A Parent’s Checklist For Children’s Oral Health

Every parent wants their children to always be healthy. It is a completely natural feeling. And every parent knows how important the well-being of their mouth is. Hence Children’s oral health and hygiene is the most important thing to follow.

Yet, dental caries is a rather widespread problem. Although it is possible to prevent some of these oral cavity diseases, such as tooth decay and gum disease, other disorders can undermine the child’s oral health and can occur at any time.

Teeth care in the youngest:

Children's oral health hygiene routine
Children’s oral health hygiene routine

Over the last few years, the smiles of the little ones have become much worse due to the excessive consumption of sugar and the increase in bacteria that inevitably attack the teeth. Children’s oral health and hygiene has depleted

This situation is the direct consequence of incorrect habits that tend to remain even when one becomes an adult. Taking action on children, therefore, means making sure that they develop the habit of choosing healthy products also for the health of the mouth.

Taking care of yourself is a behavior that starts from an early age and then continues during growth. The situation begins to deteriorate when children do not use toothbrush correctly.

The little ones are often not very inclined to use it and if the parents don’t follow their hygiene carefully, it can happen that sometimes they don’t brush their teeth. 

Adult supervision is important because in children the habit of taking care of themselves daily still has to take root and often they are not aware of the consequences of their behavior. 

In short, if we want our children to have a beautiful smile, we must follow the Children’s oral health checklist with commitment from an early age. The result of bad habits is that first caries can occur as early as two years. The number of children with deteriorated dentition already in the first few years of life is increasing.

Here we have prepared a checklist for parents to check children’s oral health:

    • We cannot prevent children from taking sugar. We find it in biscuits, fruit, and most foods. But we can teach them to brush their teeth properly, especially after meals.
    • Be a good example: very young children (from 1 year upwards) learn a lot by imitation. For them, the example is fundamental to understand and learn and internalize behavior. The first piece of advice is to put them in contact with the toothbrush as soon as possible. There are also suitable for the preschool age group (before the age of 3) and it is better not to use toothpaste just water.
    • Go for a Soft-bristled toothbrush and use it after wetting it with water. If you are thinking of going for fluoride toothpaste before the child is 1 year old, you should consult with the dentist first. 
    • For the children who are more than a year old but less than 2 years, you should use a smear of fluoride toothpaste for kids with moderate to high risk of decay.  For ages between 2-5 years, you should go for a pea-sized amount of toothpaste. Parents must brush the toddler’s teeth as the child watches. 
    • Change the toothbrush every 3 months: It is important that the little ones change the toothbrush often just like adults
    • Choose healthy snacks like cheese, fresh and dried fruit.
    • Prevents pastries and sugars from being part of your child’s daily habits.
    • It often alternates tastes and flavors to prevent the little ones from getting tired of always eating the same food and resorting to packaged snacks.
    • If you want to give your child the fruit juice, wait until he is one year old and does not buy packs that are too big for the child’s age, so you will avoid portions that are not suitable for your age.
    • Children should never be given juice before falling asleep because sugars increase the bacterial load and can seriously damage the oral cavity during the night.
    • Also, give the water that remains the ideal drink for both adults and children.
    • It is very difficult to give correct rules and habits for oral hygiene when children grow up, so take him to the kids dentist for the regular check-ups.
    • Brush your baby’s teeth 2 or 3 times a day when the first tooth comes out and he will get used to taking care of his mouth.
  • Children cannot brush their teeth alone until they have reached the age of 8. At this age, he will have mastered the movements that allow him to use his toothbrush and toothpaste alone, even if the supervision of an adult is very important to correct the wrong movements.

Method to Brush Your Child’s Teeth 

  • For brushing the child’s teeth properly, you must place the brush at 45 degrees angle to the gums of the upper and lower teeth. 
  • Then move the toothbrush in the back and forth motion with brief strokes along the gum line and teeth. You should do this in case of both the interior and the exterior side of the teeth.
  • The brush-tip must be positioned in an upright way to reach behind the front and the rear portion of the teeth. Only then the teeth can be cleaned thoroughly. 
  • Brush the tongue for removing the bacteria that remains on the surface. This ensures comprehensive mouth cleaning. 

Apart from brushing, regular flossing is also necessary for the kids. The bacterial plaque settling in between the teeth along with the food particles can lead to the problem of decaying of teeth, foul breath, and gum disease. To prevent that, it is must that you make your kid floss every day.

However, you cannot do everything by yourself and we kid dental care specialists are valid support in dental care and offer advice on your child’s oral health. It is recommended that you visit the dentist’s clinic at least twice a year so that any problem lurking in the mouth of your kid can be detected and treated early. 

In addition to taking care of tooth health, we are also careful to relate in the best way with the little ones. We, therefore, offer professionalism, seriousness and the right attention to give your child a fantastic smile.