The Big 5: Tips for National Children’s Dental Health Month
Happy February Lincroft! February is a special month in the profession of dentistry because: it’s National Children’s Dental Health Month! My name is Dr. Zenas Zhuang (Dr. Z), an associate dentist at Traina Dental in Holmdel, NJ, and I am here to give you my top tidbits that every parent should know about their child’s dental health.
- Your child’s dental health can and should start by their first birthday
You may be thinking to yourself – Dr. Z, but my infant doesn’t have teeth? And to that I say – you are never too early to get your child started on their dental health and establish with a dental home you trust. Just as you are taking your child to your pediatrician, it is just as important to have your child been seen by a dental professional to make sure all dental development milestones are being hit, and there are no significant abnormalities in your child’s early years. Find out with your local family dentist at what age they would like to see your child/a pediatric dentist they trust, so you can start building a solid dental foundation for your child.
- Start brushing your child’s teeth and gums when you see the first tooth erupt
This is exactly what it sounds like. And this is a super important point that’ll help with your child’s overall dental health as they age. The sooner you start a dental routine for your child, the easier it’ll be to take care of your child’s teeth until they are independent enough to do it themselves. Why? Because the early repeated exposure to home care will desensitize your child and they will soon learn that this is part of their wake up and bed time routine as they age. As infants, a pea size amount of fluoride toothpaste on a finger brush or a toddler toothbrush will suffice. Gradually add a bit more as your child has more teeth coming in. Circular motions with the tooth around the gumline, flick, repeat. You and your child will be standing in front of the bathroom mirror so they can see what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. Assisted brushing is key until you are confident your child can do their own home care up to par with your homecare for them. Always inquire with your child’s dental hygienist and dentist how your child’s homecare appears to be. They’ll never hold back but they’ll always help with technique, tips, and tricks!
- Diet is key. Everything in moderation, or everything in a short window of time
Some people may have heard of this, but this is a good point to always talk about it. It doesn’t matter if your child eats a whole sleeve of Oreos. It matters how long it took your child to finish a whole sleeve. Without getting into the don’ts of eating a sleeve of Oreos, eating that amount of sugar in 10-15 minutes is very different than a span of 3-4 hours. In general, the less time your teeth and your mouth spend being “exposed” to sugar, the quicker your mouth can bounce back into a neutral environment where the sugars aren’t being broken down by bacteria in your mouth. So, if your child is eating all those oreos in 10-15 minutes, your child only spends about an hour from when he/she’s done snacking to bring his/her oral environment into a neutral state. Whereas if it’s over the course of 3-4 hours, your child’s body is fighting every single minute over the course of that time trying to regain the neutral environment where bacteria isn’t eating up all the sugar and causing the enamel to wear down.
So what should you do ideally? First, minimize snacking as much as possible. If your child is hungry, a snack is ok but make sure your child washes it down with water, which will help knock off some of the plaque that may stick when they snacked. Sugary drinks like juice, gatorade, and soda, should only be at mealtime and be finished by the time the meal is over. Lastly, if your tap water is fluoridated, do not be afraid to give your child fluoridated water in between meals. And this leads to my next point of discussion.
- Fluoride works. I swear!
Continuing from the end of the last point, fluoridated water is the most inexpensive way for your child to have the proper amount of exposure to fluoride in their developing years. Technology and research of fluoride has come such a long way and your child’s exposure to systemic fluoride is one of the biggest determining factors in their level of cavity risk once they’ve developed fully. There are several articles, older and newer, that cite evidence and have profound results in how much more resistant the human dentition is when they have been exposed to an adequate amount of systemic fluoride. Drinking fluoridated water already helps strengthen adult teeth that haven’t even erupted yet, as well as maintaining the baby teeth that are placeholders until the adult teeth are fully developed.
I understand with the abundance of social media, the internet, and scholarly sites that there is a lot of information to research on your own to make your decision on fluoride, but this is where I encourage you to ask your dental professional about fluoride. No question is too dumb to ask, that’s why we are here to help and educate you on what is best for your child’s dental health!
- Make the dental visits a positive one
More often than not, children come in with a bit of fear and hesitation, and the last thing you and I want is for your child to have a traumatic dental experience that’ll stay with them. While we do everything we can to make our pediatric patients feel comfortable, safe, and engaged during the appointment to make sure things go smoothly, our patients’ parents can really help set the tone when they schedule and bring their child in for their dental appointment. If your dental office allows it, bring your child with you to your own appointments so they can see for themselves what a visit could look like. This kind of exposure ties back to the desensitization I was talking about with establishing a home care routine and helps reduce anxiety in your child to dental experiences. Your child can see you getting dental work done and they will know it’ll be ok too.
Find a dentist that can engage with your child well and make YOU feel safe with your child’s dental health in their hands. At the end of the day, you will do your best to give your child a good dental home, and build him/her a good home care routine.
That being said, Traina Dental is always welcoming new patients to the practice. If you are in search of a new dental home for your family and children, don’t hesitate to give us a call! See you next time.
