Oral Care Routine for Babies and Kids

As a parent, one of your greatest concern is caring for the well-being of your children and their oral hygiene should not be left out. It is common to see parents who ignore caring for their baby's oral hygiene because they feel the baby doesn't have any teeth yet but that is wrong. Caring for your baby's and toddlers' tooth should begin from birth because though you can't see your baby's tooth, they begin to grow teeth from when they are born. These teeth are hidden within the gum and once a baby clocks 6 months and above, the tooth begins to appear.

However, while the tooth is still hidden within the gum don't you think it is right to care for their gum? Once you are almost due for delivery or when you discover you are pregnant, it is important to buy oral care products for when your baby is born. As parents, it is your responsibility to ensure that your kids are set on the right oral regime path so that as they grow, they will adopt the oral hygiene method you have thought them. If you are still confused about how to go about it especially for babies, below are a few tips on how you can care for their teeth;

Wipe your baby's gum with a soft cloth

Since your baby doesn't have any tooth yet, it is important to always wipe your baby's gum with a damp washcloth because it keeps the gum healthy. A healthy gum gives birth to a healthy set of teeth. Asides from the fact that cleaning the gum keeps it healthy, it also soothes the baby of the pains they go through while trying to grow their tooth.

Brush tooth twice a day

Once your baby gets to 6 months, you should begin to expect their first teeth to show up and once it shows up, you can start with a very soft baby toothbrush. Use it to brush their teeth twice a day after feeding them to eliminate any sugar build-up from their milk or any other food you must have introduced to them, this should become a routine even as they grow. Although the fact that you are using a toothbrush doesn't mean you should use a paste because there is every tendency that the baby will swallow the fluoride. However, it is at this point that your oral care product becomes very important so if you didn't get one, it is time to buy oral care products for your kids.

Stop bottle-feeding

Once your baby clocks 6 months then it is time to stop bottle feeding and introduce your baby to spoon-feeding or sipping from a cup. When your baby continues to drink milk or any sugary drink from their bottle, it makes the sugar accumulate in their teeth and causes tooth decay at a very early stage.

Visit the Dentist

Ensure that your child visits the dentist at least twice a year that would be every 6 months once they begin to grow teeth. This is not only for babies, even as your child frows and advances in age, try as much as you can to take them to see a dentist to ensure their teeth grow healthily and if there is decay, it will be noticed on time, before it becomes too bad.

Use a pea-sized toothpaste

When you buy oral care products for kids, you should ensure to buy age-appropriate toothpaste and it should be a pea size when using for your kids. You should be able to help or monitor your kids while they brush until they are at least 11 years of age.

The oral regime is as important as caring for your child's well-being and as important as visiting a pediatrician is, so is visiting a dentist. As parents, you should make your child's oral regime a priority to avoid tooth decay that is caused by acid that comes from the sugary things they have been consuming. For healthy teeth, start caring for their teeth even before it begins to grow.