All Parents are protective about their children and give their best in doing so, but one commonly neglected topic is the child’s Dental health. This happens because the effects deteriorating dental health are not immediate but long term. Hence parents should start taking precautions at an early stage and start observing the child’s eating habits and behaviour. Ideally a child should be brought to the dentist for a check up at 1 year of age, along with ongoing problems the dentist can also take precautions for any anticipated Problems. SMILEX has The Best Dentist in Pune, and can take care of all your problems.
Lets cover a few basic topics which can majorly affect the child at a later stage.
Tooth Decay
Tooth decay is mainly cavities in the tooth which look like yellow or black stains on the surface of the front or back of the teeth. Sugar products play a major role in this. Frequent exposure of the tooth to sugar results in formation of acid on the tooth which degrades the enamel & eventually causes caries.
Some precautions to be taken when the child is 0-3 years of age
a) Diet counseling- Avoid honey-covered pacifiers in mouth for a long time or bottled milk with sugar while sleeping as it may lead to early tooth decay. Avoid consuming sugar between meals.
b) Brushing technique- Brushing twice a day for 3 minutes is necessary, using a Soft tooth brush. Make sure your child is brushing properly. Ask your child to hold the brush in the air & do a rolling motion , once he/she gets familiar with it , continue the same action in mouth. In case of a baby, use your finger to clean the gums properly .
c) Flouride treatment and pit & fissure caries –
Pit& fissure- When the child is 6-7 years of age, his permanent teeth starts erupting It is very important to preserve them , hence a preventive cement is applied into the caries prone area .
Fluoride Treatment- Fluoride is a mineral which helps in preventing tooth decay by slowing the growth of cavities as well as strengthens the tooth. Hence it helps to prolong the life of teeth. This treatment is done in two appointments:
1st is at 6-8 years of age when the permanent molars & incisors erupt.
2nd is when all permanent teeth erupt. 3rd can be done if your child has more than 2-3 cavities every year once.
Habits
Observe your child, look for any unusual habits he may be practicing.
a) Thumbsucking- Don’t let your child put his thumb or any digit in his mouth as it may lead to uneven placement of teeth later. It has long term effects and orthodontic treatment is needed later.
b) Lip biting- Most commonly the child keeps biting the lower lip. It causes front placement of the upper teeth and constant exposure of the front teeth causes drying and eventually caries.
c) Mouth breathing- Check if your child is breathing properly from his nose or he has to constantly keep his mouth open for breathing. It can be due to contricted airway and eventually leads to open bite.
Open bite is when even after complete closure of mouth , there is still some space between the upper & lower teeth. This leads to positioning of tongue between upper & lower teeth causing tongue thrust habit &eventually orthodontic problems which can be solved at Smilex by our Best orthodontist in Pune.
Mouth breathing also causes drying of mouth and eventually caries.
d) Chin propping- It is a habit in which child has a habit of constantly putting his hand on the chin. It hampers the growth of the lower jaw and hence leads to orthodontic problems later.
All these habits might eventually lead to protruding upper teeth or lower lip resting behind upper teeth. It could be because lip biting or retruded lower jaw or protruded upper jaw. At 10-12 years of age correction of this orthodontic problem is needed & can be done by The Best Orthodontist in Pune at Smilex.