Why Baby Teeth Matter
April 11, 2016
A child’s primary teeth, sometimes called baby teeth, are as important as the permanent adult teeth. A baby’s 20 primary teeth are already present in the jaws at birth and typically begin to appear when a baby is between 6 months and 1 year.
When teeth first come in, some babies may have sore or tender gums. Gently rubbing your child’s gums with a clean finger, a small, cool spoon or a wet gauze pad can be soothing to them. You can also give the baby a clean teething ring to chew on. If your child is still cranky and in pain, consult your dentist or physicians. Most children have a full set of twenty primary teeth by the time they are three.
So you might be wondering at this point why baby teeth matter. They fall out anyway and are replaced by permanent teeth, right? Not only do primary teeth help children chew and speak, they also hold space in the jaws for the permanent teeth that are growing under the gums. When a baby tooth is lost too early, the permanent teeth can drift into the empty space and make it difficult for other adult teeth to find room when they come in. This can make teeth crooked or crowded. That’s why starting infants off with good oral care can help protect their teeth for decades to come.
The ADA recommends that a dentist examine a child within six months after the first tooth comes in and no later than the first birthday. A dental visit at an early age is a “well baby checkup” for the teeth. Besides checking for tooth decay and other problems, the dentist can show you how to clean the child’s teeth properly and how to evaluate any adverse habits such as thumb sucking.
Secrets to a Great Checkup: Part Two
March 21, 2016
A trip to the dentist should be easy and painless for you and your child, so why not continue our series and finish up these great tips to help make your next trip a dentist’s dream rather than a nightmare:
Leave Your Anxiety at the Door
If your heart races at the very thought of the dentist, your child can probably tell. Kids pick up on parents’ anxiety. The younger your kids are, the more you need to be aware of how you’re communicating with them. For example, if your child asks about getting a cavity filled, don’t say, “It will only hurt for a little bit.” Instead, encourage your child to ask the dentist.
Keep Cool If Your Child Won’t Cooperate
If your child gets upset during her visit, the worst thing you can do is swoop them out of the chair and leave, because the next visit is going to be harder. First, assess why your child is acting out. Are they truly afraid, or are they trying to test the situation? Once you’ve figured it out, work as a team with your dentist to keep the visit going. Let the dentist lead the conversation. Jump in where you think it helps most, while still allowing the dentist and your child to build a good relationship.
Take a Card (or Three) on Your Way Out
Accidents can happen whether your child is in sports camp, gym class or just walking down the street. In case of emergency, make sure your child’s teachers and coaches have all the medical contact information they need – including your dentist’s number. Grab business cards for your wallet, your child’s backpack and your school’s files.
We hope that these tips help make your child’s early visits to the dentist easier, and allow for a wonderful experience that will reflect on how they view dental visits and procedures for the rest of their life.
12 New Year’s Resolutions for Outstanding Oral Health
December 29, 2015
As your family gears up for the New Year, you may be thinking about what changes you’re going to make in 2016. While learning a new language, exercising more, or eating healthier are all great ideas, everyone can benefit from adopting healthy oral hygiene habits! If your kids are looking to come up with their resolutions for the year, help them adopt healthy habits that will benefit them throughout their lives. For outstanding oral health and a lifetime of beautiful pearly whites, consider adding some of the following to your family’s list of resolutions for the New Year:
- Brush at least twice a day
- Drink fluoridated water
- Visit your dentist
- Gargle with mouthwash everyday
- Get a new toothbrush every few months
- Wear a mouthguard during sports
- Floss everyday
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
- Cut back on soda
- Limit sugary foods
- Chew sugarless gum
- Smile more
Let 2016 be the year your family kicks their oral hygiene into gear! The earlier your kids adopt a healthy oral hygiene routine, the better. Turning some, or all, of the listed resolutions into daily habits will help your family minimize issues with tooth decay, gum disease, and plaque build-up. Since proper oral care starts at home, it’s important to encourage healthy oral hygiene everyday so that your family can fight cavities and keep teeth strong for years to come. To schedule an appointment for your child, contact us today.
Tips to Prepare Your Child’s Teeth For Christmas
December 15, 2015
Christmas is just around the corner, as all you parents all know. While we’re getting a bunch of toys ready for the Palm Harbor Library, we are also finding that this is the perfect opportunity to talk to kids about keeping their teeth healthy during the holiday season. We all know that Christmas is full of candy and sweet treats, but reminding your kids that taking care of their teeth during this time is more important than ever!
Here are a few things you can do prepare your child’s teeth for the only time of the year when there’s plates and plates of cookies and fudge, candy hanging from trees, and glasses of caramel apple cider around every corner.
- Children on the nice list don’t stop brushing and flossing. Even though Santa’s coming and the sugar is keeping those kids up later and later in anticipation. It’s important to set a No-More-Cookie Time and make sure they brush and floss those teeth before they go to bed. This ensure any excess sugar will be removed from their teeth and prevent tooth decay. Similarly, keeping with the routine and brushing first thing in the morning before breaking into cinnamon rolls and peanut brittle can keep their healthy habit in check, and prepare their teeth for the rest of the day.
- Sneak some of Santa’s milk. When there are endless choices of sweet snacks to munch on choosing healthy options like a glass of milk or a plate of carrots is extremely important. Make sure you kids are eating full meals full of vitamins that can help their teeth, like calcium and vitamins D and A, before they start on the shortbread. This will ensure their bodies are getting the nutrients their teeth need to stay healthy.
Keeping with a consistent oral health regimen even in the thick of the holiday season is extremely important. By making sure your kids are brushing their teeth twice a day for two minutes at a time, flossing every night, and still eating healthy meals – despite the urge to switch out carrot sticks for Christmas cookies – you can prepare their teeth for a healthy holiday season.
