Best dental practice to follow for kids
Best Dental Practice to Follow for Kids’ Milk Teeth Care
It is no secret that teeth are the pearls of our health. Parents know this very well, still, despite their full attempts, cannot flout the possibilities of tooth decay and cavities. As a pain-point of many parents, tooth decay in milk teeth is a reality of many children worldwide. In the UAE alone, eight out of 10 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years suffer from tooth decay. The worst part, many parents don’t even know their child’s precious smile is decaying. Because it may prop up as soon as the first tooth appears, without the knowledge of their parents. So, if you want to know what tooth decay is, or how to identify it, then this article might help you.
What is tooth decay in children?
Kids love sweets, in all shapes and sizes. Prolonged exposure of these sweets, chocolates and sugary drinks to teeth are the reason why caries builds up in the mouth which leads to tooth decay in your child. So, in other words, we can say that sweets are enemies of your toddler’s milk teeth. But, can we avoid giving such sugary snacks to the kids. The answer is a big NO. The solution to prevent tooth decay and cavities is by identifying the causes and working towards it as a team with your dentist and children. Also to note that tooth decay or early childhood caries is the first symptom of chronic dental diseases.
What are the symptoms of tooth decay in kids?
Parents while brushing their kids’ teeth may watch out for symptoms like white spots the upper teeth surface or at the gum line. These spots can be hard to notice at first but may cause pain, difficulty in eating and hypersensitivity among kids.
Sometimes, parents are unable to spot the symptoms. Kids’ dentistry comes to rescue for such parents with regular dental check-ups and guidance on proper dental care. Pediatric dentists perform extensive dental examination to identify and stop the spread of tooth decay and safeguard teeth.
What can we do to prevent tooth decay in children?
Tooth decay can start way before expected, so parents must try to practice healthy oral routine, right from toddlerhood. Baby teeth or milk teeth lay a strong foundation for healthy adult teeth. Not just that, strong and healthy baby teeth also form an important growth curve in kids in terms of speaking clearly, chewing properly and even boost confidence among them.
Surely, a happy and smiling child is worth more than all the money in the world.
Some tips for parents to prevent tooth decay
It is a cause of alarm when we see 530 million children worldwide suffer from caries of milk teeth as per WHO. Inadequate dental care and not brushing your child’s teeth enough is the basic reason of tooth decay. To prevent tooth decay in children, here are few simple tips.
- Start brushing routine from the toddlerhood itself. Early and consistent habits in toddlers stay with adults for life. Make it a point to brush your baby’s small teeth twice a day.
- Don’t bottle-feed your child to sleep. The sweet content in it is the prime reason for early childhood caries.
- Make brushing fun activity your child looks out for. Pediatric dentists suggest parents to brush their teeth with their children. This not only builds parental bond, but also gives practical demonstration to an always-curious child.
- You can amalgamate storytelling with brushing teeth, or show them smiling cartoon characters. This can positively stimulate a toddler, or inspire a kid to brush properly.
Some dental clinics are setting up high benchmarks for Pediatric dentistry in Abu Dhabi. Our SNO Dental Clinic is one among them that pays great attention to the way kids’ dentistry is approached. Our pediatric dentists know the importance of dental health of our future generation, and ensure they have happy, healthy oral routine right from the beginning for a successful life. Their fun ways of engaging toddlers and kids during check-ups makes them quite a hit. Their main motive is to remove fear of dental clinics and make oral health a fun-filled and a happy experience.