Preventing cavities in children and keeping their teeth strong and healthy are essential for setting them up to have good oral health as adults.
You can help your child avoid a cavity in many ways, and our experienced pediatric dental team at My Kidz Dental recommend the following.
Nothing is more important when preventing cavities than teaching your child healthy oral habits from a young age.
Even before your child gets their first tooth, you should begin brushing so that as they age, they will already have the habit of brushing ingrained.
Using a teething toothbrush or wet washcloth is recommended for infants and toddlers. You should use fluoride-free toothpaste until they are old enough to spit it out to avoid accidental swallowing.
Once more teeth appear and the child ages, you should introduce flossing once a day alongside regular brushing at least once daily.
Though children love to eat sugary foods like candy, they can quickly begin to eat away at tooth enamel leading to cavities. Sticky foods high in sugar, like gummy bears and fruit leather, stick to the teeth easier, allowing cavity-causing bacteria to build up.
If your child eats these foods, they should rinse and then brush their teeth to wash the sugar off and keep them healthy.
Fluoride is an important part of tooth care, as fluoride toothpaste strengthens the enamel, making it more resistant to acid, which wears it down.
Although most tap water has fluoride, other water sources, like some cities’ water supplies or private wells, may not. If that is the case, your dentist can provide fluoride supplements, as fluoride toothpaste alone will not provide enough.
Remember that too much fluoride can cause tooth discoloration, so only give your child fluoride supplements if your dentist recommends it.
Even though good oral care is important to help your child avoid a cavity, it cannot entirely prevent all cavities. Taking your child to the dentist twice a year is essential for cavity prevention.
Our hygienists can remove tartar buildup that cannot be removed by brushing, and if left there, it can lead to multiple cavities. We can also provide fluoride treatments to strengthen tooth enamel and protect them from cavity-causing bacteria.
Finally, our experienced team of pediatric dentists can detect early decay during your child’s cleaning and exam, which can help prevent cavities from going undetected. We can then schedule an appointment to fix the small problems before they become large cavities or need extensive dental work to repair.
Call us, or schedule an appointment online if you have additional questions or want to get your child’s teeth cleaned. Our team of expert dental professionals cannot wait to help!
