According to the Academy of General Dentistry, an increase in sugar intake may lead school children to a high risk of cavities.

In the past 15 months, researchers have studied dietary habits of preschoolers and have monitored their teeth, and the study showed that cavity-free children dropped from 23 to 19 percent.

Our dentists in Lakewood recommend that parents can help their children prevent decay and cavities by monitoring their dietary habits. Instead of giving them snacks, they can have apples, carrots and other snack alternatives—something that are naturally sweet.

And more importantly, children should brush and floss at least twice a day to prevent decay and cavities.

If your children’s school lunch program doesn’t offer healthy alternatives, make sure to talk to the school about incorporating healthy lunches or snacks.

Finally, children may need sealants as another way to prevent decay and cavities. Sealant is a thin coating of bonding material applied on a tooth, and it acts as a barrier to decay and cavities.

Talk to your dentist in Lakewood at Light Dental Studios of Lakewood to learn more about dental sealants.

Toothpastes

So many toothpastes are on the market today, choosing one can be confusing. When buying toothpaste for your child, look for one that contains fluoride and tastes good. Some toothpastes also are approved by the American Dental Association (ADA). The ADA Seal of Acceptance means that the manufacturer has provided data proving that the toothpaste is safe and effective. Some manufacturers choose not to seek the ADA seal of approval. So, toothpastes without the ADA seal also may be safe and work well, but their performance has not been evaluated by the ADA.

Children only need a small pea-size amount of toothpaste on their toothbrushes. Be sure your child understands that toothpaste is not food. It needs to be spit out, not swallowed.

Toothbrushes

The type of toothbrush your child uses is important because the wrong kind can be damaging to soft tissues. Regardless of your child's age, his or her toothbrush should have soft nylon bristles. Harder bristles can cause gums to wear away over time. When your child is an infant, the toothbrush should be very small. As he or she grows, select small toothbrushes that can fit easily in the mouth and brush one or two teeth at a time. Your child's toothbrush should be able to reach all the teeth, including the molars in the very back.

Replace toothbrushes about every four months or when they begin to look worn and frayed. If a toothbrush wears out much sooner than three or four months, you or your child may be using too much pressure. It's also a good idea to replace brushes after your child has had a cold or other illness to prevent reinfection.

Powered toothbrushes are fun and may remove more plaque and stain than regular toothbrushes. That doesn't mean you should run out and buy one. Regular toothbrushes are very effective, too. However, because they make brushing easier, powered toothbrushes can be helpful for special needs children who can't sit still long enough to properly brush their teeth with a regular toothbrush.

Water Irrigation Devices

These appliances usually are not necessary, but they may benefit some children with braces or other type of orthodontics who need help getting food from between teeth. However, these devices do not remove plaque that is firmly attached to the tooth. That still needs to be done with a toothbrush.

Mouthwashes And Fluoride Mouth Rinses

Mouthwash and fluoride mouth rinse are two different products. Mouthwash freshens breath, but does nothing to clean teeth. Most mouthwashes contain alcohol and are not appropriate for children younger than 6 years old. This is because young children can easily swallow the mouthwash. If your child has chronic bad breath, he or she should see a doctor. It could be caused by a health problem.

Fluoride mouth rinse coats teeth with fluoride, which helps to prevent cavities. You should check with your child's dentist or dental hygienist to determine if your child needs to use a fluoride mouth rinse. It is typically used once or twice a day by children who are cavity prone, even if the child has only one area of decay. Children as young as 7 years old can use a fluoride rinse, if they know how to spit out a liquid without swallowing it. You can test your child to see if he or she is ready. Give him or her a half-cup of water. Ask your child to put some of the water in his or her mouth, swish it around and spit it out into a second cup. If there is a half cup of water in the second cup, your child probably can spit out the mouth rinse. You should still supervise your child to make sure the rinse does not get swallowed.

For more information about your kids' oral health, please contact our Lakewood dentist, Light Dental Studios of Lakewood today!

