Dental Care for Children
Pregnancy and babies
How can pregnancy affect my teeth and gums?
As all mothers-to-be are aware pregnancy causes changes in hormone levels. This can leave your gum more susceptible to plaque attack and this can make your gum swollen and sensitive, which is known as “pregnancy gingivitis”. Please ask us for advice. Try not to snack on sweet things or you may cause dental decay.
How can I alleviate this discomfort?
Brush thoroughly with a well designed toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. This will remove the plaque from around and beneath the gum margins. If your plaque control is already thorough then pregnancy gingivitis is less likely to occur. Dental tape or floss can also help.
How should I look after my baby’s mouth?
After your baby is born, plaque will begin to form as soon as the first tooth appears. It is important to start a supervised brushing routine as early as possible. Babies accept things which are familiar to them, so do let them hold a brush, without toothpaste – but only under your supervision.
A balanced diet is also vital – plenty of calcium, vitamins and minerals are important for healthy teeth to form.
Toothbrushing habits formed early in life can carry on into later life – so make sure that your children learn the right way to look after their teeth and gums right from the start.
What is the best way to brush my baby’s teeth?
The easiest way to brush a child’s teeth is from behind, with them sitting on your knee. First gently raise the chin and open the child’s mouth, resting their head against you so that you are able to look down into their mouth. Then gently brush each tooth using circular strokes with a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste on the brush. Remember that a small child will swallow most of the paste. Brushing before breakfast and last thing at night is recommended.
The spaces occupied by milk teeth serve as a guide for permanent teeth to follow. If milk teeth are lost prematurely, the adult teeth may be incorrectly positioned and overcrowded making them difficult to clean and unattractive.
Fruit juices and cordials should not be given in babies' bottles as they contribute to decay.
At what age will my baby start teething?
Teething starts between three and six months and by about the age of three your child will have a complete set of milk teeth. When a baby is teething the gums will become swollen and painful. By gently massaging the gums with a teething gel the pain can be reduced. Please ask us for advice.
At what age should my baby visit the dentist?
Babies can be registered with us from birth. You should introduce your baby to the dental team as soon as possible – even as early as six months of age.
Source: Annual Dental Survey 1996. Stafford-Miller.
How do I care for Baby?
Good oral care starts from the beginning of your child's life. Even before his or her first teeth emerge, certain factors can affect their future appearance and health. For instance, tetracycline, a common antibiotic, can cause tooth discolouration. For this reason, they should not be used by nursing mothers or by expectant mothers.
What Is Baby Bottle Decay and How Can I Prevent it?
Baby bottle decay is caused by frequent exposure, over time, to liquids containing sugars. These include milk, formula, and fruit juices. The sugary liquids pool around the teeth for long periods of time as your baby sleeps, leading to cavities that first develop in the upper and lower front teeth. For this reason, you shouldn't let your baby fall asleep with a bottle of juice or milk in their mouth.
How Do I Care for My Toddler's Teeth?
Passing on good oral habits to your child is one of the most important health lessons you can teach them. This means helping him or her brush twice a day, limiting between-meal sweet snacks and seeing us regularly.
In addition to giving us a chance to monitor your child's dental growth and development, this is your chance to learn about tooth development, the need for fluoride, how to help your child maintain proper oral hygiene, how to deal with your child's oral habits (such as dummy use), diet and nutrition, and how to prevent oral injuries.
Always emphasise that a dental visit is a positive experience. Explain to your child that visiting the dentist helps maintain good oral health. By fostering a positive attitude, you'll increase the chances that your child will see a dentist regularly throughout life.
What Are Dental Sealants and How Do I Know if My Child Needs Them?
A dental sealant creates a highly effective barrier against decay. Sealants are thin plastic coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of a child's permanent back teeth, where most cavities form. Applying a sealant is not painful and can be performed in one dental visit. We can tell you whether your child might benefit from a dental sealant. Visit our FAQ page for more information.
How Important Is Diet to My Child's Oral Health?
A balanced diet is necessary for your child to develop strong, decay-resistant teeth. In addition to a full range of vitamins and minerals, a child's diet should include plenty of calcium, phosphorous, and proper levels of fluoride.
If fluoride is your child's greatest protection against tooth decay, then frequent snacking may be the biggest enemy. The sugars and starches found in many foods like biscuits, sweets, soft drinks and even some savoury snacks are food for bacteria in dental plaque and are converted to acids. These acids attack the tooth enamel and can lead to decay.
Each "plaque attack" can last up to 20 minutes after a meal or snack has been finished. Even a little nibble can create plaque acids. So it's best to limit snacking between meals.
What Should I Do if My Child Chips, Breaks or Knocks Out a Tooth?
With any injury to your child's mouth, you should contact us immediately, we will want to examine the affected area and determine appropriate treatment.
If your child is in pain from a broken, cracked or chipped tooth, you should visit us immediately. You may want to give an over-the-counter pain reliever to your child until his/her appointment. If possible, keep any part of the tooth that has broken off and bring this to us.
If a tooth is completely knocked out of the mouth by an injury, bring the tooth to us as soon as possible. Handle the tooth as little as possible-do not wipe or otherwise clean the tooth. Store the tooth in a cup of fresh milk until you get to a dentist. It may be possible for the tooth to be placed back into your child's mouth, a procedure called reimplantation.
Thankyou to Colgate for the copy above. More information on the NHS website
