Here at Maroubra Dental Clinic, we see patients who worry daily about their child’s oral health. The abundance of sugary foods and beverages available to children can cause great concern about children’s oral health.

Are you interested in learning how to protect your kids’ teeth at every age?

Keep reading as we discuss the best tips, tools, and practices to ensure your child has healthy teeth throughout life!

Tips For Protecting Your Child’s Teeth At Every Age

Below, you’ll find the best practices for protecting your child’s teeth at every age. Keep these tips in mind, and you can take excellent care of your little one’s smile.

Regular Dental Visits

If you want to ensure your child’s teeth are healthy, whether in their early childhood or teenage years, you need to take them for regular dental visits.

Your dentist maroubra can analyse the state of your child’s teeth and identify where intervention needs to be made. They will also identify critical areas your child misses when brushing their teeth.

In addition to visiting your dentist for regular checkups, you should consider adding a trip for routine cleaning. Your child will likely miss certain areas when brushing their teeth, and plaque can build up in them.

In dental cleaning, your dentist will reach these missed areas using a scaling tool and abrasive toothpaste to rid the teeth of bacteria completely. You should visit the dentist with your child every 6 months for a thorough clean, as this habit ensures their teeth are healthy.

Supervising Your Child’s Brushing Habits Until They Are Over 7 Years Old

When your child is still learning their daily habits, they can often forget to brush their teeth – or they may need encouragement to brush properly. Until your child is at least seven years old, you should assist them in brushing their teeth every morning and night.

Not only will this ensure your child is brushing their teeth and developing healthy oral habits, but it will ensure they are brushing correctly and for the appropriate amount of time.

Limiting Sugary Beverages And Foods

You should consider cutting out full-sugar beverages to keep your child’s teeth healthy. Sugary beverages are a huge contributor to diet-induced diabetes and have terrible consequences for oral health.

You needn’t cut out your child’s favourite fizzy beverage altogether – simply try switching to a sugar-free version. Both drinks have the same flavour, but the sugar-free version will have fewer negative consequences for your child’s oral health.

Consider opting for sugar-free versions if you provide your child with sugary sweets, chocolates, or treats. Alternatively, you could time these treats right to ensure your child will brush their teeth soon after consuming them. This way, the sugar will not sit on the teeth for long, and plaque is less likely to build up.

Regular Brushing

You should be aware that your child needs to brush their teeth twice daily. If your child does not like brushing their teeth due to discomfort, try a toothbrush with softer bristles. You can purchase child-sized electric toothbrushes to ensure your child gets a thorough clean. Ensure your child brushes for around 2 minutes in the morning and 2 minutes before bed.

Fluoride Toothpaste

Dentists will always recommend fluoride for oral care, as it has a tremendous effect on plaque and can help to keep the teeth white throughout their lifetime. Our teeth often yellow as we age; fluoride can help combat that.

No Rinsing

Since fluoride benefits the teeth, you should ensure your child doesn’t rinse after brushing their teeth. Leaving fluoride on the teeth can have tremendous benefits. If your child prefers to use mouthwash, you should recommend that they mouthwash before brushing or after each meal throughout the day.

Flossing

A toothbrush cannot clean the areas between the teeth, which is why flossing is so important. You should ensure your child is flossing at least once a day. If your child doesn’t like to use regular floss, you should consider providing them with floss sticks or a liquid flossing device (this device shoots bursts of water between the teeth to clean these areas and can be less uncomfortable than flossing).

Mouthguards For Sporting Activities

While your child is at school, they may engage in rough sporting activities like hockey, cricket, or rugby, that put their teeth at risk. All it takes is a single blow to the face to dislodge your child’s tooth. Contact your local Maroubra dentist to enquire about sporting mouthguard options to ensure this doesn’t happen. They will offer a mouthguard that is moulded to your child’s teeth for maximum comfort.

Signs Your Child May Need Dental Attention

Even if you take all the proper steps to care for your child’s teeth, they may need dental intervention. Here are some things to watch for indicating that your child needs a dental visit:

• Pain in the mouth – if your child is experiencing pain of any kind in their teeth or mouth, you should book a dental appointment to examine their teeth. Your dentist will determine the cause of the pain and intervene before a more serious issue emerges.
• Bleeding gums – if your child’s gums are bleeding, this could indicate an oral injury or, in worse cases, gum disease. You should visit the dentist to be safe.
• Injury – if your child has sustained an injury to their mouth, and their teeth are chipped, broken, missing, or loose, you should visit the dentist to see your options for restoring the teeth.

Summary

Parents have a lot to fret about when caring for their children. Follow the useful steps in this guide to put your mind at ease regarding your child’s oral health. With these tips and best practices, you can tick this off your list of worries!

If you’d like to book your child for a dental visit or simply need advice on caring for your child’s teeth, why not reach out to our friendly and attentive team here at Maroubra Dental Clinic?

Read Also:
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Gum Disease: Causes, Symptoms, And Solutions