Here Is What Every Responsible Parent Should Know About Their Child's Dental Health:
Every year thousands of infants and young children suffer from extensive tooth decay. As a parent, you have a big role to play in keeping your child's teeth healthy and clean. You can help prevent cavities. Even though the milk teeth in children are eventually replaced by permanent teeth, cavity development in milk or baby teeth increases the likelihood of cavity development in permanent teeth.
While many parents at some point in time start giving their children junk food and the result, children love to eat them again and again. So while as parents we are responsible for the food habits of our child including all the junk food we give to our child, it is all though more imperative that we as parents instil healthy oral habits in your child as early as possible.
No parent would like to see their child going through dental cavities. It is painful, uncomfortable and will make it difficult for your child to eat, sleep and concentrate on studies or any other activities. Make it a point to closely monitor your child’s teeth and reach out to a dentist as soon as you notice these initial signs of tooth decay:
- White and chalky spots on teeth near the gum line. This is the first stage of tooth decay. Waste no time and consult a dentist.
- Brown spots on teeth, red and swollen gums are the symptoms of the next stage of tooth decay.
- Blackened teeth, loss of tooth structure, extremely inflamed and red gums are what lies ahead if you don’t control the decay at initial stages and let it progress to the advanced stage.
It’s also important to make sure that your child gets the recommended amount of fluoride. Fluoride is the single most influential factor which can decrease cavities among today's children. Fluoride incorporates itself into tooth enamel, making it more resistant to acid attack. Nowadays, fluoride application can be performed on your child’s teeth. Consult a Dentist, if your child will benefit from TOPICAL FLUORIDE APPLICATION.
Apply DENTAL SEALANT on the behind teeth. Dental Sealants is one of the greatest advances in modern dentistry. Maximum cavities of all childhood occur in the back of the mouth because teeth here contain numerous pits and grooves which are hard to reach with a toothbrush. Bacteria settle here and use food particles to create cavity-causing acid. Dental Sealants are transparent plastic coatings which can be applied to these teeth preventing bacteria from settling in the grooves and pits. Sealants are easily and quickly applied by the Dentist and provide long-lasting protection against cavity formation.
Parents often worry about how to keep their children from getting cavities. With an understanding of cavity formation, you can save your children from the stress of cavity related dental visits. Despite advancements in dentistry, dental caries is still a problem. The lack of parents care regarding child’s oral health, which characterizes neglect, may lead to a high prevalence of caries. Remember, as parents, it is your attitude which can influence the prevalence of cavities in your child. Take your child for a dental checkup once in six months.