September 1, 2022 by Tammy Howell
There are some small changes you can make to help your child maintain a healthy smile.
Regular tooth brushing is the first step to good oral hygiene.
North Country HealthCare is here to help keep your child’s – and your – teeth healthy for a lifetime!
In our most recent blog post, we discussed how a child’s oral health impacts their overall health and wellness. In this post, we want to offer some tips and tricks to help keep your child’s smile beautiful now and into the future!
To start your child in the right direction, you can begin the brushing process even before their first tooth emerges by just wetting a washcloth and wiping around the gum line to reduce the build-up of bacteria. Once you see their first tooth coming in, you can start using fluoride toothpaste. It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics that children under 3 years old only use a grain of rice-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. This will help prevent an upset stomach, as small children tend to swallow their toothpaste. As children grow, parents can begin teaching them how to spit out their toothpaste and use larger amounts, roughly pea size, increasing up to jellybean size over time.
Have your child brush every morning after breakfast, before bed, and, even occasionally, brush in between meals, as this helps keep their mouth free and clear of bacteria build-up.
Brushing at least twice a day is an essential first step to keeping your child’s teeth healthy. But it doesn’t stop there!
A visit to the dentist can be nerve-racking, more so for children who have never gone before or had a tough go their first time. If your child is experiencing fear and anxiety about getting a dental check-up, here are some techniques to help them feel calm, and maybe even have a little fun!
Eating a healthy, nutritional diet not only gives your child the fuel they need to grow up strong – it also helps ensure a healthy smile. Food with too much sugar, carbohydrates and starches can cause tooth decay. When these kinds of foods remain on your child’s teeth for too long, plaque bacteria use that sugar to produce acids that attack your enamel, the hard surface of your tooth. Healthier alternatives not only keep their teeth strong and in great working condition, but also helps them maintain their weight and other bodily functions.
Here are some healthy eating suggestions:
For more helpful tips and ideas, visit the MouthHealthy website created by the American Dental Association.
At North Country HealthCare, we offer a variety of helpful services designed to keep your child’s smile bright and healthy. We offer everything from comprehensive dental exams, teeth cleaning and digital X-rays, to fluoride treatments, sealants and tooth fillings. If you would like to know more about how to develop good dental hygiene habits for your child, please contact us!
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