Dental Care for Your Darling

May 12

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Brushing your child's teeth is no easy feat, but getting those pearly whites as clean as possible is absolutely critical in order to ensure proper oral health. Even though the teeth that your child has now will most likely be whisked away by the tooth fairy, protecting their primary teeth is still just as important as protecting their adult teeth. Your child's teeth serve a much bigger purpose than you may realize. Teeth, along with all other parts of the mouth are essential for eating, speech development, and other aspects of health. Many doctors say that they can tell you pretty much anything that may be going on with a child's health... just by looking at the mouth.

Pediatric dentist, Trista Onesti, DDS, of the Cleveland clinic, suggests that "If a baby has teeth, those teeth can get decay and cavities". She also notes that children with cavities in their baby teeth may be more prone to cavities in their adult teeth.

*Here are some questions that often arise when deciding how best to brush your child's teeth.

1. At what age is best to start brushing?

Pediatrician Dr. Giuliano MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, recommends that it is best to begin teaching your child the habit of brushing his/her teeth as soon as the first tooth comes in. In the beginning, you can use a clean, damp washcloth, a gauze pad, or a silicone finger brush to gently wipe clean the first teeth, the gums, and the front of the tongue after meals and at bedtime. You can also use a VERY soft toothbrush with a teeny tiny drop of toothpaste. When they are ready, they can begin to brush their teeth on their own.

A recent study suggests that almost 80% of children between the ages of 3-15 years only began brushing their teeth after their first year, which may have been a contributing factor to poor oral hygiene (Thornton-Evans, DDS et al., 2019). In addition, kids should start visiting the dentist roughly 6 months after their first tooth comes.

3. Is fluoride safe for my child?

Fluoride, and its safety, has been the topic of many conversations lately. Deciding whether to use a toothpaste with fluoride in it, or not, is a decision between you and your dentist, but here are some important facts!

The purpose of fluoride is to help strengthen the enamel on the teeth, so that the teeth can avoid decay.
Part of the reason why the amounts of toothpaste for children are so specific is because when the teeth get too much fluoride, they can develop little white spots that are referred to as dental fluorosis (Wright et al., 2014).
Since young children have not yet learned how to spit out their toothpaste, it is important to monitor how much toothpaste they are using, and subsequently ingesting, in order to prevent dental fluorosis. Such small amounts of toothpaste likely will not cause any harm.
In the same 2019 report we mentioned before, close to 40% of children ages 3-6 were using too much toothpaste (Thornton-Evans, DDS et al., 2019).
Some dental professionals recommend not to start the use of fluorinated toothpaste until your child is 2 years of age.

2. How much toothpaste is best to use?

From the moment you see those little teeth start to show up (usually at around 6 months), the American Dental Association recommends using toothpaste the size of a grain of rice until age 3. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that for ages 3-6, you can transition to a pea sized amount of toothpaste.

*Here are some toothpastes we love!