Prevention is Better than Cure: Tooth Decay in your Children

How well do we really care for our children? In our rush to provide their needs, we might neglect to pay attention to the nitty gritty details such as their dental health. We might end up only worrying about it when it’s too late and they end up with cavities. It’s always best to take preventive measures, especially when it comes to tooth decay by investing in some fluoride enriched water and toothpaste coupled with dental sealants.

The developing years of children is a crucial time to teach them good dental habits. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in tooth decay cases among children as parents don’t seem to have enough time to impart important dental care information to their children as they had 10-15 years ago. Bruce Dye, who is a representative of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, said in an interview on ABC that children that experience tooth decay at a young age end up having teeth problems as they get older. He also expressed how it is very important that children keep their baby teeth in and not let them fall out prematurely because of cavities. He says that this is so that they will make room for the adult teeth to come in, creating enough space. If your child experiences tooth decay early on, it will most likely lead to complication when their adult teeth come in. Not only will it might mean aesthetic problems, but bad teeth can also lead to other problems such as heart and bone diseases.

Being parents and guardians, it is up to us to show children how important it is to care for your own oral health. As soon as the first teeth come in, we need to instill in the proper dental care values. Thankfully, early detection of tooth decay has been on the rise, according to experts. This means that at very young ages, children are being brought to their dentists in Penington NJ for proper care as early as their toddler years. 

Getting the first milk tooth should be the signal to start teaching your child about dental hygiene for toddlers. Most pediatric dentists suggest that the earlier you start, the better. Since it is in the first six to nine months after birth that milk teeth appear, the softest toothbrush you can find should be what you use. Make sure not to use too much toothpaste; about the size of a pea will do. Brush the teeth after every meal, or at least twice a day (morning and night). This will help strengthen the teeth from very early on and prevent the onset of tooth decay.

Oral health is no laughing matter, and parents should take extra precautions when it comes topreventing tooth decay in Mercer County. Most dentists really encourage good dental hygiene at these early ages. The best kids’ dentists in Pennington are voted on every year by the readers of “Philadelphia Magazine”. The most notable pediatric dentists in Trenton continue to receive this honor on multiple occasions so it’s good to select the best dentist for your child.