What Every Parent Should Know About Their Child’s Dental Health

As a parent, you naturally care about your child’s health and well-being. From the early stages of infancy, you fret about every stage of your child’s development: Are they eating enough? Are they sitting up at the right time? Is their hearing okay?

But it’s also important to pay attention to dental health too. Great oral care starts from a young age — even before the first teeth have even developed. As your family dentist, here is what we think parents need to understand in order to provide the best oral care for their children and how to get them started on the road early to great dental health.

Oral Health Is More Than Beautiful Teeth

Scientists are only beginning to understand this phenomenon, but oral health affects more than teeth. Having healthy teeth and gums can dramatically lower your child’s risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke later on in life. The risk for gingivitis and serious tooth decay go up the longer you put off taking your child to the dentist. Even simple steps like brushing every night for two minutes can have huge impacts on your child’s overall health — help them live longer and more active happy lives.

Good Habits Start Early

Even as adults, new habits are difficult to develop. In fact, it takes a full two months to make a new habit feel instinctual. And the younger new habits are ingrained, the fully formed they will be later in life. That’s why it’s so important to make brushing a regular part of your child’s day — once in the morning, and once at night, for two minutes each session.

Most People Don’t Know How to Brush

Not only is regular brushing important, but proper brushing is critical. In fact, most people don’t brush correctly. Teach your child from an early age how to do it right. This can be difficult at first when the child is young, but by reinforcing proper brushing habits they’ll be more likely to follow through when they are older. Brush the front teeth in concentric circles. Don’t forget the back. And you don’t have to brush hard — it’s not like cleaning a dirty pan. Smooth gentle motions are fine and can be better for your enamel.

Kids & Parents Should Brush Together

To encourage the importance of toothbrushing, parents should brush their teeth with their children. For one thing, you’ll remember to brush their teeth, which can easily get forgotten if the child isn’t yet going to school. For another, you’ll be setting a great example — not only on the importance of toothbrushing but how to brush properly.

Checkups are Important Even for Young Children

We recommend routine checkups and cleanings, even for young children. In fact, we like to see babies and toddlers even before their first teeth come in. The gums are the foundation for healthy teeth and actually contain baby teeth before they even emerge. We like to take a look at the gums to make sure the teeth are coming correctly.

Not only that, but early checkups help lay the foundation for a healthy relationship with the dentist.
Relax! There’s No Need to Be Embarrassed

Hey, we’re parents. We’ve been there. We know that raising kids is hard. And we don’t expect you to know everything about your child’s dental health. That’s why we encourage you to bring them in at an early age. This is an educational process, not only for the child but the parents too. As your family dentist, we can teach you about your child’s teeth and proper dental care.

So relax — you’ve got this. We’re here to help.

We Love Kids!

At our Cincinnati dental clinic, we treat all ages of patients, but we love kids! Our dental hygienists are specially trained to work with children. We try to make the experience fun, educational, and an inviting experience for children. Our dentists and dental assistants understand that the foundations are being formed to how your child will respond to dentists and dental care. We’re here to help your child get off to a healthy start.