I am having trouble encouraging my 2 and a half year-old kid brush her teeth. She likes eating sweets, that's why I research on what to do with my problem. I want to share this information about caring for your baby's oral health.
BRUSHING AND FLOSSING
Oral cleansing may begin even before your baby's teeth start to erupt. Wipe the gums with a clean piece of gauze after each bottle or breast feeding. This not only cleans the mouth, but it accustoms your baby to oral cleaning procedures at an early age.
After the teeth erupt, use flouride-containing toothpaste in an amount about the size of a small pea. Smear it on gauze for the last cleaning of the day before bedtime.
The change from gauze to a toothbrush should take place from 12 to 18 months of age. Again, no more than a small pea-sized amount of flouride-containing toothpaste should be shown how to spit it out and not swallow it.
Encourage you child to brush as soon as it can be managed, but you should supervise and help until the necessary manual dexterity is acquired. Brushing should be carried out as soon after eating as possible.
- Late teething is usually a family characteristic and is rarely indicative of disease.
- Early and continuing care of baby teeth is important since some of them will be functional for 10 years or more.
- The cutting surfaces of both upper and lower front teeth are slightly scalloped. These indentations wear away and disappear within few years.
- Children who constantly suck at a bottle of sweet juice are bathing their teeth is decay-causing sugary liquids.
- The Canadian Dental Association recommends that no fluoride supplements be given to children under the age of three and that supplements then be started only for children who exhibit a high risk of developing decay.
-The best type of brush has a small head with a straight edge at the top, is two or three tufts wide and four to six tufts long.
