If you are lucky, your child will need little or no dental treatment throughout childhood. Your dentist will notice any signs of decay at your regular 6-monthly visits, but make an extra appointment if you notice any unusual tooth discolouration or if your child complains of pain. In cases of slight decay in first teeth, the dentist may decide not to fill the tooth in order to avid unnecessary upset for your child. Tooth enamel has been shown to be capable of recalcification if the cavity isn’t too large.
A dentist who is used to treating children will usually have developed techniques for minimising any fear. Great care will be taken to prevent pain with the use of local anaesthetic sprays and extra-fine needles for injections as appropriate.
A baby can only eat the foods offered to them by parents and carers. As they get older and gain independence, they will start to show their own food preferences and will have more opportunities for choosing foods for themselves – and sweet foods are often favourites. Above all, try to control your child’s intake of sweets.
No child needs sugar or sweets and you can easily find less damaging treats like fruit and savoury snacks. Tell your friends and family that you would rather that they did not give sweets to your child.
Obviously, children do receive and eat a certain amount of sugary foods. You can limit the damage these do to your child’s teeth by incorporating them into meal times. Sugary snacks eaten between meals are the worst. If your child has eaten something really sweets, make sure they brush their teeth straight after.
Giving undiluted fruit juice is another common cause of tooth decay even among children who eat few sweets, so you should always dilute fruit juice with water. Eating, or drinking anything other than water at night after the teeth have been brushed, can cause problems. The acids that cause tooth decay will stay in the mouth, allowing the enamel-damaging process to continue for many hours. If your child is greatly attached to having a bottle at night, give it to them before they go to sleep, then remove it.
For more articles regarding caring for children and babies and you can view them on teeth and teething here
