Caring for your child’s teeth from a young age can give them good oral health throughout their lives.
After a baby is born, you spend months teaching it about the world around them. You help nurse them when they are sick, teething, and spend sleepless nights by their side. So why do parents ignore the source of all the pain when it stops hurting their little one? Oral health should be a top priority in your child’s life. So let’s talk about bad habits that could be ruining your child’s teeth before they are even fully formed.
Bottle Mouth
Bottles are the perfect way to feed your baby. Easy, convenient, leak proof, and simple to make up in the middle of the night. But are they really safe for your baby’s mouth? In recent years, dentists have been spreading the word about Baby-Bottle Mouth. It is a condition where your child’s teeth decay because of the sugars leftover in their mouths. Liquids like milk, juices, formula, and even breastmilk contain sugars that can stick to your child’s teeth. These sugars feed the bacteria which causes decay. Not only is this painful, but it could also ruin your child’s adult teeth. Baby teeth are essentially space savers for adult teeth. The damaged teeth won’t be able to fulfil their purpose in guiding their replacements into place. This could mean the adult teeth are crooked or crowded.
To prevent Baby-Bottle Mouth, don’t leave a bottle or sippy cup in your child’s bed while they are sleeping. If your child can’t sleep with it, only put water into their bottle. Never dip your child’s pacifier into sugary liquids or substances. Use a wet wipe or gauze to wipe your child’s teeth and gums after feeding. Also ask your dentist about fluoride for your baby as drinking water could not be enough for their growing teeth.
Thumb Sucking
Although this is a normal step in development, most children grow out of sucking on objects and thumbs at an early age. However, there are some children who continue to suck their thumb beyond five years old. This could cause problems for the permanent teeth coming into the mouth. Teeth could be pushed out of alignment, which causes them to protrude and create an overbite. It could also cause speech impairments as your child could have trouble pronouncing words. Thumb sucking could also cause a jaw misalignment and the top of the mouth could be malformed. Although this habit is normal, it could become excessive when children are of a certain age. But because thumb sucking is a security habit for many children, it could be counter-productive to force a child to stop the behavior. Positive reinforcement and rewards can help a child once he or she decides to stop sucking their thumb.
If you are worried about the health of your child’s teeth and mouth, talk with your Catonsville Dental Care dentist for more ways to prevent future health problems for your little one!
Leikin & Baylin Dental Care of Catonsville
If you have questions about your child’s oral health, let our friendly and professional staff help restore your child’s dental health. Call today at 410-747-1115, or submit any questions by visiting CatonsvilleDentalCare.com.
Disclaimer: The writer of this article is not a medical professional. Information contained herein has been collected from sources believed to be reliable, and every precaution has been taken to ensure its accuracy. The information provided here is for general informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care.