A child’s smile is worth more than all the money in the world

– Lionel Messi, Footballer

Of course, you and I may have different picks on the best sights in the world. But, I guess you too will agree with us on two of them. At first, it is when a baby’s first tooth appears and his/her smile with one tooth. The second one is when he/she loses the first tooth and that priceless smile with a missing tooth. Out of the world!

While that’s not all you care about. You want your baby to have perfectly shaped and healthy teeth as well as gums. No doubt for that priceless smile!

It’s a shame that dental problems will develop in some babies early on and it is us; the parents to blame. Think of the people who suffer lifelong because of cavities, crooked teeth, or gum infections. Would you want the same to happen to your child?

That’s why in today’s article, we’ll take you through what we forget (or ignore) when taking care of babies oral health and how can we overcome it.

Warning: If You’re Making These 5 Oral Care Mistakes For Your Child, You’ll Hate Yourself Later

1.    Not Taking Care of Gums Before Teething

You may be wondering, “Why take care of gums even before teething”. What you may not know that every child is born with 10 pairs of teeth! Those are just hidden under the gums, waiting to emerge on time.

Every child is born with 10 pairs of teeth,

those are just hidden inside the gums

If you don’t regularly clean the gums of your baby, germ buildup may lead to infections and sticky plaques which will affect the tooth beneath it.

          What you need to do:

Regularly clean your baby’s gums, specially after feeding. You don’t need any toothpaste or brush to do that. Just take a wet a clean soft cloth and gently wipe the gums. This way germs will not be able to build up and your baby will start developing the habits of cleaning his/her mouth.

2.    Not starting/teaching to brush from teething

There’s a misconception among parents that you don’t need to care about baby teeth as they’ll lose it anyway and new set of teeth will come. Wrong! The baby teeth are the placeholders for permanent teeth. Any damage in a tooth or the gum will affect the permanent tooth as well. For example, misaligned teeth, cavities, gum problems etc.

What you need to do:

Start brushing as the first tooth begins to appear. Select a small brush with soft bristle and brush twice a day. You don’t have to use a toothpaste though, even if you do, avoid adult toothpaste.

Rather select a toothpaste which is made for children such as Meril Baby Gel. Only take one or two pea-sized amount of toothpaste and brush your baby’s gums and teeth.

Also, get your baby to drink some water after feeding. That way some cleanups will take place automatically.

3.    Feeding your baby to sleep

Among all the mistakes, this perhaps is the worst. If you feed your baby to sleep or you’re feeding while the baby is asleep, germs will build up and stay there for long period of time. Too much damage can be done this way.

          What you need to do:

Try to avoid the habit of feeding the baby to sleep. After feeding, get your baby to drink some water and then try putting him/her to sleep. If your baby has the habit of suckling during sleep, you can get a water bottle or pacifier recommended by your dentist.

If the baby wakes up from sleep and you need to feed again, follow up by getting him to drink water after feeding.

4.    Not removing baby teeth on time:

Baby tooth doesn’t usually fall on their own. An adult help (including dentist) is required when the baby’s tooth is moving but falling off. If you wait longer, the permanent tooth beneath it may not get space to emerge and will emerge from an awkward angle. This causes crooked tooth, damaging the shape of the teeth set.

          What you need to do:

If your baby can’t push the moving tooth with his tongue (pain, fear, etc.), you may help yourself or visit a dentist to extract the tooth. In case it is already late and the permanent tooth begin to appear, the dentist may recommend extracting some adjacent baby teeth to help fix the shape of the permanent tooth in future.

5.    Not visiting a dentist regularly

“Nobody visits a dentist without toothache” – My dentist said this to me. That’s because I had to undergo root canal and crowning procedure for two of my teeth. If I was aware and taking her advice early on, I may have avoided it. Do you want the same to happen to your child?

          What you need to do:

Take your child to a dentist once a year. Why not start from his first birthday? A dentist can give you valuable advice based on the condition of your baby’s teeth and gums. This we can’t!

 

Looking forward to that beautiful smile of your baby

The shape of the face and the beauty of smile depends largely on the health of teeth and gums. Moreover, your baby may suffer lifelong for dental issues if you don’t take care from early on.

I know, you do everything for your baby. So you now have to start taking care of the oral health of your precious one.

You’ll do it, won’t you?

Contact our call center free of charge to consult doctors at SuperMom for any children and maternity affairs from 9am to 5pm from Sunday-Thursday (except Government holidays). Call our toll free number 08000-888-000.