Taking care of your babies’ teeth

Tooth decay (caries)
As a child I had caries (cavities) in many of my teeth, which of course meant lot of pain and frequent visits to the dentist. For this reason I always talk about this problem with all of my patients when they come to visit me.
Tooth decay is very common, about 42% of children age 2 to 11 have had dental caries in their primary teeth, so there is almost 1 in 2 chances that any child can have this problem. The fact remains that this is completely preventable, and therefore I would like all the parents to start thinking about preventing this right from the time a baby starts erupting her first tooth.
1. Brushing of teeth:
Parents should take care of babies’ teeth the moment she\he erupts her\his first tooth. This should be wiped with a damp cloth when baby goes off to sleep. Brushing can be started when baby is 10 to 12 months of age, twice a day. Initially your baby will play with the brush and later on she will let you brush properly. It is like every other training, start when you feel that your baby is ready for this, do not force when she does not want to do it.
2. Tooth paste:
Tooth paste can be used when baby is one and half to two years of age. Use only a pea size amount.
Try to find out whether there is fluoride in your drinking water supply. Your dentist will know this. Fluoride prevents caries teeth, however in some parts of India there is excessive fluoride in the water supply and this can harm the teeth, so use fluoride free toothpaste, if you live in such places.
3. Try not to put a baby, who already has erupted her primary teeth, to sleep with a bottle or breast in her mouth. It is a good idea to give her some water after she has drunk milk, so there is no milk in her mouth when she goes to sleep.
4. After 1 year of age, your baby should be drinking milk with a cup and not a bottle. Breast feed should be stopped when your baby is one and half years of age. Prolonged breast feeding also can cause caries teeth, especially if a baby sleeps while feeding.
5. Flossing can be started when your child is 2 to 3 years of age. If your child does not cooperate, do not force her to do this. With time she will learn to do this while watching you.
6. Avoid giving her sticky sweats like toffees, chocolates etc. I know, it is not easy, so I tell these young ones to eat these occasionally and wash their mouth after eating.
I always keep on telling all my little patients how important it is to have good teeth so as to be a beautiful. Of course this works best with girls.
tc