Tiny and temporary, baby teeth are hard to take seriously–especially since they end up in the Tooth Fairy’s hands anyway. But actually those pearly whites need lots of love and attention. Healthy baby teeth ensure that the permanent teeth come in properly and help kids smile with confidence and learn to chew and speak clearly. Most importantly, if you teach your kids to care for their baby teeth it sets them up for a lifetime of good oral health habits.
Yet, parents often ignore what’s happening in their little ones’ mouths. Bad idea. Tooth decay is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in kids, and a 2007 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that it’s on the rise in baby teeth. Cavities in children ages 2 to 5 increased to 28 percent between 1999 and 2004, from 24 percent between 1988 and 1994. More tots are visiting dentists for fillings and tooth restoration. The good news: Tooth decay is preventable, according to Dr. Thuan Le, an assistant adjunct professor in UCSF’s Division of Pediatric Dentistry.
Here are Dr. Le’s top three tips on how you can care for your child’s choppers.
1) Establish oral hygiene habits. You need to start a routine of cleaning your child’s teeth twice a day: in the morning and at night. The best way to approach this is to let him start brushing first, and then you must rebrush because kids under 6 years old don’t have the manual dexterity to properly maneuver a toothbrush. How long to brush? At least four minutes, using a small, soft-bristled brush.
Toothpaste? Low-fluoride toothpaste, only a pea-size amount or a smear layer. But Dr. Le warns that some studies show it’s not critical to use fluoridated toothpaste for children under 2 or 3 years old because the increased risk of ingestion of fluoride may outweigh the intended benefits. Fluoride can strengthen teeth when applied topically but ingesting too much of it leads to fluorosis, a condition that causes defects in the enamel (including white chalky discoloration and uneven surfaces) and leaves teeth more vulnerable to cavities.
“A recent systemic review published in November 2008 in the Journal of the American Dental Association,” Dr. Le adds, “concluded that there is a weak and inconsistent evidence that the use of traditional fluoride supplements (in other words, fluoride droplets or tablets) prevents dental caries in primary teeth, yet mild to moderate dental fluorosis is a significant side effect.”
Believe it or not, baby teeth need flossing. Start as soon as two of your child’s teeth touch each other. You especially need to get those back molars, which are at the greatest risk for decay.
Infant with no teeth? Wrap a wet washcloth around your finger and gently wipe his gums. “You need to develop oral health routines early on,” Dr. Le says.
2) Eat healthy. Why are cavities on the rise in baby teeth? “One of the reasons is the modern diet,” Dr. Le says. “These days our kids snack on munchies and drink carbonated beverages and juice throughout the day. And all of this stuff is loaded with fermentable carbohydrates and sugar.”
It’s this continuous snacking that’s causing all the problems. Every time your child consumes something that contains sugar or starch (think crackers, chips, candy, soda, juice, even milk), the bacteria in her mouth bind strongly to tooth surface and produce an acid that eats away the tooth enamel. The longer her teeth are in contact with the food, the more damage is done. This is why you shouldn’t allow your child to pouch food in cheeks, suck on a bottle for hours a day, nurse throughout the night, or continuously drink juice from a sippy cup. Also, sticky foods such as dried fruits and fruit roll-ups, are big no-nos–unless you can brush your child’s teeth afterward or at least give her a drink of water.
To reduce the risk of cavities, feed your child nutritious snacks (such as fruits, veggies, and cheese) instead of sweets and carbohydrates. Between meals, give her water instead of a sweetened beverage or juice.
Also, don’t share or clean your child’s utensils and pacifiers with your mouths. Tooth decay is an infectious disease and you can pass bacteria in your mouth on to your children.
3) Visit the dentist. Dr. Le and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry say your child should visit a pediatric dentist within six months after the eruption of the first tooth or by age 1. Most parents aren’t following this advice since only 1.5 percent of infants and 1-year-olds go to the dentist, compared to the nearly 90 percent who see a physician. “Many parents assume they don’t need to care for baby teeth because they’ll be replaced by adult teeth, yet untreated tooth decay can have serious implications for a child’s long-term development and well-being,” Dr. Le says. “For example, an untreated infected tooth will destroy the surrounding bone underneath. And it will eventually destroy the developing adult tooth under the bone.”