Tidbits
Tips to prevent early childhood caries (cavities)
- Clean the mouth
- Clean the mouth of your baby soon after birth by wiping and massaging the gums with a wet soft cloth or gauze.
- To clean your child’s mouth, place them in a position that will allow you easy access to their mouth. You may sit on a sofa with your child’s head in your lap or lay the child on a blanket on the floor or dressing table or utilize a knee to knee technique if you have a second adult present to assist. The knee to knee technique requires two adults sitting down facing each other with their knees touching with the child laying on the knees and laps of the two adults. The child’s head is placed in the lap of one adult as the other adult stabilizes the hands and feet of the child with their hands.
- Begin brushing with a soft bristled, small head toothbrush as soon as the first tooth erupts. Remember to continue to clean the gums in all other areas that remain toothless.
- Ask your dentist or physician the age they recommend you begin using toothpaste with fluoride (The American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends using it after age 2). When using toothpaste with fluoride, use only a pea size amount and simply have the child spit out after completion of brushing.
- Clean the your baby’s mouth after each feeding and brush the teeth at least twice a day and always brush your child’s teeth before they go to bed.
- Floss your child’s teeth as soon as the teeth begin to touch.
- It is important that you brush your child’s teeth until the age of 8 to 9 years once a day (preferable at bedtime) because you are able to clean their teeth better than your child.
- Examine your child's teeth when cleaning the mouth
- Lift your child’s top lip and look for decay on the outside and inside surfaces of the four upper front teeth. If you see a white chalky spot on the smooth surface of a tooth close to the gumline you should have your child be seen by a dentist as these may be pre-cavity areas. Also, look for plaque. The presence of plaque on baby teeth is a good predictor of a high risk for cavities. On back teeth, pre-cavity areas may appear as black or brown stains in the pits and grooves of the chewing surface that cannot be removed with a toothbrush.
- Maintain healthy feeding and eating habits
- Diets that contain sugary foods, soft drinks (pop), and fruit juices are most likely to promote dental cavities. Limit their use to mealtime only.
- Drinks high in sugar content (fruit juices and soda pop) should not be given in a bottle or sippy cup.
- Never let your child go to sleep with a bottle or sippy cup containing anything other than water.
- At will sleeping hours breast feeding should be avoided after the eruption of the infant’s first tooth
- Never dip a pacifier in sugar or honey
- Benefits of fluoride
- If you have well water, or your drinking water is not fluoridated, or you use bottled water, ask your dentist or primary healthcare provider about fluoride supplementation. Fluoride helps make the teeth in the mouth as well as the developing teeth below the gums more resistant to dental decay.
- Take care of your oral health
- The bacteria that causes dental decay is passed from the parents to the child therefore it is important to maintain optimal oral health by:
- brush your teeth a least twice a day for two minutes with fluoridated toothpaste
- flossing daily
- having your teeth cleaned and treated with fluoride by a dental professional every 6 months
- having dental cavities treated
- using a antimicrobial and fluoride mouthrinse daily
