It is never “too early” when it comes to start caring about your child`s oral health. As soon as your child gets the very first tooth in its mouth start cleaning it with a small headed soft bristled tooth brush and smear layer (grain rice size) of fluoride toothpaste for kids. Never put your baby to bed with a bottle filled with anything else but water at night or at naptime. Milk, formula, juices and other sweet drinks, all have sugar in them. Sucking on a bottle filled with liquids that have sugar can cause tooth decay called “Early childhood decay” – condition very painful for children and very difficult for clinicians to treat. We all think that something like that can never happen to our kids but it is still most prevalent chronic childhood disease in the US. It is recommended for parents to start using a cup at 6 months of age.
When your child is 3 years of age it will usually have all primary teeth (“baby teeth”) erupted in the mouth. Proper amount of fluoride containing toothpaste for kids applied on the toothbrush should be a pea size. You can start letting them brush their own teeth but you should always finish their brushing and check if they did a good job. They will need your help with brushing at least until they are 8 years old. Maintaining health of primary teeth is very important for adequate eating and nutrition, preservation of space for eruption of permanent teeth, proper speech and jaw development and beautiful smile.
Your child should brush teeth two times a day for about two minutes. It is also very important to limit sugar intake and develop a healthy eating habits, such as eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Limit frequency of meals and snacks, avoid sticky food, make treats part of a meal and encourage choosing water over sweetened beverages.
First dental visit of a child is advised at the age of three. We ask you to prepare your child before bringing him to our office, read a book about dental visit, review what the dentist and dental hygienist will be doing, but most importantly speak positively about your own dental experience. We love to meet both the child and the parent during the first dental visit. We will make your child familiar with dental setting, examine your child’s teeth and gums, clean your child’s teeth and apply topical fluoride to help protect the teeth against decay. We will review with you how to clean and care for your child’s teeth and answer any question you might have.
Once we get to meet your child and become friends, we strongly encourage parents to remain in the waiting room while the child is in the operatory at subsequent visits. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that parents remain in the waiting room when children are brought into the dental operatory. Studies have shown that children over the age of 3 often respond better to dental treatment and behave more cooperatively when their parents aren’t in sight. We do understand that you want to be there for your child and help, but most of the time that is not a message that your child is receiving. This allows the child to concentrate solely on communication with their dentist and assistants. Likewise, it allows the dentist to concentrate only on your child without possible distractions, enforces infection control guidelines and creates environment for delivering the best care possible. By allowing your child to enter the operatory without you, you’re placing trust in your dental professionals and teaching your child to do the same.
Doctors and staff at Carlisle Dental Studio are very proud of all of our patients but our youngest ones have absolute special place in our hearts, minds and schedule. Thank you for trusting us as we promise to take excellent care of children in our community.
“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”
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