Dental decay (cavities) is the most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting 50 percent of children by middle childhood and more than 80 percent by late adolescence. Recent studies also show that periodontal (gum) disease continues to plague millions of children, with gingivitis occurring in 50 percent of four- to five-year-olds and continuing to increase with age.

Fortunately, most oral diseases can be prevented. The best way to ensure that your child does not get cavities or periodontal disease is to instill proper oral habits early. Good oral hygiene routines should be established as early as infancy and continued throughout life.

The First Years

Oral health care is a job that begins even before a child gets his/her first tooth. You can help your child get a head start on having a healthy mouth and smile by wiping your infant’s gums with a damp washcloth or gauze pad after each feeding to remove plaque and food residue. Also, parents should clean the infant’s baby teeth as soon as they come out with a soft cloth or baby toothbrush and a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste.

You should also avoid putting your child to bed with a bottle, unless it’s filled only with water. Baby bottle tooth decay occurs when children fall asleep with a bottle of milk, formula, juice, or other sweet liquid in their mouths. It can also develop when children fall asleep while breastfeeding. The sugars from these liquids are left lingering on the child’s teeth. Using these sugars as food, the bacteria in the mouth produce acids that attack the teeth, causing decay.

The Later Years

At age two or three you can begin to teach your child proper brushing and flossing techniques. But remember, you will need to monitor brushing and flossing until age seven or eight, when the child has the dexterity to do it alone. Often there are natural spaces between the primary teeth to hold the place for the permanent teeth. If spaces are present, you do not need to begin flossing until the teeth touch. (This may occur in the molar areas first and you should floss your child’s teeth until s/he is six or seven years old or until he/she can tie his/her own shoelaces). Then you should monitor their techniques and consistency.

Smile Savers

Some oral health practices should begin from day one and continue through the teenage years. You should change your child’s toothbrush three to four times a year, and after every illness to avoid bacteria and germs.

Nutrition is another, often overlooked area that can have an important impact on your child’s oral health. It is important at any age to keep a balanced diet if you want to reap the rewards of good oral health. No food is harmful in itself if a good balance is maintained. Lean meat, fish, poultry and beans provide iron and protein for overall good oral health, and magnesium and zinc for strong teeth and bones. Dairy products provide calcium and vitamin D for teeth and bones. Bread and cereal supply vitamin B for growth and iron for healthy blood, which in turn contributes to healthy gum tissue and overall good oral health. Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of vitamins, such as vitamin C, which is essential for good gum and oral health. You also should limit the amount of sugar children can eat by encouraging them to eat fruits and vegetables for snacks instead of sweets and cookies. Also, limit snacking between meals, and make sure they brush afterward.

Set a good example for your child by brushing, flossing, eating healthy foods, and scheduling regular oral health visits for yourself. And finally, continually remind your child about the benefits of good oral health and stress the role that nutrition plays in maintaining it.

Teaching the proper way of tooth brushing is the first step of your child’s oral hygiene. Your child’s oral health, the health of his or her teeth, mouth, and gums, depends on how often and how well your child brushes his or her teeth. Brushing teeth correctly removes bacteria that promote tooth decay and gum disease.

Bacteria and Plaque

How Bacteria Attaches itself to the Tooth and Forms Plaque...

When discussing the importance of brushing teeth, it’s essential to understand that bacteria attaches to the tooth enamel using the outside membrane of the bacteria cell. If your child is not brushing his/her teeth thoroughly or often enough, your child will end up with a large number of bacteria attached to his or her teeth. When you get a large number of attached bacteria concentrated in an area of a tooth, you have bacteria plaque forming. Bacteria plaque is a population of bacteria cells feeding on leftover food debris. These leftovers are decomposed (catabolized) by the bacteria cells to provide themselves with carbon. During this catabolization process, the bacteria produce acid wastes which are harmful to the life of the bacteria cells. The bacteria cells therefore secrete these acid wastes to the tooth enamel thus beginning the process of tooth decay.

This is why proper brushing of teeth is so important. Correct tooth brushing removes bacteria and plaque from your child’s teeth. Brushing teeth correctly also minimizes the attachment of bacteria thus preventing the formation of additional bacterial plague.

As you can see, it is important for your child to brush his/her teeth, so the question remains… just how s/he should brush correctly and maintain good oral health.

Brushing teeth is not rocket science, however it is important to brush teeth in a way so as to remove bacteria and bacteria plague in order to prevent tooth decay. Brushing ones’ teeth, although not complicated, is something most of us simply do not know how to do properly so we improvise.

Tooth Brushing Tips

1. Make your child brush his/her teeth after every meal whenever possible. Bacteria begins attacking your child’s teeth minutes after eating a meal. By tooth brushing after every meal your child will minimize the bacteria’s chances of getting a foot hold on his/her teeth.

2. Ask your child to brush at a 45 degree angle to his/her teeth. Make your child brush his/her teeth, always directing the bristles of the toothbrush between the neck of the tooth and the gum. Ask him/her to use a gentle, circular motion up and down, trying to massage the gums at the same time.

3. If your child can’t brush his/her teeth after a meal, at the very least, ask your child to brush his/her teeth in the morning and again in the evening before bed (while your child sleeps, saliva production is lessened and bacteria act more readily).

4. Make your child change his or her tooth brushing pattern from time to time since if the way he or she brushses leaves a certain spot of one tooth not brushed, then repeating the same pattern will always leave that spot unbrushed. By changing tooth brushing pattern your child will ensure that all the tooth surfaces are getting a thorough tooth brushing.

5. See that your child does not scrub the tooth enamel. Brushing teeth too hard can cause gums to recede visibly. Brushing teeth hard does not equal a thorough cleaning.

6. Make sure that your child cleans every surface of the tooth. It’s important, when brushing teeth, to thoroughly brush the chewing surface, the cheek side and the tongue side of every tooth.

7. Ask your child to take time for brushing his/her teeth in order to do it correctly. Tooth brushing is not a race. Thorough cleaning of teeth takes at least 2 minutes, so ask your child to relax while brushing and to enjoy it.

8. Choose the right toothbrush for your child. When choosing a toothbrush, a soft toothbrush with rounded bristles will do just fine. The shape and size of the toothbrush should be such, so as to allow your child to reach all the way to his/her back teeth. Your child doesn’t need a fancy toothbrush. A common toothbrush in the hand of somebody who knows how to brush his/her teeth is an excellent tool indeed.

9. Change your child’s toothbrush often. It is important to change your child’s toothbrush at least every 4 months, more often if you wish.