Importance of the primary dentition

Primary teeth start to erupt in children from the age of six months. The primary dentition is complete by approximately two and a half years of age. The enamel of primary teeth is less densely mineralized than the enamel of permanent teeth, making them particularly susceptible to caries. Primary teeth are essential tools, both for chewing and learning to talk. They help to break up food into small pieces, thereby ensuring efficient digestion. A full set of teeth is an essential prerequisite in learning correct pronunciation. Primary teeth also play a vital role in the proper alignment and spacing of permanent teeth; it is therefore imperative that they are well cared for and preserved until normal ex-foliation takes place.

Establishing a proper oral care routine early on in life sets the foundation for the development of healthy and strong permanent teeth. In addition to good oral hygiene, diet also plays a key role in keeping teeth healthy. In this respect it is not only the quantity of sugar that is important, but also the frequency of consumption. As much as possible, children should be limited in the amount of sweets between meals, especially in the evening or at night.

New permanent teeth

Although permanent teeth are already partly formed in children aged 0 to 3 years, eruption only occurs later in life (from about 6 years on) when the 32 permanent teeth (16 in the upper and 16 in the lower jaw) replace the 20 primary teeth. During this time root resorption and crown shedding of primary teeth take place. With the eruption of the first permanent teeth (from about 6 years on), the mouth contains a mixture of both primary and permanent teeth, which puts children at increased risk of caries. Often the eruption of this permanent tooth is not realized neither by the child nor by the parents, because it is positioned behind the last primary molar and is not replacing any primary tooth. Although enamel is fully formed at eruption the surface remains porous and is inadequately mineralized. Subsequently, a secondary mineralization occurs (second maturation), in which ions from the oral cavity penetrate hydroxyapatite and increase the resistance of the enamel against caries. Furthermore, any primary teeth with caries form reservoirs of bacteria, which can easily attack the immature enamel of the new permanent teeth. During the eruption, the occlusal surfaces of the new permanent teeth are on a lower level than the primary teeth. Toothbrushing becomes more difficult than before, given the coexistence of loose primary teeth, gaps and newly erupting permanent teeth. The jaw is also growing significantly, making space for more teeth. The cleaning of the narrower interdental spaces becomes more important with increasing numbers of permanent teeth.

Role of Parents

Parents have a key role in helping their children to develop a proper oral hygiene routine in the first years of their life. Parents should lead and supervise their children’s toothbrushing approximately for the first 12 years, until motor and mental functions allow the child to routinely perform a proper toothbrushing technique alone. After brushing the teeth for their children for the first 2 years of life, parents will have to use playful motivation to encourage their children to brush their own teeth from about 3 years onwards – the time when children want to brush their teeth alone. Each time the child has finished brushing, parents should re-brush the hard-to-clean areas.

At the age of around 6 years, children are able to brush their teeth using a proper brushing technique. In this phase, parents have to continue supervising the regular brushing efforts of their children. The special anatomical situation of changing dentition makes it indispensable that parents still need to help their children in the daily toothbrushing task until eruption of the second molar (around the age of 12).

Development stages of children from the age 0-12

As soon as the first primary teeth erupt into the oral cavity, parents should begin brushing their children’s teeth. From the age of two years, teeth should be brushed twice daily with smaller than a pea-size amount of children’s toothpaste. Small children tend to swallow a large amount of toothpaste, so that there is a risk of developing dental fluorosis. Supervised application of the amount of toothpaste to the toothbrush is important. Due to the risk of fluorosis, the fluoride content of toothpaste for children up to the age of 5–7 years was reduced in most European countries (250 ppm to 750 ppm). Beginning with the eruption of the new permanent teeth, children should be switched from a low fluoride containing children’s toothpaste to a higher fluoride containing toothpaste (1000 ppm to 1500 ppm). This ensures the best caries protection as possible for their new permanent teeth.

Toothpaste Use

Toothpaste with an age adapted content of fluoride is recommended

Primary teeth should be brushed by parents twice a day from the first tooth onwards. Parents should re-brush thoroughly after the child has brushed first. From the age of 6 years children have the ability to brush their teeth alone twice daily. However, parents must supervise the toothbrushing (until the age of 12) and check on the condition of the toothbrush. A worn toothbrush is also less effective at cleaning teeth.

For more information about pediatric dentistry, contact our Lakewood dentist, Light Dental Studios of Lakewood today!