then
  dental decay occurs.

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BABY BOTTLE TOOTH DECAY.What is it?

• How does Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Develop?
• Baby bottle tooth decay can develop if your
  childs teeth and gums are in prolonged contact
  with almost any liquid other than water.
• This can happen from putting your child to bed
  with a bottle of formula, milk, juice, soft
  drinks, etc.

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Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

• How does Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Develop?
• Allowing your baby to suck on a bottle or breast
  feed for longer than a mealtime, either when
  awake or asleep also can cause BBTD.
• Liquids from a baby bottle builds up in the
  mouth, the natural or added sugars found in the
  liquid are changed to ACID by germs in the mouth.
  This acid begins to dissolve the teeth, causing
  them to decay.

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Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

• Baby bottle tooth decay can lead to severe
  damage to your childs baby teeth and also can
  cause dental problems that affect your childs
  permanent teeth that come in.

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What Can I do to Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?

• Never put your child to bed with a bottle.
• By 7 or 8 months of age most children no longer
  need feeding at night.
• Children who drink bottles while lying down are
  more likely to get ear infections.

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Preventing Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

• Only give your baby a bottle
• during meals.
• Do not use the bottle as a pacifier
• Do not allow your child to walk around with a
  bottle or to drink it for extended periods.
• These practices not only lead to BBTD, but your
  child can suffer tooth injuries if they fall
  while sucking on a bottle.

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Preventing Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

• Teach your child to drink from a cup as soon as
  possible, usually by 1 year of age.
• A cup may not be taken to bed. If you are
  concerned about the cup being messier than a
  bottle, use one that has a snap on lid with a
  straw or special valve to prevent spilling.

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Preventing Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

• Breast and bottle feeding should be avoided at
  bedtime after the first primary tooth erupts
• If your child must have a bottle for long
  periods, fill it only with
• WATER.

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How Can I Tell if My Babys Teeth are Beginning
to Decay?

• Baby Bottle Tooth Decay first shows up as white
  spots on the upper front teeth. These spots are
  hard to see at first..even for a pediatrician or
  dentist with out the proper equipment.
• A child with tooth decay needs to get treatment
  early to stop the decay from spreading and to
  prevent lasting damage to the teeth.

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How Can I Tell if My Babys Teeth are Beginning
to Decay?

• If you are concerned that your child may have
  BBTD, you can
• Ask your pediatrician for a referral to a
  dentist.
• You can schedule an appointment with your dentist
  or a pediatric dentist.

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How Many Times Each Day Should Teeth be Brushed?
And When?

• Two really important times to brush your teeth
  are in the morning after breakfast and at night
  before you go to bed.
• Any extra times you brush during the day is great
  particularly after eating sticky and sugary foods.

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Who is a Dental Hygienist?

• Dental hygienist are your partners in health.
  They are health professionals who teach you how
  to keep your mouth, teeth and gums healthy. They
  also can let you know if they see signs of other
  health problems. For example, did you know that
  a dental hygienist who looks inside your mouth
  can tell whos been smoking?

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What Questions can a Dental Hygienist answer?

• You can ask your dental hygienist any questions
  about your teeth and gums.

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What Can I Expect During an Appointment With a
Dental Hygienist?

• Your dental hygienist will examine
• your mouth, teeth and gums.
• He or she may take X rays of your
• teeth. X rays are special pictures
• of your teeth and bones.
• Clean your teeth
• Give you a fluoride treatment to help keep them
  strong
• Place sealants (thin plastic coatings placed on
  top of the teeth)

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Why Should I Keep My Teeth Healthy?

• Healthy teeth and gums are important for
• many reasons.
• Teeth bite, tear, and chew food when you eat.
• Primary teeth or baby teeth hold space for the
  permanent teeth.
• Teeth help you to speak clearly. Many letters of
  the alphabet cannot be sounded properly without
  the help of teeth.
• Clean healthy teeth help keep the rest of your
  body healthy too.

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Why Should I Keep My Teeth Healthy?

• A sparkling smile always helps you look and feel
  your best!

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Tips to Help Keep Your Teeth Healthy and Strong.

• Ask your dental hygienist to teach you how to
  brush and floss correctly.
• Dont eat sugary food (like candy, soft drinks,
  chewing gum) or starchy foods like pretzels,
  cheetos, potato chips) in between meals.
• Instead try eating an apple, banana or carrot.
• Drink milk or water instead of soda.

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Tips to Help Keep Your Teeth Healthy and Strong.

• If you do eat in between meals, be sure to brush
  your teeth when you are finished.
• Show off your smile to your parents and friends!

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Pregnant Mothers and Oral Hygiene

• During pregnancy there is a special need for good
  oral hygiene because pregnancy may exaggerate
  some dental disorders.
• Dental caries (repeat acid attacks on the teeth
  causes cavities)
• Gingivitis (plaque on the teeth can irritate the
  gums causing infection and make the gums bleed)
  This can effect the gums and bone around the
  teeth.
• Hormone levels during pregnancy exaggerates the
  way that gum tissues react to the irritants in
  plague.

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Pregnancy and Dental Health

• What you eat during the nine months of pregnancy
  affects the development of your unborn childs
  teeth. An unborn childs teeth begin to develop
  between the third and sixth months of pregnancy.
• It is a MYTH that calcium is lost from the
  mothers teeth during pregnancy. The calcium
  your baby needs is provided by your diet, not by
  your teeth. If you do not have enough dietary
  calcium, your body will provide this mineral from
  the stores in your bones.

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Pregnancy and Dental Disease

• You should continue regular dental visits
  throughout your pregnancy. Non emergency
  treatment generally can be performed during
  pregnancy.
• Feel free to discuss your concerns with your
  dentist or physician. Both are concerned about
  you and your childs health.

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Pregnancy and Your Babys Birth Weight

• Pregnant mothers poor oral health may contribute
  to the risk of her child being born preterm
  (under 37 weeks gestation) with a low birth
  weight for the gestational age.

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Information Taken From

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Dental Association
• American Dental Hygiene Association
• Division of Dental Health, Virginia Department of
  Health
• National Maternal and Child Resource Center