Everyone loves to see a child give a big, happy, healthy smile. However, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in children. We are sharing 5 tips to keep your kids teeth healthy.
Even though your child will eventually lose all of their baby teeth, they are still very important. Healthy baby teeth allow for proper speech, good self-esteem, and self-image, chewing, and saving space for their permanent teeth.
Cavities can lead to pain, infection, lost or unproductive time at school, and disturbances in speech and eating. Therefore, keeping their teeth as healthy as possible is extremely important.
We are sharing 5 tips to keep your kid’s teeth healthy. Even though your child will eventually lose all of their baby teeth, they are still very important. Healthy baby teeth allow for proper speech, good self-esteem, and self-image, chewing, and saving space for their permanent teeth.
5 Tips For Keeping Your Kids Teeth Healthy
Sugary Drinks
Do not allow your child to sip on milk or juice for prolonged periods of time. Bacteria in our mouths use the sugars in these drinks to produce acid, which eats holes in our teeth that we commonly refer to as cavities.
Every time we ingest sugar, the bacteria in our mouths produce acid for approximately half an hour until our saliva washes it away. If we never stop ingesting sugar, however, our saliva is never able to catch up and cavities run wild!
This condition is very common and has been nick-named “bottle rot.” Your child can avoid it by only having milk and juice at dedicated meal and snack times and only giving them bottles and sippy cups filled with water while playing or before bed.
Soothing
Using pacifiers or sucking a thumb or fingers is very common for children. It acts as a comforting mechanism and most will stop on their own before they’re four years old.
However, pacifiers and sucking on thumbs or fingers can negatively impact teeth alignment and growth of the jaws.
If you are having trouble getting your child to stop their thumb/finger sucking or pacifier habit or are concerned about their teeth’ alignment and positioning, please see your Reno pediatric dentist for help!
Sealants
Sealants are a great way to help your child from getting cavities. Sealants are a protective coating that is put on the biting surfaces of molars in the grooves and pits that frequently trap food debris and house bacteria.
Placing sealants is easy, fast, and painless and can help protect the tooth from cavities for years to come.
Don’t Forget To Floss
FLOSS!!! Yes, it seems silly, but it really is important and the best way to get food out that is stuck in between the teeth!
Promote Healthy Habits
Arguably the most important thing you can do for the health of your child’s teeth is to promote good oral hygiene habits.
Brushing twice per day (morning and night) and flossing once daily will help ensure a healthy smile. Brush for/with your child if they are still too little to do it alone and always promote the importance of good oral hygiene at any age.
As always you should contact a pediatric dentist with any questions and concerns. You can schedule your child’s visit as soon as they get their first tooth or by their 1st birthday.
Sala Family Dentistry
Welcome to Sala Family Dentistry where we have been serving our community since 1974. Growing up we remember our dad, Dr. Mike coming home from a day at the office happy. As children, we did not know the positive effect this would have and naturally the two of us, Drs. Jason and Todd wanted to find something that would make us happy as well. We both found it through dentistry.
Yes, we geek out on the details of dentistry, which serves our patients exceptionally well, but that was not what would ultimately satisfy our happy desire. We both wanted something more, we wanted an extended family where our patients and team members become family. The beauty of dentistry is that we get to go through life with our patients, we get to grow up and old with you. It is through these relationships that we have developed an office-wide treatment philosophy of being “Caring People, Caring for People.”
If you are a patient or team member, you know this already, and if you are not yet part of our extended family, we welcome you to come in and experience a happy, positive, and caring dental environment.
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Sala Family Dentistry#molongui-disabled-link
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Sala Family Dentistry#molongui-disabled-link
