6 Tips to Taking Care of Your Baby’s Teeth
Taking care of your baby’s teeth can be a bit difficult. Often babies will fuss and squirm when you try to stick your fingers or a brush in their mouth. But caring for their teeth is just as important as caring for your own, so it has to be done. Even though the baby teeth will eventually fall out, they still need to be cared for. Create healthy tooth care habits for your baby by using these six tips.
1. Start before your baby’s teeth come in.
Start cleaning your baby’s mouth before her teeth come in. Wipe her gums off after each feeding with a warm, damp cloth or piece of gauze around your finger. This will help brush away excess food caught in the corners and protect their gums. This will also help get your baby used to you caring for the inside of their mouth, and later, their teeth.
2. Take care of their teeth right away.
Mind your baby’s teeth as soon as they show up. Many parents don’t place much value on the baby teeth because they will eventually be replaced. But the first teeth preserve the spacing for the adult teeth and help her chew and talk. If the baby teeth decay, the adult teeth could come in improperly spaced and aligned. Furthermore, bacteria are left behind when baby teeth fall out, and immediately begin working on the adult teeth behind it.
3. Schedule a dental exam.
The American Dental Association suggests babies have their first exam at one year old, but most pediatricians think it could wait until age three if you practice good care. An early dental exam helps your child get used to the dentist as a non-threatening environment. If they don’t fear the dentist, they’ll be more willing to go.
4. Brush the very first tooth.
As soon as that first tooth appears, it needs to be brushed. Brushing stirs bacteria colonies so they can’t stick to the tooth and knocks a lot of it away. Hold your child in your lap and brush in small circles, being sure to hit the gum line (where plaque builds). Around age two, introduce a small amount of non-fluoride toothpaste. Start flossing as soon as she has two teeth side-by-side.
5. Limit sweet drinks.
Toddlers and preschoolers who constantly run around with a bottle of juice are at risk for tooth problems much like kids who are put to bed with a bottle. Whenever you drink something sweet, the bacteria already living in your mouth use the sugar to produce acid, which erodes your teeth. Juice is alright to drink occasionally, but substitute most of it with water.
6. Don’t give up.
Continue to push the toothbrush until your child has the necessary fine-motor control skills to handle it herself. Even then, monitor her brushing to make sure she’s getting all the right spots. Find a way to make the experience pleasant with your child so they don’t scream when you pick up the brush. One way to make sure they brush long enough is using the Twooth Timer. This tooth-shaped timer ticks along for 2 minutes, the recommended time to spend brushing your teeth.
Written by Barbara Schantz of Baby Dipper Bowl
As a stay-at-home mom of 2 sets of twin babies, Barbara faced the daunting task of feeding them. Frustrated with the bowls she had already purchased, she researched and bought other bowls, but still remained disappointed. She needed a bowl that required only one hand to successfully feed a baby, but wasn’t able to find one on the market that satisfied this need. The vision for the Baby Dipper® bowl came to her when her twin girls were about 6 months old, not long after they started eating baby cereal and other pureed foods. After much learning and hard work, she was able to bring the Baby Dipper bowl to market so that others can enjoy true one-handed feeding.
For more information, visit babydipper.com.
Interested in writing a guest blog for Baby Dipper? Send your topic idea to [email protected].
All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Baby Dipper makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, current-ness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.
Photo Credit: Ran Yaniv Hartstein via Compfight cc
Tagged under: baby, baby safety, baby teeth, brushing, dentist, hygiene, juice, teeth care, teethers, teething