Ensuring that you are taking care of your child’s teeth can be a stressful demand for many parents, luckily there are plenty of resources out there to help.
Schedule Regular Visits To The Dentist
Visiting your local dentist in Leamington Spa at least every 6 months is recommended for everyone, but taking your small child to the dentist regularly can be even more important than adults doing the same. This is because very young children cannot brush their teeth yet, they are completely reliant on their parents to ensure that their teeth are well taken care of. When you take your child to the dentist the dentist can provide you as a parent with tips and recommendations on how to better take care of your child’s teeth in the future.
Brush Your Child’s Teeth In Small Circles
Brushing your children’s teeth in small circles reduces the discomfort they will feel as opposed to you brushing their teeth from side to side, brushing in circles can also allow you to better focus on each of the teeth ensuring that you brush each of their teeth properly.
If Possible Do Not Rinse Your Child’s Mouth Out With Water After You Have Finished Brushing
Rinsing your child’s mouth out after brushing can wash away the fluoride from the toothpaste, fluoride helps protect teeth from plaque formation and should be allowed to remain on teeth when possible.
Limit Your Child’s Sugar Intake
Be mindful of how much sugar you are giving your child as baby teeth are more prone to dental decay than adult teeth which is why sugar food and beverages can be even more damaging. Fruit juice such as apple juice and orange juice contains a shocking amount of sugar, often a lot more than many parents would imagine there to be. Instead of giving your child fruit juice as often you could instead give them a small amount of dilutable drink squash and fill up the rest of their drink with water. This gives your child a fruity taste with significantly less sugar.
Use Children’s Toothpaste To Brush Your Child’s Teeth
It may be tempting to just brush your child’s teeth with your regular toothpaste, but adult toothpaste has levels of fluoride that are too high for children’s teeth; this imbalance can lead to your child’s teeth being stained. Additionally, many adult toothpaste has mint flavouring which your small child probably will not like.
Use A Children’s Toothbrush To Brush Your Child’s Teeth
Children’s toothbrush heads are a lot smaller than adult toothbrush heads, making it easier for you to brush your child’s teeth as the toothbrush can fit into small areas of your children’s mouth ensuring that you can give your child’s teeth a thorough clean.
Distract Your Child Whilst You Are Brushing Their Teeth
Giving your child a toy to play with whilst you are brushing their teeth can make them less likely to cause fuss as they will be distracted by their toy, making it easier for you to brush their teeth. Alternatively, you could allow them to watch TV whilst you are brushing their teeth.
Conclusion
We hope you have found our guide useful, remember there are plenty more ways to ensure you are taking care of your children’s teeth you just have to do a bit of research. You can also ask your local dentist in Milton Keynes.