Dental Trends of the Future: Leaving the Past Behind

As a parent, you know to teach your child to brush their teeth. However, in order to best fend off cavities, you are going to want to make sure your child's teeth are being cared for exactly as they should be. You also want to be sure you begin that proper dental care from the time they are infants. This article will give you a full education on toothbrushing on infants and children, as well as other factors you should know about this topic.

Begin cleaning teeth early

You want to watch for the signs of teeth coming in when you have a baby. As soon as you start to see little white bumps under the gums, you will know that they have teeth right under those gums trying to break through. You are going to want to find a very soft cloth and get it damp with lukewarm water. Put your finger in the cloth and very gently go over your baby's gums to clean them. At this age, you don't want to use toothpaste.

Brushing little teeth

Once your child has their teeth in, then you can take the tooth cleaning up to the next level. You want to get a pediatric toothbrush to use to brush their teeth. This toothbrush is going to have the soft bristles you want to use and it will have a smaller head. The smaller head is very important because one that is too large can both hurt your child's mouth and cause them to gag and choke.

You also want to start using toothpaste at this age. You are going to want to use pediatric toothpaste and make sure you are only putting a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on the toothbrush. Brush your child's teeth completely, but make sure you are gentle the whole time.

If they pull back, then take the toothbrush out; you have to be careful because when they are moving too much it can be easy to accidentally move too roughly without realizing it and if you accidentally hurt your child's mouth or gums, then they will fight even more when it comes to brushing their teeth.

As soon as you feel your child is old enough, coax them to brush their own teeth. However, make sure you also go over their teeth for a bit, until you feel confident that they are brushing them properly.

Conclusion

Be sure you take your child in to a pediatric dental care professional on a regular basis, so they can have their teeth cleaned professionally. Taking your child in regularly will help to prevent dental fears.