Maintaining your child’s dental health from infancy to adolescence involves both the routines followed at home and the regular preventive care dental visits. Your child’s dentist can be a great resource for implementing the routines necessary to ensure that your child has good dental health as she grows. Following are five questions to ask your child’s dentist.
At what age should you bring your child for his first dentist’s visit?
The answer to this question ranges from the moment the first tooth comes in to the child’s third birthday. Many dentists will recommend some time before the child turns three. The American Dental Association, however, has stricter recommendations that say your child should have her first dentist’s visit when her first tooth comes and definitely no later than her first birthday.
How should you care for your baby’s teeth?
Babies’ teeth should be cleaned at least once a day using a specially designed infant toothbrush with very soft, flexible bristles, a soft, wet rag or tooth tissues. The cleaning should be done before bedtime to remove any dental plaque and to prevent tooth decay from setting in.
When can you start using toothpaste to brush your child’s teeth?
You can start using children’s toothpaste when you begin brushing your child’s first tooth. However, to begin adding regular toothpaste, you should wait until your child is between 2 and 3 years old and has figured out how to spit out so that she does not swallow the toothpaste. The amount of toothpaste for a child under five should be minimal, about the size of a pea, and she should be supervised as she brushes and encouraged to spit out during the process.
How can you make sure you are providing the best diet to keep your child’s teeth healthy?
The best way to help keep your child’s teeth healthy is to ensure that they are eating a balanced diet that includes the appropriate servings of all the food groups such as dairy, meats, vegetable and fruits. Additionally, you should limit the child’s intake of sugar and starches, which can harm teeth. Your child’s dentist is a good source for specific foods recommendation to benefit your child’s dental health.
How often should children have dental checkups?
Children should visit the dentist every six months after their initial visit even if they have no dental problems. These visits are preventative to make sure that children continue with their dental health and to track their dental development. These visits also serve to identify and treat any tooth decay that sets in between visits.