When you teach your children about oral health and dental hygiene you help them lay a strong dental foundation that will serve them well into adulthood. Keep reading to get some information from our Novato family dentists about pediatric dental care.
- Healthy routines and habits start early
One of the goals of pediatric dentistry is to get children into the routine of prioritizing oral health. When your family sticks to a consistent morning and night cleaning schedule, you increase the odds that your children will carry these habits into adulthood.
This is also the time to train your kids on the proper oral hygiene techniques. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Try to brush for at least two minutes every time that you brush
- Use gentle circular “buffing” motions to disrupt plaque
- Floss your teeth daily, ideally right before you brush at night
- You have to care for primary teeth just as you’d care for adult teeth
We all know that primary teeth are eventually replaced when permanent teeth emerge. However, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t important. You want to help your child retain his or her baby teeth for as long as possible, for a number of reasons:
- These teeth serve as placeholders along the jawline so that adult teeth can come in comfortably
- Baby teeth allow children to expand their diets
- Primary teeth are crucial for developing healthy speech patterns
- Infections that begin in the teeth can quickly spread to gum and even jawbone tissue and then persist for years
- Choosing the correct products is paramount
Not all products that adult patients use are appropriate for children. For example, young patients, who are prone to swallowing toothpaste, should not be using toothpaste or oral rinses that contain fluoride. Ingesting too much fluoride while one’s adult teeth are still developing can cause a condition called dental fluorosis, characterized by stained and pitted dental enamel. You also want to outfit your child with a toothbrush with gentle bristles, and a head small enough to reach the back molars.
Our Novato family dentists are your partners in dental care, so don’t hesitate to contact us to get more information!