Your Child's Teeth and Hygiene

My son was only three years old when I took him to the dentist for the first time, he got his first tooth at 10 months and I wasn’t informed enough that one needs to clean baby teeth with a wet wash cloth as soon as the first tooth erupts. 

Children are at a risk for tooth decay as soon as the first tooth erupts. I was always told by everyone around me that they are milk teeth and they will eventually fall off but that piece of advice is completely wrong. With a lot of difficulty I would manage to brush his teeth when he turned two and would often give up because of all the crying and hysteria. 

He was in a lot of pain due to one of his front incisor which I knew had a cavity at the back and I ignored it because everyone told me that they are just milk teeth. The first look the doctor told me he would require a pulpectomy / baby root canal and I was horrified. The dentist also told me that if he doesn’t comply we would have to do it under general anesthesia and the thought of that freaked me out more.

 I googled hysterically to find out about the insane incidents about babies never waking up due to general anesthesia. I told the doctor that I would hold him tightly enough not to make him move as I wasn’t comfortable with the general anesthesia. My sister in law stepped and told me she would hold onto him throughout the procedure and I should stay calm and collected. So we did manage to get through the pulpectomy and it was quite a struggle to stop a three year old moving for about 10 minutes.

The doctor later informed me that milk teeth also need to be taken care of as well as you would take care of your permanent teeth. As soon as the first tooth erupts, it needs to be cleaned with a damp wash cloth after every meal and once they turn about 1.5 - 2 years, teeth need to brushed twice a day with a baby brush and a small dot size of tooth paste.

 You need to explain to your child not to swallow the tooth paste and rinse their mouth with water. You need to take your child for a regular check up to the dentist once in six months. The dentist also told me that another reason children get dental caries at this age is if they are still breast feeding or having milk at night. She told me to try and wean him off since he was three now and was eating solids and didn’t need to feed at night. Every night after putting my son to bed, he would ask to feed while going to sleep because that is how he always went to sleep.

 I would tell him that he was full and that I would feed him later, initially there was a lot of reluctance and there were somedays that I had to give in. So on the days he would wake up at night to feed I would make him rinse his mouth with water. But as he days got busier with school, he would fall asleep and not wake up until morning. It does take about  a week for your child to break any habit. We mommies need to be calm and patient with them. It’s just like how difficult it is for us to break free from a habit. We need to give them time.

Here are some tips to follow to maintain the dental hygiene of your child:

·        Ensure that your kids don’t consume too sugar as that is the main culprit for tooth decay

·        Rinse their mouths after every meal.

·        Brush their teeth with tooth paste like pigeon/ colgate. Tell them not to swallow the tooth paste and how to rinse and spit.

·        Be a good role model – take good care of your teeth as well so that you child will follow what you do.

·        Teach your child to brush his or her teeth on their own.

·        Appreciate their efforts in keeping their teeth clean.

·        Visit the dentist regularly

·        Choose a tooth paste whose taste your child likes so that it becomes easier for you to brush his or her teeth.

·        Ensure their diets are full of fresh fruits and vegetables.

·        Start flossing their teeth as soon as two teeth start touching each other.

·        Most children will need help with brushing till they are competent enough to brush on their own, usually till the age of 6.

Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth – Peter Ustinov