Children Get a Great Head Start with Regular Brushing and Dentist Visits
Dental care is vital for everyone, but good dental care for children is important. When children visit the dentist and are brushing their teeth at home, they get a head start on good oral health. When children visit the dentist early in life, it can help the dentist find any problems before they become more serious. At Hairston Family Dentistry, we recommend that your child’s first dentist visit should happen when they turn one year old. After that, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends regular dental checkups every six months for children.
“A check-up every six months is recommended in order prevent cavities and other dental problems. However, your pediatric dentist can tell you when and how often your child should visit based on their personal oral health.”
Source: AAPD | FAQ
Children with Good Dental Care Have Advantages
When experts compare children with good oral hygiene habits to kids with poor oral health, the difference is amazing. Children with good dental care are better off. They are more likely to continue brushing and flossing as they get older. They experience less dental problems throughout their life, maintain a positive self-image, and they might even perform better in school. Parents play a vital role in helping children continue proper dental care. The healthy dental habit will last a lifetime.
Dental Care Wards off Plaque, Cavities, and Gum Disease in Kids
When children develop good dental care, it is a strong preventive weapon in the battle against common dental problems. They can prevent plaque, cavities, gum disease, and tooth loss. In Dr. Leah Hairston’s experience, dental decay is the most common problem children encounter. When they don’t treat the decay, it may lead to the children suffering subsequent tooth pain and infection. Infections could interfere with eating, speaking, day-to-day life, and overall health.
Parents and Children Should Start Practicing Dental Care Early
Parents can get their children to start good dental care early, including brushing and flossing. You can teach your children to brush their teeth for two minutes, twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. If the children are too young to brush their teeth themselves, you can help them. You will only have to do that until they are able to brush by themselves. Begin flossing between your children’s teeth and along the gum line until they are able to do it. Flossing removes trapped food and plaque, which leads to gingivitis and decay.
Make Brushing Your Teeth and Flossing a Fun Habit
Good dental care doesn’t have to be a chore that children hate to do. Parents can make brushing and flossing fun. Let your children choose their kid-friendly toothbrush and toothpaste in their favorite color, character, or flavor. They can listen to music or you can sing them a song as they are brushing their teeth. Children can even watch a video or a TV show on their cell phone or laptop while they brush and floss.
Children Should Avoid Sugary Foods and Drinks
One of the key practices in good dental care for children is to bypass sugary foods and drinks. Sweets and sweetened drinks cause enamel damage and promote tooth decay. Children can help their teeth health and their overall health by drinking lots of water throughout the day. The water can counteract the sugary acids that lead to cavities. Water doesn’t build up on the teeth. It also helps with a person’s overall health, prevents dehydration, lubricates and cushions joints, gets rid of wastes, and more.
Develop an Early Relationship with Hairston Family Dentistry
At Hairston Family Dentistry, many of our patients are children. Our dentists understand how important it is for those children to visit us on a regular basis and in emergencies. We can help them with good dental care that they can follow at home. After we clean your children’s teeth, we can discuss cleaning and brushing techniques so they can avoid cavities. Our dentist can spot problems that could arise in the future. Dr. Hairston can also answer any questions that parents or children might ask about why good dental care for children is important.
Our Dentist Can Handle a Vast Array of Early Dental Issues
Our dentist at Hairston Family Dentistry can handle a vast array of pediatric dental health issues. Sometimes, Dr. Hairston has to refer children to a specialist. We might refer your child to an orthodontist for braces or to an oral surgeon for impacted teeth removal. Some children might be at risk for cavities or other problems. If that’s the case, our dentist may apply topical fluoride even before all of your child’s teeth come in. One of the things that fluoride does is harden the tooth enamel, which helps to defend against oral disease in children.
Give Hairston Family Dentistry a call at (304) 273-5301, or follow us on Facebook. Talk to our dental team today to find out more about why good dental care for children is important.