Importance Of Children’s Dentistry

It is essential to have good dental care since you are young. This is why children’s dentistry is so important. While you grow up, having healthy and strong teeth will be better in the long term, which is why we are going to show you the importance of children’s dentistry.

Tooth Decay

One of the most common diseases during childhood is tooth decay. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry both recommend a dentist see children by the time their first tooth erupts, or at least by age 1. Children should visit a dentist every six months for a routine cleaning and checkup to prevent and diagnose cavities or other dental health problems in their earliest stages.

Prevention of oral issues

The first step to keep your child away from tooth decay is to start taking him to the dentist. They would focus on any signs of decay in the child’s teeth and take preventative actions such as cleaning and applying dental sealants. Keeping primary teeth healthy is extremely important even though they are temporary teeth. They serve a fundamental purpose in speech development, and they also act as a guide for the permanent teeth when it starts to show up. 

Brush Their Teeth

Children should brush their teeth for two minutes, two times per day. Use a smear, the size of a grain of rice, of fluoridated toothpaste for children ages 1-3, and a pea size for children ages 3-6. Children’s brushing should be supervised until age 8 to ensure that they reach all areas of their teeth and use the appropriate toothpaste amount. Additionally, it would help if you flossed your child’s teeth once they touch each other.

Prevent Cavities

Make sure it is clean. No matter what it is, be it utensils or pacifiers, you have to make sure they are clean. Bacteria that cause cavities can spread through saliva as well. This means no sharing utensils too. Bring your child to see the dentist regularly. This can help prevent the cavities that are all-too-common in kids. Not only are the physical checkups important, but the conversations you can have with the dentist are precious.

Baby Teeth

Even though baby teeth don’t seem necessary, they can affect a lot. Fixing a cavity in your teeth will not only help relieve pain. It will also help prevent the spread of infection and keep a healthy pathway for your adult teeth to grow. This will ensure everyday speech and proper chewing for the child.

Teething Gels

Avoid topical teething gels. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strongly warns against using teething gels that contain benzocaine or lidocaine and homeopathic teething tablets, which may pose severe risks to your child, including seizures.

No Pacifier

No pacifier after age 2. Prolonged use of a pacifier can affect how a child’s teeth bite together, sometimes causing an overbite or a crossbite, which require orthodontic treatment to correct.

Development Of The Mouth Is Monitored

Taking a child to the dentist early gives them a chance to monitor their teeth and jaw development. The dentist might notice signs of a potential malocclusion and perform treatments to fix it before it becomes an issue. When your child learns that it is crucial to brush their teeth a couple of times a day, that habit will be ingrained before they are old enough to think differently. The brushing habit will be something they do, and that will be that. The same can be said for visits to the dentist.

Value of Fluoride

Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by making teeth more resistant to acid attacks from bacteria and sugars in the mouth. It also reverses early decay. This is a simple application that can help to protect the teeth as your child grows. Children should use a fluoridated toothpaste and receive a biannual fluoride treatment from their pediatrician or pediatric dentist to prevent decay.

Easier Treatments

Some children may be more cooperative than others when visiting the dentist. However, all children, and their parents, want to avoid invasive dental procedures. Regular dental appointments ensure that potential problems are detected early on to be treated much easier. For example, treating tooth decay is much easier when the treatment places a filling rather than performing a root canal on a baby tooth.