If you want to double up your efforts this season, schedule a check up after the holidays and we can get your child’s smile off to a Healthy and Happy New Year!
Have a Healthy Halloween
October 28, 2015
Halloween is just around the corner and you know what that means! Oodles of costumes and candy coming your way. Sometimes the scariest part about Halloween for parents and pediatric dentists alike is not the ghoulish grins, vampires, or werewolves on every street, it’s the tooth decay and cavities that lurk in the bottom of those trick-or-treat bags. While cavities are pretty scary, it’s important that your child banishes tooth decay every day. Just because they get an overload of sugary treats this time of year, doesn’t mean that you’ll stop slaying cavity-causing bacteria. Here are a few things you can do to remind your kiddos to keep their teeth healthy while in a caramel craze.
Brush and Floss Those Chompers –
Just because it’s Halloween doesn’t mean you can skimp on brushing and flossing those teeth, especially when you’ve been bingeing on fun-sized candy bars. Brushing teeth twice a day for two minutes at a time removes the sugar and bacteria that leads to cavities. Flossing is especially important to remove any gooey or nutty remnants from between the teeth. By making sure your kids brush and floss the sugar off their teeth before they fall into a caramel coma, you’ll make sure no cavities comes a long.
Provide Lots of Alternatives –
While it’s no surprise that candy is the belle of the ball on Halloween, by providing your kids with healthy alternatives you’d be surprised at how often they reach for the tangerine jack-o-lantern, banana ghosts with chocolate chips for eyes, and mozzarella stick mummies. There are lots of Halloween-inspired healthy snacks you can fill up on before going trick-or-treating.
A few more tips
- Keep your child’s candy in a safe spot (safe from chocolate looters that is) that’s not in their room to discourage late-night snacking.
- Remind them that their Trick-or-Treating treats are just that, they don’t need to eat 10 candy bars, four lollypops, and a bag of gummy bears. Limit them to a few choices each day.
- Remind them to not chew on hard candy as well, biting down on suckers and jaw breakers can crack their teeth. As much as we love to see you in our Palm Harbor office we don’t want your child to have a Halloween dental emergency.
Having a healthy Halloween is easy and doesn’t mean you have to skimp out on any of the fun. So, get dressed up, collect as much candy as those little arms can carry, and remember that the candy will get eaten or become stale before you know it but healthy teeth are forever!
From Dr. Maggie and our entire staff, Happy Halloween!!!
It’s Teething Time
October 12, 2015
Teething is an exciting time in your child’s life, maybe not so much for you. They’re almost ready to start discovering the wonderful world of solid food, while you’re trying your best to soothe their aching, growing mouths. As your pediatric dentist, we wanted to share with you some information about teething, what you can do to sooth their sore gums, and how you can keep those first teeth to emerge healthy and cavity free.
Teething begins around four and seven months of age. Your baby’s body is getting ready to push through 20 teeth in the next two and a half years. That’s a full set of teeth by the time they’re three years old!
You’ll notice your child is teething when they become sleepless, fussy and irritable. They may loose their appetite and begin to drool more than usual.
Too soothe those aching gums the best thing you can do is to rub their gums with a clean finger, a small, cold spoon, or with a moist gauze. Teething rings are very helpful for fussy babies that just need to chew on something to cut those teeth.
Another thing to think about and be wary of are benzocaine products. Benzocaine products are anesthetic gels that can ease oral pain for adults but can be very dangerous for children under the age of 2. If your child seems as though they are in severe pain, please call your pediatric dentist for consultation first.
Once those new teeth begin to emerge, it’s time to start caring for them. While you won’t exactly be breaking out the electric toothbrush, floss, and fluoridated mouth rinse just yet, keeping those pearly whites clean is extremely important. You can do this in the beginning stages by wiping them a wet washcloth. As more teeth emerge, upgrade to an infant toothbrush and toothpaste approved by the ADA for infant use. And begin brushing twice a day. This not only keeps their teeth clean, but helps introduce them to a new routine.
Teething isn’t the most fun part of your child’s development. But, after the fussing stops and those cute little teeth come through, they’ll be able to enjoy healthy snacks like cheese and apple slices. They’ll also soon be able to take charge of their dental health.
If you have any questions about how you can help your child through teething and how best too keep their teeth healthy after they’ve all come in, give us a call today. We can’t wait to see their smiling faces.
How To Encourage Healthy Habits
September 16, 2015
Dr. Maggie’s goal is to turn each of her awesome patients into tooth-loving tots as soon as possible. But even if they’ve been seeing her since they were toddlers, some kids just don’t like to brush their teeth. As parents, you know that keeping those primary teeth clean and healthy is extremely important to their growth and development. If your child is going through a no-brushing phase, here are some tips to help encourage healthy habits.
One reason kids don’t enjoy brushing and flossing is because they have to stand in one spot for a long time to get the job done correctly. Making these two minutes twice a day is fun and easy if you play music for your child to brush to. Choose a fun two-minute song and boogie while you brush.
Children also love to watch their parents, so brush your teeth when they brush theirs. By showing your child how you brush your teeth, they’ll want to be just like dad and brush their teeth while he’s brushing his.
Kids also love to see their progress. A brushing calendar is a great way to get your tots excited about brushing their teeth. Simply divide calendar days in two and have your child place a sticker each time they brush and floss. Positive reinforcement with books, or a new toothbrush, are great rewards to encourage your child to continue with this healthy habit.
There are many ways you can encourage your children to form healthy oral habits. If you have any questions about how to help your child enjoy brushing their teeth, ask Dr. Maggie today!