Regular visits to the dentist’s office are necessary for keeping teeth healthy and promoting good oral hygiene. But a trip to the dentist can be scary for kids. The unfamiliar surroundings, people, and instruments can be overwhelming and frightening. However, your child may visit the dentist at least ten times before ever starting school, so it makes sense to make these visits as easy and fun for your child as possible.

Start Early

Take your child to visit the dentist by his or her first birthday, and continue going on a regular schedule for cleanings and checkups. This way your child becomes accustomed to the routine and also has a “dental home”. If there is an emergency, your child will already be familiar with the dentist and the dentist will already be familiar with your child’s dental history.

Keep It Simple

You want your child to know what to expect, but avoid including too many details. Talking about things like possible fillings or extractions can raise more questions and fears than necessary. Be positive and relaxed when talking about the dentist, but don’t say things that might not be true, such as telling your child everything will be fine or that he or she won’t get any shots. If a filling or other treatment is necessary, your child may lose trust in you.

Watch What You Say

Don’t use words like “shot,” “hurt,” or “pain” when talking to your child about the dentist. Keep your vocabulary positive. Try telling your child that the dentist is going to check his or her smile and count his or her teeth, or make sure all the teeth are clean, strong, and healthy.

Have a Pretend Visit First

Use a toothbrush and a handheld mirror. Let your child pretend to be the dentist and clean his or her stuffed animals’ teeth, or yours. Let him or her pretend to be the patient while you pretend to be the dentist, using the toothbrush to count his or her teeth and holding up the mirror for your child to see how the dentist might check his or her teeth. You can also read a children’s picture book together about going to the dentist.

Don’t Bribe

A small toy or sticker as a reward or surprise might be helpful, but avoid bribes such as “if you don’t cry, you can have a new toy.” Such bribes may make your child wonder what there will be to cry about! And avoid offering sweets as rewards; doing so undermines the dentist’s message of good oral care. By taking the right steps now, you can set the stage for your child to enjoy a lifetime of good dental health.

Call us today to schedule your child’s first visit or routine dental checkup at Children’s Dental World!

It can be difficult to know how much dental care a child needs. Parents usually have many questions, such as when their child should first visit the dentist, at what age flossing should begin, and how often dental checkups should occur.

Taking care of your child’s teeth begins before the first dentist visit; in fact, it begins before your child ever has any visible teeth. Your baby is born with 20 primary teeth waiting under the gums, to begin emerging at around six months. Before teeth erupt, clean the gums with a damp washcloth to wash away harmful bacteria. Once teeth begin emerging, brush them with plain water and a soft baby toothbrush.

Your child’s first visit to the dentist should take place by his or her first birthday. During this first visit, the focus will mainly be about introducing the child to the dentist’s chair and teaching parents how to care for baby’s teeth. Often you won’t need to return for another year, when the child is two years old. After that, your child should visit the dentist every six months, just like adults. Dentists often take children’s first x-rays between the ages of four and six.

Between ages six and 12, while baby teeth are still present, dental care focuses on prevention. Your child’s dentist will probably want to apply a sealant, a plastic resin that bonds to chewing surfaces and protects the teeth from cavities, between ages seven and nine. Sealants are most commonly applied to molars, which contain grooves and valleys for cavity-causing bacteria to fester.

Around age seven your child will probably need an orthodontic evaluation. If required, braces will probably not be fitted until your child’s early teens, but identifying potential skeletal causes of crooked teeth now help determine what they will need for a healthy mouth and great-looking smile later.

By taking your child to the dentist from a young age and sticking to a regular schedule of checkups,you can prevent many problems, or catch them early and avoid unnecessary pain and expense. You might want to consider a pediatric dentist as these dentists specialize in children’s dental health. They are skilled at putting frightened children at ease and also knowledgeable about when to refer you to another specialist such as an orthodontist or oral surgeon.

The best way to ensure your child’s dental health is covering the basics: brushing twice a day, flossing at bedtime, and getting regular dental checkups. The dentist can teach your child proper brushing and flossing methods and let your child know if they are leaving plaque behind and how to correct their technique. This type of direction is often taken more seriously when it comes from the dentist than from a parent. So stick to the recommended dentist visit schedule and give your child the gift of excellent oral care and a lifetime of healthy smiles.

Tooth enamel, or the outside, hard part of your child’s teeth, is one of the most important parts of the tooth. Enamel protects the soft inside of the tooth, which is especially vital in children who might not understand how to protect their teeth quite yet. Sometimes, enamel can wear down and begin to expose the sensitive parts of the tooth. Other times, your child’s teeth may appear discolored, with some yellow spots on the enamel. These conditions, which can happen on baby teeth, are fairly common and aren’t generally a cause for alarm.

