Keep Your Kiddo Smiling!

Prevent Kids’ Tooth Decay

 
You can prevent tooth decay for your kids by lowering the risk of your baby getting the bacteria that cause tooth decay. Make sure you take good care of your baby’s teeth – this reduces the number of bacteria in your baby’s mouth.

Decay Prevention Tips

• Don’t share saliva with your baby by sharing spoons, licking their pacifiers or pre-chewing their food.
• After each feeding, wipe your baby’s gums with a clean, damp gauze pad or washcloth. This will remove plaque. When your child’s teeth begin to break through the gums, brush them gently with a soft, child-sized toothbrush and water.
• Once your child’s teeth start to come into the mouth, brush using a children’s toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste in an amount no more than the size of a grain of rice.
• Brush your children’s teeth until they are able to do so themselves, usually around age 8. Then, supervise their brushing to make sure they brush thoroughly 2min2x (2 minutes, twice a day) and spit out the toothpaste afterward.
• Place only formula, milk, breast milk, or water in baby bottles. Infants should not be put to bed with a bottle.
• If your child uses a pacifier, give them one that is clean — don’t put it in your mouth first or dip it in sugar, honey, or other sweetened liquids.
• Encourage your children to drink from a cup by their first birthday and don’t let your child sip all day from a training (sippy) cup with sweetened beverages.
• Encourage healthy eating habits that include a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Serve nutritious snacks to your kids and limit sweets to just after mealtimes.
• Make sure that your kids get the fluoride they need. Discuss your kids’ specific fluoride needs with Dr, Dunne.