Teaching Our Children Great Brushing Habits

When our children are very young, it is not enough to tell them to brush their teeth.  As parents, we need to do the brushing and flossing for them.  Young children simply do not have the dexterity to maneuver a tooth brush to clean every tooth surface.   However, as the child grows and develops, we must make the transition to teaching them to brush their own teeth.  When and how this transition occurs can often vary from child to child.

It isn’t so much an age that defines when a child can adequately clean their own teeth.  Just as children learn to walk, run and ride a bike at different ages, some need more time to be able to brush their teeth on their own.  How and when a child develops coordination and dexterity varies.  You need to observe your own child to determine the right time to let them begin brushing on their own.  During the transition, it’s a good idea to follow up their independent brushing and perform a quick brush on your own, just in case they have missed any areas.

Children should brush for a minimum of 2 minutes.  There are some great products available which help your child to monitor their brush times.  There are simple timers that they can flip over when they begin brushing.  There are also rechargeable toothbrushes than vibrate every 30 seconds to prompt your child to switch to a new mouth quadrant.

Determining when your child can begin to brush on their own is only part of the goal.  Just because they are physically able to brush their own teeth independently, doesn’t mean that they will do so on a twice daily basis.  Some children go through a phase where they simply are not interested in brushing and flossing.  As parents we need to make the transition from brushing for them, to monitoring them and making sure that they are brushing twice daily.  At certain ages, children do not consider the consequences of poor oral hygiene, especially if they have never required dental treatment.  During your child’s six month hygiene appointment, ask your dentist to reemphasize to your child the importance of having great oral hygiene habits.  Some children just need to hear these facts from someone other than their parents!

Work with your child to determine their brushing needs.  Your dentist can provide you with some tips as well.  They can tell you which areas of your child’s teeth might need a bit more attention when brushing.  Remember, this is an important process that can lead to your child having a healthy, bright smile!

The Importance of Perserving Healthy Teeth

For most people, our teeth are strongest and healthiest when they first erupt from the gums.  This is true for both primary and permanent teeth.  Once the health of a tooth is compromised, it’s difficult to return it to that strong, healthy, original state.  This article will provide information on the importance of using good hygiene to maintain healthy teeth, and how to best care for teeth which have been restored.

The most ideal situation of course is to keep teeth healthy and not have to drill, fill or otherwise bother the tooth structure.  Once a tooth has developed a cavity, even with modern dental techniques, its difficult to completely restore the tooth back to its original healthy state.  So the first priority is to establish correct and consistent hygiene techniques.  When these habits are established during childhood, it’s much easier to carry them through to adulthood.  Both primary and permanent teeth require daily hygiene. This includes brushing at least twice a day and daily flossing to remove food particles from in between teeth.  This must be done on a consistent basis.  It truly needs to become established as part of a daily routine in order to effectively protect the tooth structure from damage.  The second part of having good hygiene is making it a point to visit your dentist every six months for cleaning, x-rays and exams.

So, let’s say that due to any number of circumstances, your child develops cavities or tooth decay.  Its important to remember that there are dental techniques that can be used to attempt to restore the tooth.  When these restorative techniques are utilized, it’s even more important to develop good hygiene as follow-up.  Follow your dentist’s advice regarding which foods to avoid to maintain the integrity of the fillings.  As part of daily hygiene, take a quick look inside your child’s mouth and examine the filling to make sure it has not become chipped or otherwise damaged.  As stated above, twice-yearly dental visits are equally important.  Your dentist can examine each filling to make sure that it is still working to protect the tooth from further damage or decay.

The bottom line is it’s never too late to develop good oral hygiene.  It does take a conscious effort to follow through on establishing a daily hygiene routine and complementing this at home care with twice-yearly dental visits.  Take the time to take care of your child’s teeth.  It is time well spent!

A Parent’s Guide to Some Common Tooth Conditions

As parents we are on constant alert when it comes to our child’s overall development. We may consciously or subconsciously compare our child to other children who are the same age. This occurs even when considering our child’s dental development. This article addresses several relatively common observations that parents have regarding their child’s overall dental development.

My child’s permanent teeth are coming in before the primary teeth have fallen out. This situation is actually quite common, occurring in ~10% of children. One day a parent will look into their child’s mouth and see another row of teeth coming in behind the primary teeth. Normally, as the permanent teeth push up through the gums, the roots of the primary teeth are dissolved, causing them to fall out and make room for the erupting permanent tooth. Typically, this issue will be resolved all on its own with the primary teeth loosening and falling out. The permanent teeth will then slowly move forward into the space left by the primary teeth. This may happen fairly soon after the permanent teeth coming in, or it may take some time.

My child has an extra tooth. The extra primary tooth is called a supernumerary tooth. Children typically have 20 primary teeth, which are followed by 32 permanent teeth. Supernumerary primary teeth occur in ~3% of children. The occurrence of extra teeth can sometimes be associated with certain syndromes, but they can also occur in healthy children. The extra tooth may appear as a normal tooth, or it may be shaped differently. If the extra tooth has erupted abnormally or may prevent future permanent teeth from erupting, it may be best to remove the extra tooth. This condition is best evaluated by a pediatric dentist, as they can best advise if treatment is necessary.

My child is missing a tooth. There is a broad range of occurrence of missing teeth in children, depending on the tooth location. Permanent teeth are more commonly found to be missing than primary teeth. Absence of primary teeth occurs in <1% of the population, while absence of certain permanent teeth occurs in up to 20% of the population. When a primary tooth is missing, the permanent tooth behind it will also be missing. This condition can be genetically linked or may be associated with any number of syndromes. Treatment can vary depending on the individual situation. Orthodontics can be used to close gaps left by missing teeth. Also, bridges or implants can be used to fill the gaps when the patient reaches adulthood.

The bottom line is that when you as a parent notice something out of the ordinary with your child’s teeth, don’t panic. Take the time to address your concerns with a pediatric dentist and go from there!