Good dental habits begin at an early age, but many parents fall short when it comes to the health of their children’s teeth, experts say.
“Parents who would not dream of letting their toddler bathe alone give the same child total responsibility for brushing,” Dr. Gretchen Henson, a dentist at Interfaith Medical Center in New York City said.
“Misinformation abounds, and it has become common for children to spend the entire day snacking and drinking beverages that can lead to serious tooth decay,” added Henson, the hospital’s program director of advanced education in pediatric dentistry.
Prevention of tooth decay and other problems can begin in children as young as 6 months, Henson said.
Dr. Jessica Marn, assistant program director, pointed out that “many people are surprised that we encourage infant well visits before a child even has teeth, but these visits are 90 percent about education and diet.”
Marn and Henson offered the following advice to parents:
- Clean infants’ gums with a soft cloth after feeding them, and never let infants and toddlers sleep with bottles of milk or juice. Also, never dip a pacifier in honey or other types of sweeteners.
- Tooth decay bacteria are highly contagious and easily transferred on items such as spoons or pacifiers. Don’t let grandparents or nannies share utensils with babies or kiss them on the mouth. Never lick a pacifier to clean it.
- Don’t let children snack all day, because even the healthiest snacks can leave residue that feeds tooth-rotting bacteria. If you do give children snacks, it should be fresh fruit or other whole foods, instead of packaged or sticky foods such as gummy bears, fruit roll-ups or dried fruit.
- Fruit juice–even if it’s organic–is as dangerous to teeth as soda because of the high sugar content. Give your child water instead.
- Brush young children’s teeth twice a day using an amount of fluoride toothpaste the size of a grain of rice. The age when children can start brushing by themselves varies by individual. A child who can tie their own shoelaces or make a ponytail may have the manual dexterity required to brush their own teeth. Children should start flossing when they have two teeth that touch.
Thanks for sharing these dental tips for your young kids. I had no idea that dental bacteria from other people could be so detrimental to a baby’s dental health! It sounds like I better pay close attention to that– I definitely don’t want my baby to have any teeth problems. I’ll also be sure to try and limit fruit juice.
You’re welcome, Delores! So glad Health Beat could help you keep your baby even healthier. If you haven’t already, you might want to “like” us on Facebook so you’ll be able to follow the new stories we post every day on there… the link is: facebook.com/spectrumhealthbeat
My kids are terrible about cavities! It seems that every time we go to the dentist they have accumulated more than the last time. They are not terrible at eating habits or oral hygiene routines, so I was confused about what I was doing wrong. I didn’t realize that these things could raise the risk of cavities, many of them describe my family perfectly. I will definitely be watching all of this more carefully, thank you for the advice!
Thanks for the tips on how to keep your kids oral hygiene up to snuff. You’re right how you need to teach them good hygiene practices while they are young. It can help if you set a good example and show them that you also need to brush and floss just like they do. This should help make your trips to the dentist much more pleasant for the whole family.
The fact that you aren’t supposed to snack so often in a row is both surprising and not. With that in mind though, is it better to expose your teeth to larger amounts of food just three times a day rather than having a bunch of smaller meals throughout the day? I had heard that having a ton of small meals is more healthy for you than the three big meals a day. That would be unfortunate to have it be healthy for your body but terrible for your teeth.
I agree with your tip about not letting people kiss your baby the mouth and not licking a baby’s pacifier in order to clean it. My family members can be very affectionate people and would find them kissing my baby girl on the mouth and I normally would not think anything about it. But after reading these tips I am going to have to reconsider letting them kiss my baby on the mouth. I think they would be understanding of it if they knew that it affects the baby’s dental health.
Dental bacteria from others that gets transfered during transfer of food can be extremely detrimental to a baby’s health. Well written.
Thanks for sharing these tips! Its really hard to let kids brush their own teeth. They really need guidance so they have the habit of brushing their teeth.
I liked when you talked about the importance of cleaning your kid’s teeth twice a day with fluoride. It makes sense that doing this would not only keep them protected but also help them get in the habit of brushing. I can see how anyone looking into this would want to consult with several offices and find one that knows how to treat kids and provide the advice I need to keep them healthy.