Dental Talk Thursday | Oral Hygiene for Children

Dental Talk Thursday | Oral Hygiene for Children

Since last week we talked about cavity prevention in infants, for this weeks Dental Talk Thursday we are going to be talking about oral hygiene for children.

Unfortunately, roughly 25 percent of children have or had cavities before entering kindergarten.

Believe it or not, dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease with more than 16 million children suffering from untreated tooth decay in the U.S alone, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Here’s a crazy fact: According to the American Dental Association, “Oral disease causes children to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually.”

You might be having to fight with your kids to get them to brush their teeth, do it longer, do it more frequently etc. but don’t let that stop you from doing it! They will thank you when they get older.

By the age of 3, kids will have all of their baby teeth. We call them “baby teeth” but they’re actually called “primary teeth” or “deciduous teeth”.

You will start seeing these “baby teeth” fall out around the age of 6. This is the time when the permanent teeth aka “adult teeth” start coming in. This also means its tooth fairy time; get out your wallet mom and dad! I will post the eruption patterns below so you have a rough idea of what tooth should fall out when.

Don’t worry if you see some gaps between your child’s baby teeth, this is normal and it’s actually a good thing because it makes more room for the adult teeth. Even though you may think “they’re just baby teeth”, it’s important to remember that these little guys are the space holders for the adult teeth. If a baby tooth becomes decayed and needs extracted, there won’t be a tooth there anymore to hold open that space for the adult tooth. This can lead to crowding issues down the road.

You can expect your child to have all of their adult teeth erupted by the age of 13, with the exception of the wisdom teeth of course. Those don’t typically come in until around 17-21 if they even come in at all.

Here are some tips to help keep your child’s teeth healthy and strong:

- Use fluoride toothpaste. Before the age of 3, only use a grain of a rice-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. Starting at age 3, until age 6, use a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. Make sure your child spits after each brush once they’re old enough to do so.

- Be sure your child brushes for a minimum of 2 minutes twice a day. Get them a timer if you need to. Start flossing their teeth as soon as their teeth touch, or even earlier to help your child get into the habit of it. The flavored kids flossers seem to go over the best.

- Help your child brush and floss until they are old enough to do so effectively on their own. They say that kids do not have the manual dexterity to properly clean their teeth on their own until they are able to tie their shoes. It is okay if they brush on their own before this happens to make them feel more independent but always be sure to brush them again yourself afterwards.

- Visit the dentist every 6 months. The American Dental Association recommends a child has his or her first dental visit by their first birthday or when their first tooth erupts, which ever one comes first. Kids typically will not have an actual cleaning at the dentist until the age of 3 or sooner if they allow us to. As a side note, I always tell parents to bring their child with them to their dental cleaning appointment first. This allows the child to get to know us and they become more familiar with the environment which in return helps them feel more comfortable when it becomes their turn. This makes for a more effective dental appointment.

- Rachel Faul, Registered Dental Hygienist

*Stay tuned for next weeks "Dental Talk Thursday" over at Facebook.com/RachelFaulFitness at 7:30pm EST