Yes, Oral pH Matters
BRUSH UP ON CHILDREN’S ORAL HEALTH
3 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
YOUR CHILD MAY NEED SEALANTS. If your dentist recommends sealants to your child, it could mean they noticed your child is prone to decay. A sealant is a dental treatment brushed onto the top of the teeth and is used to prevent tooth decay, cavities, and bacteria build-up. Your dentist could also recommend sealants if there are deep grooves in your child’s teeth that are hard to brush and could harbor bacteria. In addition, sealants may be recommended based on your child’s diet. If your child eats a lot of sugary foods or drinks a lot of soda or juice, sealants will help prevent decay. It’s important to note that sealants don’t last forever. They only last between 3–5 years, but kids can get them more than once if they are prone to decay or have gotten cavities. NOT EVERY KID NEEDS TO SEE A PEDIATRIC DENTIST. Any general dentist can see children, and in our office we love seeing them! A pediatric dentist is helpful if your child has dental anxiety or needs extensive treatment that may be better performed under anesthesia. Regardless of whether your child sees a general dentist or pediatric dentist, it’s crucial for their visits to be good experiences. If not, they may avoid the dentist as they get older, and their oral health will inevitably suffer. If you or your child is uncomfortable with their current dentist, make a change for the sake of their lifelong dental health!
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month! This is a great time to promote healthy oral health habits to your children so they will continue these methods as they grow older. Here are a few strategies you can use with your children to keep their beautiful smiles. BRUSH YOUR CHILDREN’S TEETH. Until a child is 8 or 9 years old, they don’t have the motor skills or muscle strength to brush their own teeth — unfortunately, to the detriment of children’s lifelong oral health, this fact isn’t common knowledge. Children’s little hands sometimes have a hard time maneuvering a toothbrush in their mouth — they aren’t able to reach some of the spaces between their teeth as well as adults can. You may have flossing daily and brushing twice a day down pat as a habit for yourself, but it takes time for hygiene habits to develop in children. By brushing your children’s teeth for them, they will soon understand the importance and the routine of brushing and flossing teeth. It’s recommended that parents should brush their kid’s teeth with a manual toothbrush until a child is at least 8 years old because improper brushing can affect your child’s oral health in the long run. This is because you’re born with your permanent teeth in your mouth; they just haven’t developed yet when you’re a child. As a result, bad oral habits like decay or any other issue can affect your child’s permanent teeth — even if they still have baby teeth.
If you have any questions about how to improve your child’s oral health or need to book an appointment with us, let us know. We will be happy to help you and your family ensure your child has a great dental experience.
When your child can brush and floss their teeth on their own, it’s best to purchase an electric toothbrush for them. These do part of the physical work for your child — the bristles are already moving in the proper directions — so the child need only focus on getting every surface of the tooth.
2 • WWW.ATOWNDENTAL.COM
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