Healthy teeth in children are important for their overall health! However, the needs of a newborn are not the same as the needs of an older kid.
Here below we’ll present you some very important oral hygiene guidelines that should be followed on the different development stages of the oral cavity in children to accomplish a common goal: the elimination of the biofilm dental (bacterial plaque) for your kids to have healthier and stronger teeth.
Oral hygiene recommendations on the different infant stages
0-2 years. Eruption of the temporal teeth
The teeth eruption process of your kid usually starts at 6 months of age and ends after the 2 years of age and their temporal teething (baby teeth) is formed by a total of 20 teeth.
- Your children’s oral hygiene must start before their first teeth appear. Yes! Even though your baby’s first teeth haven’t popped up, it is recommended to clean their gums with a wet gauze or with a silicone thimble after every intake. The gels and ointments to relief the discomforts of the eruption that are currently on the market are NOT RECOMMENDED.
On the other hand, when the children’s first tooth erupts, it’s recommended bringing them to a Pediatric Dentist who will control the correct teeth eruption, many factors like the occlusion and alignment and she/he will get ahead of any other disorder or oral pathology like the early discovery of cavities.
The brushing at this age must be done by the parents (or the adult who is taking care of the baby). It’s recommended using an infant brush adapted to the adult’s hand and to baby’s mouth, with ultra-soft filaments that accomplish a correct hygiene and at the same time respect the gums and the teeth.
2-6 years. Temporal teething and oral hygiene habits acquisition
At this period your kid already has all their baby teeth, and it’s advised to start integrating them on doing their own oral hygiene and to comprehend the need entailing doing it but it’s still mostly a parent’s responsibility. For it, the most important thing is to create the habit.
- It’s recommended that the kid starts to practice brushing on their own and with the parent’s help, at least twice a day (morning and, especially, at night) or preferably after every meal, and trying to accomplish a 2 minute duration.
- To help acquire the habit of brushing on your kid there are many resources, like many applications, games, songs, etc.
- For an optimal brushing, the toothbrush must be adapted to the kid’s hand and mouth, with a very small head that allows reaching all the areas on the mouth, and with soft filaments that respect teeth and gums.
The toothbrush has to be user-friendly also for the parents, who must daily review the brushing of the children (it needs to be taken under consideration that the kid will probably not be able to effectively eliminate the biofilm dental in its entirety). There are plaque revealing products to help improve the brushing technique.
6-12 years. Eruption of the definitive teeth.
At this age the definitive teeth eruption starts in a process that finishes at around 12 years.
During this stage children have a mixed teething, that means, definitive teeth and baby teeth live together. The definitive teething is formed by 32 teeth, gathered by the third molars or wisdom teeth, that erupt as early as you’re 18 years or even not erupt at all.
- The major pathology of this age is still the cavities. It’s recommended utilizing a toothbrush that is adapted to the kid’s handling, with a small head of soft filaments and a narrow neck that allows it to reach all the areas on the mouth.
- About the toothpaste gel, it is advised to check the concentration of fluoride that must be from 1100 PPM or greater and the amount to use would be proportionally as the size of a pea or a bean grain, since all of the teeth, even if they haven’t erupted, are formed already.
- Schedule a visit with a Pediatric Dentist.
- The brushing must continue being supervised by the parents and reviewed whenever is necessary until approximately 8-9 years old, when the children have already developed their fine motor skills.
Is important to keep surveilling that your kid being careful and with the right technique performs the teeth brushing.
Lastly, but not least important. Do not forget to book your Pediatric Dentist’s appointment for your kid! Childhood is the most important stage in which it is great to start good dental habits and create habits that last for all the period of life of the human being.
