Baby Safety Month is celebrated annually during September to remind parents and caregivers of the importance of providing babies with safe environments in which to develop. Baby safety tips include placing gates at the bottom and top of stairways; covering electrical outlets; using safety latches on cabinets; removing sharp corners, poisonous plants and lead paint; and throwing away toys that are broken or have pieces that are too small.
There are other types of dangers to infants and toddlers that can be anticipated and addressed to start them off with healthy smiles and help them avoid many of the pitfalls of poor oral health. Baby teeth help with eating, are an important part of speech development and hold space for permanent adult teeth. That’s why it’s so important to take good care of your child’s oral health beginning when they are a baby. Consider these does and don’t for preserving the oral health of babies and toddlers:
From birth to six months:
- Do clean your baby’s gums and teeth with a soft, damp washcloth or a soft infant toothbrush after feedings and at bedtime to eliminate bacteria.
- Don’t clean a pacifier that falls on the floor with your mouth, which can spread bacteria from your mouth to your child.
- Don’t put your baby to bed with a bottle of milk, formula or juice, because these liquids provide a source of bacteria that causes tooth decay.
From six to twelve months:
- Do take your child to their first dental visit within six months of their first baby tooth coming in or no later than their first birthday to help your child feel comfortable with your dentist.
- Do begin brushing in soft, gentle circles twice a day, using a small, soft-bristled toothbrush and a rice-sized smear of fluoride toothpaste when the first tooth shows up; and, when two teeth touch, start flossing to clean areas the toothbrush can’t reach.
- Don’t share forks, spoons, and food with your child because this can spread cavity-causing bacteria.
From one to three years old:
- Do continue to take your child to regular dental appointments.
- Do continue to brush, now with a pea-sized portion of fluoride toothpaste, around age three, as your child learns to rinse and spit; and keep flossing.
- Do wean your child off pacifiers and stop them from thumb sucking because these habits can shift baby teeth out of their proper position and cause permanent teeth to erupt incorrectly.
Taking care of your baby’s gums and caring for your toddler’s teeth and gums by teaching them good oral habits can reap rewards lasting a lifetime.
Of course, oral health is important to children of all ages, and, at this time of year, I’m thinking about children starting back to school. Keep encouraging your children to brush twice and floss once daily, and schedule preventive cleaning appointments twice a year so oral health challenges can be addressed early. Sadly, on average, 34 million school hours are lost each year because of emergency dental care, so taking a proactive approach to oral health is critical.
Lastly, for their safety, insist that your children wear mouthguards for all sports, because it’s estimated that 39% of dental injuries are sports related. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends wearing a properly fitted mouthguard for all sports. If you’re looking for mouthguards, the Delta Dental Athletic Mouth Guard provides two times the impact absorption of traditional mouth guards, is accepted by the ADA and includes a $10,000 dental warranty.