Keep Your Child’s Teeth Healthy

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Oral care is an essential part of your child’s overall health. It is important to help your child develop a daily oral hygiene routine and learn about what will keep their teeth and mouth healthy. Follow these tips to keep your child’s teeth healthy:

• Brush teeth twice a day and floss once a day, supervising your child until you are confident they are able to do so well on their own, which is usually when they are seven or eight years old.
• Make sure the outside, inside and chewing surface of each tooth is brushed well. Also, brush the tongue to remove bacteria and keep your child’s breath fresh.
• When brushing, use a child-sized toothbrush with soft bristles and a pea-sized amount of toothpaste. Ask your child’s dentist or doctor to recommend an age- appropriate toothpaste. Help your child learn to spit throughout brushing so they do not swallow the paste.
• Replace your child’s toothbrush every 3-4 months or when the bristles start to show wear.
• The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends regular dental check-ups, including a visit to the dentist within six months of your child getting their first tooth, but no later than their first birthday. Then, schedule a yearly appointment until your child is 3 years old and visit twice a year beyond age 3.
• To decrease tooth damage and decay, limit high-sugar snacks and drinks.
• If your child chews gum, make sure it is sugarless.
• Do not put your child to bed or down for a nap with anything but water in a bottle or Sippy cup. This will decrease chances of early childhood caries or “baby bottle tooth decay ”.
• Do not share utensils, cups, straws, or toothbrushes with your child. Bacteria are passed through your saliva, infecting your child even before the first tooth appears or can increase chances for decay of your child’s teeth.
• Do not dip pacifiers in honey or sugar and always use water to clean instead of cleaning in your mouth.
• Children active in sports should wear a mouth guard to protect their teeth from being knocked out or fractured.
• For teens, avoid piercings of the tongue, lip and cheek. They increase the risk of infection, cracked or chipped teeth and soft tissue damage.
• Accidents can happen anywhere, anytime. Knowing how to handle a dental emergency can mean the difference between saving and losing your child’s permanent tooth. For all dental emergencies, it’s important to take your child to the dentist or an emergency room as soon as possible. Here are some tips if your child experiences a dental emergency:
  • Toothache: rinse the mouth with warm water to clean. Gently use dental floss to remove any food caught between the teeth. Apply a cold compress to the affected area. If pain persists, contact your child’s dentist for advice. Do not put aspirin on the aching tooth or apply heat.
  • Knocked-out tooth: contact your child’s dentist right away. Find the tooth and handle it by the crown only (don’t touch the roots). Gently rinse the tooth with water without scrubbing. For older children, insert the tooth into its original socket and hold it there with clean gauze or have them hold the tooth between their cheek and gum. For younger children, place the tooth in a glass of milk. Do not attempt to reinsert the tooth in case they swallow it. Keep the tooth moist at all times. Take your child to the dentist (if possible) or emergency department immediately. Time is very important to save the tooth and is most successful within one hour of it being knocked out.
  • Extruded or Intruded teeth (displacement): dental trauma can cause teeth to be pushed out of place inward, outward or into the jawbone (intrusion). Rinse your child’s mouth with cold water, place ice packs around the affected area to reduce swelling and offer a pain reducer at the recommended dose. Contact your child’s dentist or go to the emergency department.
  • Cracked, chipped or fractured tooth: rinse the mouth and apply a cold, moist compress. If you can find the broken tooth fragment, place it in milk. Consult your child’s dentist for advice and assessment of the severity of the injury or head to the emergency room if the dentist in not available.
  • Dental concussion: a tooth that has not been dislodged from its socket, but has received a hard knock is considered a dental “concussion.” This is common in falling toddlers and can cause the tooth to discolor permanently or temporarily. Unless the tooth is turning very dark or black, this injury does not require emergency treatment. But, if your child has received trauma to the head during a fall, have them seen by their doctor or visit the emergency department right away.
  • Injured cheek, lip or tongue: apply direct pressure to the bleeding area using a clean cloth or gauze. Apply ice to reduce swelling. If the bleeding is uncontrollable or if there is a tear, puncture wound or deep cut, take your child to the emergency room to assess if repair is needed.