his/her teeth comes from a balanced nutrition, never from
- Breast sucking is an essential activity for the correct growth and development of the mouth.
- Children who had sufficient breastfeeding have less malocclusion (incorrect bite) problems than those who were fed with a bottle during their first months of life.
- Maternal milk contains antibodies responsible for the immune protection of their organism.
- Breastfeeding gives them satisfaction, pleasure and self-assurance.
development of the mouth?
- Try having your baby drink from the baby bottle in a vertical (rather than horizontal) position to perform sucking exercises with a greater effort and stimulate a correct growth of the mouth.
- Never put sugar, honey, sweeteners or cereals into the baby bottle. Juices must be given in cups, not in the bottle.
- From the eruption of the first tooth, avoid nocturnal bottles. If you decide not to, it is very important to clean your baby's mouth before he/she falls asleep.
- You should stop giving the bottle when the baby is 12 to 18 months old. From this age on, try to make your child drink all liquids from a cup.
- If used, the pacifier must be limited to the 18 to 24 months of age because there is a strong connection between this habit and the alteration of the position of the tongue that can cause malocclusions (incorrect bites).
my baby sucks his finger/s?
- f your child is older than 3 years and still sucks his fingers, visit a paediatric dentist to receive the proper assessment on how to eliminate the habit.
- In order to prevent the transmission of bacteria from your mouth to your babies (especially if you have had a high caries rate), avoid: sharing utensils with your baby (spoons, toothbrushes); cleaning the pacifier with your saliva; kissing him/her on the mouth and blowing directly on the food to cool it.
milk teeth healthy if they are going
to fall anyway?
- An infection in the primary teeth can affect permanent teeth which are directly below them.
- Because milk teeth help your child to chew correctly, to talk correctly, to maintain the space for permanent teeth, etc. Also, a healthy smile helps to develop of a high self-esteem.
caries in primary teeth be?
- Physical underdevelopment.
- High treatment cost.
- Greater caries rate in permanent teeth.
- Harm of permanent teeth (of the enamel, of the teeth eruption path, of their position in the arch, etc).
my child's mouth?
- Ideally before the eruption of milk teeth; massage his/her gums with a humid clean gauze, cloth or silicone fingertip toothbrush.
- Once the milk teeth are out, cleaning is mandatory. Use moistened gauze or a silicone fingertip toothbrush, at least twice a day.
- From the first year of age on, use a soft bristle toothbrush to brush your child's teeth at least twice a day.
- When the molars erupt (at 18 – 24 months of age) floss the space where they touch/contact every night.
- Remember that children below 5 years old don't have the sufficient skills to perform an effective oral hygiene technique.
- In children 2-year-old or younger who still haven’t learned to spit correctly and have high caries risk, parents should use fluorized toothpaste (1000ppm) in “smear layer” or “grain of rice” amounts.
- For children above 3 years of age who spit correctly, toothpastes with higher fluoride concentrations should be used (1000-1450ppm) in “pea-sized” amounts.
- However, the paediatric dentist must assess your child's individual caries risk in order to decide the frequency of administration and the adequate dose.
to the dentist?
- Remember you must visit the dentist not to treat your baby, but to receive advice about the methods to prevent your child from suffering oral diseases.
- A paediatric dentist's early advice and counselling will allow you to help your child not to suffer from a toothache or go through a dental anaesthesia ever.