4 Reasons Why Maintaining Your Child’s Dental Health Is Important
It is easy to underplay the importance of your child’s dental health. Learn about the benefits of being proactive in maintaining your child’s dental health.
There has always been a controversial debate surrounding the importance of proper oral care in children. Believe it or not, some people still think that children should not bother practicing proper oral health, because they will eventually lose all their milk teeth anyway.
But as you may have heard from your pediatric dentist before, children’s dental health should not be taken that lightly. Just because they still do not have their permanent teeth in, doesn’t mean that they can get away with not brushing their pearly whites for days on end.
Their oral cavity plays an essential role in ensuring their overall health and should, therefore, be taken care of and maintained.
When Should Oral Health Care Begin for Children?
You are probably wondering when you should take your child for their first dental appointment at our pediatric dentistry near you or better yet when to start cleaning their teeth.
Well, oral hygiene in children should be initiated even before the moment their first tooth pops up. This is the best time to begin being proactive in your children’s dental health.
Good oral hygiene practices can go a long way in preventing your child from falling victim to several dental issues, which occur due to poor oral hygiene. Even though your child’s teeth are temporary, you need to protect them from falling off prematurely.
This is because they play an essential role in determining the proper spacing and arrangement of their future permanent teeth.
From between 0-6 months old, your baby will probably be having a gummy grin, but this doesn’t mean you should not clean their mouths. At this stage, you can use tooth wipes to keep their gums clean and their mouths free from bacteria after each feeding session.
At 6 – 7 months old, the first tooth will probably emerge. This is a crucial stage to start practicing preventive dental care. It would be best if you visited our dentistry for children to get your child’s first dental checkup.
What Dental Issues Can Emerge?
There are several dental issues that your child could potentially face if they are not exposed to good oral hygiene practices.
They may include:
- Tooth decay and cavities
- Premature tooth loss
- Tooth sensitivity
- Pediatric gum diseases and infections such as gingivitis
- Halitosis
- Canker sores
- Impacted teeth
Benefits of Maintaining Good Dental Health In Children
Here are some of the reasons why maintaining your child’s dental health should be a priority:
- It Keeps Dental Issues At Bay
Dental issues such as tooth decay and gum diseases are all preventable. Practicing good oral health will guarantee that your child’s teeth will be disease-free, and will also keep dental issues such as halitosis away.
Practices such as brushing their teeth twice a day and flossing once daily ensure that all food particles that would have lodged in your child’s teeth will be cleared out. This discourages the existence of harmful bacteria in the mouth that are responsible for halitosis, gum diseases and cavities.
- It Protects Their Overall Physical, Emotional and Mental Health
Poor dental health will also negatively impact your child’s overall health. Dental issues may affect your child’s proper growth and development because they impair essential aspects such as speech, social interaction, feeding and breathing.
Dental issues may be a source of pain and discomfort and may interfere with their day to day activities such as playing or going to school. Your child’s self-esteem will take a hit if they suffer from issues such as halitosis, and this will affect their mental and emotional well-being.
Dental problems may translate to poor growth, being underweight, irritability or even depression in children.
- Shields Them From Chronic Diseases
Dental infections that occur due to poor oral hygiene may pave the way for other chronic illnesses. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiac diseases, have been linked to gum diseases. Proper oral health management in children could prevent the occurrence of these chronic diseases.
- Will Save You Money And Give You Peace Of Mind
Imagine all the money you could save, just by brushing your child’s teeth every day. This is money you could otherwise be using at our pediatric dentistry to deal with recurring dental issues.
You can invest instead in your child’s preventive dental care, which may include scheduled dental visits at our dentistry for children, fluoride treatments and providing a proper diet to boost their growth and development.
This is bound to give you peace of mind.
Visit us today at Green Tree Dental and let us help you charter your child’s oral health future.