Pediatric Dentist in Garland shares tips for keeping teeth healthy

Your children are your pride and joys, so naturally you want them to be healthy. Enjoying a lifetime of oral health must start with early care. By instilling the value of proper oral hygiene and healthy nutrition, you can set your child up for success. At Kings Dental in Garland, our team believes that introducing good oral hygiene habits can begin as early as infancy. We love working with children and providing quality pediatric dental care.

Our hope is that all of your child’s visits to our office are purely preventative. To help ensure that, we offer the following tips to parents:

• Parents should be cleaning their infant’s gums at least twice a day. Use a clean, soft cloth and get it damp with warm water. Simply wipe the gums gently to keep them clean.
• Parents may begin brushing daily after the eruption of the first tooth. Use a soft children’s toothbrush and a tiny bit of children’s toothpaste.
• Children should have their first dental appointment shortly after the eruption of the first tooth or by their first birthday. This appointment is to begin getting children comfortable with the dentist’s office. It also allows us to begin monitoring tooth development.
• Once children have teeth, they are susceptible to tooth decay. Be careful not to leave them with a bottle at night as the sugars in milk, formula, or juice can lead to decay.
• In the beginning, parents can help their children brush their teeth, allowing them to try on their own when they are interested. Children begin to be able to handle brushing alone with parental supervision around the age of five.
• Stay regular with twice-yearly dental exams and cleanings. This helps ensure the teeth are being monitored and any potential problems are discovered early.

Helping children establish healthy habits is one of the best ways parents can help them. Children often mimic behavior, so parents let them watch as they brush and floss their own teeth and even come along to parents’ dental appointments so they understand how the process works. To learn more about the important role of pediatric dentistry, call Kings Dental today.