As a dental hygienist I obviously care about teeth. Teeth have been on my mind lately as Benjamin has begun teething and we are just waiting for those first teeth to come through. I thought I would post a blog about children's teeth, and the things that are good and bad to do. So here you go.
Children will begin to get their teeth around 4 to 7 months. Here is a chart telling when they should come in. it is normal for some children to not get their teeth until later. Some up to a year.
You should take your child to the dentist for the first time at 1 year old. This appointment is usually not charged by the dentist and it is really to get the child accustomed to the office so they will not be afraid to go to the dentist.
You should start brushing their teeth 2 times a day as soon as they get their first tooth. This not only gets them used to it, but also helps to care for their teeth. They have infant brushes and different stages as the child ages.
It is very important to take care of baby teeth. Many people have the idea that they just fall out so its okay if we don't take as much care for them. WRONG! Many things that happen as a child has their primary teeth can affect the adult teeth.
Never let a child sleep with a bottle of juice or milk. This can cause baby bottle syndrome and rot out all the childs teeth. I have seen a 4 year old that had 14 of his 20 teeth rotted out because of this.
Fevers can cause damage to the adult teeth. If a baby up to 2 years of age has a very high fever, they may end up with a white line across the adult tooth. This line is where the tooth was during development when the fever occured. There is nothing that can be done to remove the line.
Soft drinks are one of the worst things you can give a child, but even worse than that is Capri Sun's they are the absolute worst drink for a childs teeth.
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