3 Things Your Need To Know About Your Baby's Oral Hygiene

Watching your baby drool and crawl around, you may notice their first tooth starting to grow in. As a parent, there are a few things you'll want to know about this process. Taking care of your child's teeth at this age can set them up for good dental health for years to come. As more and more teeth continue to grow in, your child's gummy mouth will get replaced with a full set of baby teeth. 

Baby teeth act as placeholders for the adult teeth to come in alter and assist in helping your child to speak and chew properly. It's important to take care of their teeth during this stage so they are able to chew and speak freely without the impediment of bad oral hygiene.

In this article we're going to cover the three things you need to know about your baby's oral hygiene and how to set them up with a healthy mouth for the rest of their life.

1. Brushing their teeth correctly

You'll want to make sure to have the correct tools available to clean your baby's mouth. When they don't have any teeth in yet, you'll still want to take care of their gums. You can do this by wiping down their gums twice a day with a moistened cloth. 

Once they have teeth that grow in you can bring in a toothbrush. Make sure this brush is soft, has a large handle and a small head. At the start, just use a little water. However, with time you'll want to use a small amount of fluoride to help strengthen and protect the teeth. 

Keep using fluoride toothpaste until there are about 2 years old, and continue to brush for them until they can hold a toothbrush and use healthy brushing practices by themselves.

2. Getting through teething

Teething can be a tough time for both you and your child. To make this period of time easier on them and you, you can give them a cold teething ring or washcloth they can put in their mouth. Another way to reduce pain is to massage their gums with a clean finger once or twice a day.

3. Knowing how to prevent cavities

Aside from getting through the teething process you'll need to make sure you protect your child's teeth from cavities as well. When nursing your child make sure you only fill their bottle with water, breast milk or formula. All of those provide your baby with essential nutrients, while helping to protect their teeth in the process. By giving your child any sweet beverages you'll increase the likelihood of them getting cavities. Make sure you always give your baby water before they go to bed or take a nap, this will help to clean any bad bacteria out of their mouth. 

I hope this article has been valuable and you have a greater understanding of how to take care of your child's teeth and mouth. Having a healthy mouth will aid in their development, both in speech and in overall health. 

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/caring-babies-teeth?page=2

Zane Schwarzlose writes for Greenspoint Dental, a Houston dental practice. Zane thinks that baby oral health is a cute subject to write about.

Image credit: allygirl520 on Flickr