What should parents know about their children teeth?
LET US START WITH PRENGANCY
A healthy oral cavity of a pregnant woman is important both for herself and for her unborn child. Very often women delay teeth treatment because of the fear of impossibility of anaesthesia application, while we provide both anaesthesia means and techniques that can be safely used during pregnancy. Decay cavities are a habitat of decay bacteria which we transfer by our saliva exposing our newborn baby to early decay of deciduous and succedaneous teeth. It is absolutely forbidden to lick comforters and cutlery while feeding.
WHEN TO START CLEANING TEETH?
Since the first cut tooth, which means since the 5th or 6th month. We do it with a gauze pack soaked with boiled water. It is a proper moment to buy a silicone brush – a teether that simultaneously massages itchy gums. The first toothbrush made of soft bristle can be used without toothpaste. Since we provide solid food we can also provide toothpaste. We use toothpaste without fluorine until a child learns how to sluice oral cavity effectively and to spit its content. Personally, I do not recommend flavoured toothpastes which invite children to eat them. Parents should teach children how to brush their teeth precisely and control them until they are sure children have learnt that ability. It is worth to ask your dentist for a brushing instruction.
TEETH CHANGE – WHEN DO SUCCEDANEOUS TEETH CUT?
Deciduous teeth consist of 20 teeth while succedaneous teeth consist of 28-32. About a child is about 5 years old a teeth change begins. Because of a jaw and chinbone growth there appear gaps between teeth, which provides room for much bigger succedaneous teeth. Succedaneous incisor teeth or sixth teeth come out first and they cut behind deciduous teeth. Very often parents think that these are the deciduous teeth and they neglect their treatment. In fact, “the sixths” are the most important teeth for the whole bite. From a complete cut they should be protected with varnish in a month in order to avoid decay.
FIRST DENTIST’S APPOINTMENT – WHEN?
The first visit in a dental surgery should be an adaptive visit – it is the best when a child comes as a parent’s companion to their appointment. A child learns about a new place, specific sounds and smells, gains confidence by observing parent’s treatment and, usually, a child agrees for a teeth control without any resistance. Such “trips’ can begin when a child is about 2 years old. Deciduous teeth should be controlled more often than succedaneous teeth, every 3-4 months.
Inceased alertness should occur during the period of teeth change – from the age of 5 to 12.
HOW DOES NUTRITION INFLENCE CHILD’S TEETH?
It is obvious to have a balanced diet and meals that require intensive chewing. As long as we can we should avoid serving sugar in any form. Do not sugar liquids, especially those which are served at night. . If our child has tasted sweets and their demand them it is profitably to give them more sweets at once and then to brush teeth, rather than let a child snack often during a day. It is good to try to replace sugar with, e.g. xylitol or stevia.
PROFESSIONAL PREVENTION – WHEN AND HOW OFTEN?
The basic rule is a systematic teeth control - with deciduous and mixed teeth - every 4 months, with succedaneous teeth – every six months. Decay treatment at small cavity stage prevents from unwanted complication such as inflammation and early deciduous teeth loss that may lead to seccedaneous teeth cut disorder.
Pierwsze wyrznięte zęby stałe pokrywamy preparatami wzmacniającymi szkliwo, a ich bruzdy uszczelniamy bioaktywnymi lakierami. W swoich gabinetach stosujemy także regularną dezynfekcję jamy ustnej ozonem.
First cut teeth we cover with special preparations that strengthen enamel, and we caulk grooves with bioactive varnishes. In our surgeries we also apply regular oral cavity desinfection with ozone. Among children, similar to adults, a dental calculus appears because of the insufficient dental hygiene. The calculus must be removed regularly and brushing instructions must be provided. A good investment in a whole family’s health is to buy an electric toothbrush and an irrigator.
It is worth to take care of our teeth – they are supposed to serve us for a whole life.
