Oral Health Care for Your Toddler

Tips for Keeping Your Toddlers’ Baby Teeth Clean and Cavity Free

It’s such a milestone when babies cut their first few teeth. Some parents even get emotional because teeth are the indication that, indeed, the little ones are slowly making a shift from being babies to toddlers. It’s like, in no time, they’ll be off to college.

Exaggeration aside, the appearance of baby teeth really brings about a lot of changes. Maintaining good oral hygiene for the little ones automatically jumps to a more difficult level. First you need to introduce using a toothbrush and toothpaste. This introduction is not always an easy transition for toddlers. You have to overcome their displeasure in being forced to open their mouth wide for brushing to be done right. Brushing some toddler’s teeth can be the most dreaded activity of the day. All things considered, it needs to be done.

But we can all agree cavities are definitely much worse to deal with than a little oral hygiene time. Apart from brushing, there are other things you need to do in order to ensure your little ones’ oral health.

Here are some tips for keeping your toddlers’ baby teeth clean and cavity free:

Use a mild formula of toothpaste – something that won’t sting your children’s mouth, but make sure that it has fluoride in it.
Don’t share food with your children using your utensils. This will transfer cavity-causing bacteria from your mouth to theirs.
Show your children good oral habits. Toddlers like to imitate other people. Take advantage of this natural inclination to teach them how to take care of their teeth by drinking more water, perhaps even gargling after meals if brushing cannot be done yet, eating healthy food to cut back on the germs that cause cavities, and others.
If your toddlers still use a binky, make sure to clean it often with water.
Avoid giving them sugary and sticky food because these can really promote cavities. Gummy and chewy candies should be avoided because their bits tend to lodge between teeth and they’re rather difficult to brush out.
Don’t let them go to bed with a bottle or Sippy cup of milk or juice – these have sugar and acids that can interact with bacteria in the mouth and cause cavities. Instead of milk and juice, have them drink water instead.
After the little ones’ first birthday, treat them to a visit to a pediatric dentist. There may no issues to deal with yet, but it’s good to get advice from the dentist on what your children’s oral hygiene routine or practices should be.

Follow these tips and you can be certain that your little ones won’t suffer from awful toothaches due to cavities in the future. Surfside Kids Dental has 5 locations across Northern California – Elk Grove, Sacramento, Almaden Valley, Pleasant Hill, and Land Park. Your kids will leave saying, “I love the Dentist!”.

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