Oral Hygiene
Did you know that cleaning your baby's mouth is as important as bathing him/her? A good oral hygiene is the most important factor to avoid caries and gum diseases. The earlier you start with your baby's oral hygiene the better because during their first months of life babies are in a passive oral phase,
during which they enjoy the massage and manipulation of their mouths
But the most common question we come across is ….how do we do it doctor? He is too resistant for it
- » Our advice on oral hygiene during early childhood is
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Start cleaning the gums from birth, once a day, taking advantage of the moment of the bath. Use moistened gauze, the corner of a clean cloth wet with water or a silicone rubber fingertip toothbrush.
Mandatory: start with your baby's oral health once the first tooth erupts (around the sixth month of age) twice a day: in the morning and at night. Use a gauze or clean cloth moistened in water to clean gums, tongue, cheeks and palate. You can use a silicone rubber fingertip toothbrush to clean his/her teeth.
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From children from one year on: perform oral hygiene with a soft toothbrush adequate for the size of his/her mouth. If your baby doesn´t wake up to eat at night nor does he/she eat sweets, you can toothbrush with water. Otherwise, you should use fluoridated toothpaste (1000ppm) in small amounts “grain or rice” or “smear layer”.
If the molars have already erupted: floss between the molars´ contact areas before the baby goes to sleep. You can use a regular waxed dental floss or flossers if you find it too complicated.
Ask your paediatric dentist about the need to apply topical fluoride according to your child's caries risk.
The use of fluoridated toothpastes is the best way to prevent dental caries. Once your child has learned to spit, it is mandatory to use fluoridated toothpaste of 1000ppm, in a “pea-sized” amount.
Tooth brushing in children is only effective if performed by an adult. We recommend letting the baby and/or child play with the toothbrush, but we suggest that an adult performs the hygiene until the child has developed the necessary motor skills to perform the task by himself/herself (approximately at age 8). From that moment on, we highly recommend supervising nocturnal tooth brushing until adolescence.
Remember oral hygiene is as much about establishing good oral habits as protecting his/her milk teeth. By accustoming your child to gentle tooth brushing and flossing, you will set up a pattern of oral care which will accompany him/her for the rest of his/her life.Hide
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