Enamel Loss And Fluorosis

Many children love sugar and snacks. That’s why many of them end up getting cavities. One consequence of eating too much sugar and acidic food is enamel loss. Your child’s enamel may wear down if he or she is drinking too much juice and consuming sugary food or beverages like soda. Try to counteract this process by having them drink acidic juices through a straw so it won’t hit the teeth. In addition, monitor your child’s snacking. The mouth needs time between meals to regain its saliva content to counterbalance the acid in the mouth. Another option is to have your child brush his or her teeth after every meal.

Fluorosis is a condition in which children have ingested too much fluoride, either through accidentally eating toothpaste or drinking fluoride-rich water. The teeth can appear discolored or have pits in them, but most children have minor symptoms that aren’t concerning. Just make sure your child isn’t ingesting more toothpaste than he or she needs.

Hypoplasia

Enamel hypoplasia is a condition in which a child’s tooth appears discolored in spots. This means your child could have yellow spots or white spots on his or her teeth, caused by some kind of “systemic disturbance,” like a recent illness. Hypoplasia is generally not a cause for concern and should only be observed. In more severe cases, dentists may need to work on the teeth and cap them to correct the problem. Maintaining good oral hygiene is the best way to keep enamel hypoplasia at bay.

You always want to start your children off right with proper oral care, and taking care of their tooth enamel is just one part of that. Instill proper oral hygiene habits in your children right when they begin brushing teeth — that will prevent most dental problems and keep everyone smiling.

Children should begin going to the dentist shortly after the break through of their first tooth. Normally, the rule for children is to visit the dentist by their first birthday. Children who may develop teeth faster or be more at risk for childhood cavities will probably want to see a dentist sooner. Going to the dentist can be a difficult time for some, but parents can make those visits better by taking care of your child after a dental visit.

The Dental Visit

Whether it is the first dental visit or a regular six-month checkup years later, parents need to make sure their children understand the purpose of the trip to the dentist. Good oral hygiene is an important part of life whether children know it or not. Problems with the mouth and teeth can lead to other more serious health problems. Regular six-month checkups help to prevent those types of things from happening.

Now, a visit to the dentist can consist of regular cleanings, filling cavities, or for more serious oral problems. You should make sure your child knows why he or she is visiting the dentist. This can help you in taking care of your child after a dental visit.

Parent’s Responsibilities After A Dental Visit

If a trip to the dentist has been particularly painful, there are some things a parent can do to make his or her child feel more comfortable. This may happen when a child has to get a cavity filled, for example, or even after a cleaning. Nowadays though, most cleanings are virtually painless. Make sure to give your child foods that are soft and will not irritate the gums. Pain relievers can also be used, but only as directed for children.

Parents should also model good oral hygiene for their children. They can help to establish a family routine for brushing and flossing. They can allow children to choose their toothbrushes and toothpaste in an effort to make oral care a little more fun. The habits developed at early ages will carry over into adulthood and promote not just healthy teeth, but overall health.

Parents should be knowledgeable about their children’s oral health and work to promote it. They should always be prepared to give advice on how to care for a child’s mouth and teeth and be willing to model that behavior. What a parent does after a dental visit can help make the next one a more positive experience.

Believe it or not, gummy vitamins have been around since the 1960s when efforts began to make the consumption of vitamins friendlier to kids. Instead of those large, boring adult-looking vitamins, children could now choose from colorful and tasty vitamins in a variety of sizes and shapes. The gummy vitamin has gained in popularity over time and is a big part of many children’s diets today. All gummy vitamins are not created equally though, and parents should be aware.

Vitamins and Levels

Gummy vitamins will contain most of the major water soluble vitamins including vitamin A, C, D and E as well as many of the B vitamins. Gummy versions of vitamins will not contain many of the minerals that solid vitamins do. Most do not contain iron, and none contain calcium. In young children, the consumption of milk has always been viewed as enough dietary calcium.

From brand to brand, the types and levels of vitamins will vary. For instance, one brand of gummy vitamin may include vitamin E while another may not. One brand may contain 100 percent of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin C, yet another brand only contains 50 percent. Parents should make sure they read labels before purchasing a gummy vitamin supplement.

Gummy Vitamins Can Be Bad For Teeth

Yes, gummy vitamins can provide vitamins and minerals that our vital to daily functions, but there are other ingredients in gummy vitamins that can be harmful to the teeth. Gummy vitamins marketed toward kids contain sugar, usually in the form of glucose, to make them sweet. Even though it is a vitamin, it is still a sugary substance.

There are numerous sugar-free gummy vitamins on the market. Parents should not be fooled by these varieties. Even though they do not contain sugar, they do contain citric acid, which makes the vitamins taste sweet, but also can be harmful to teeth. This is similar to diet soft drinks. Even though those soft drinks do not have sugar, they have high amounts of acid that help to promote tooth decay. Parents need to be wary of the ingredients of gummy vitamins and make sure their children develop good hygiene habits.

Since all gummy vitamins are not created equally, parents might want to consult their pediatrician or doctor before giving them to their children. Parents may even want to try another option first and only use gummy vitamins as a last ditch effort.