3 Ways to Take Care of Your Child's Teeth

We place a lot of emphasis on taking care of your teeth as an adult, establishing good dental hygiene routines, and getting regular checkups. While all of this is important for adults, it is also important for kids! Baby teeth are susceptible to all of the same things as permanent teeth and starting good routines early is key for maintaining them throughout life.

Here are three ways Sterling Dental Center recommends taking care of your child’s teeth.

1 – Regular Brushing

Make sure to start cleaning teeth as soon as they come in. Use a toothbrush specifically for kids – they are smaller and softer, perfect for cleaning small teeth. When starting to brush, use water and work up to a little bit of toothpaste. Since children are prone to swallowing things, its important to save toothpastes with fluoride until they know to spit it out. Help your child with brushing and encourage them to brush for two full minutes each time.

2 – Go to the Dentist

The American Dental Association recommends seeing the dentist around a child’s first birthday, so they can start checking on your child’s mouth and any teeth that have come in. Starting early helps ease any anxiety your child might have about going to the dentist. Just like adults, kids should go to the dentist two times a year.

3 – Healthy Diet

One of our favorite topics is how your diet can affect your teeth. With Halloween just last month, kids have probably had a little more than their usual intake of sweet treats. Just like sugar and candy affects our teeth, it also affects kids’ teeth. Sugar build up on teeth leads to cavities for kids as well, which leads to fillings. Adults don’t want cavities any more than kids do.

So, to help with your child’s overall dental hygiene, keep the amount of sugar filled foods and drinks they consume to a minimum. If they are eating or drinking something that’s higher in sugar, make sure they brush their teeth right after.

Make dental hygiene a family affair with the tips above. Call Sterling Dental Center today to schedule an appointment for your entire family!