Bad Habits for Kids Teeth

August 15, 2024

Child’s dental health is set in motion before her first child tooth grows. That means you should begin advancing healthy dental habits for your child from the very beginning — and continue encouraging her until the point when she leaves for school.

Child’s dental health is set in motion before her first child tooth grows. That means you should begin advancing healthy dental habits for your child from the very beginning — and continue encouraging her until the point when she leaves for school.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 19 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 19 have untreated cavities. However, childhood tooth decay can be anticipated in any case when guardians enable their children to evade awful dental habits (and encourage great ones). Oral and dental health habits, both good and bad, are formed early.

To get your children's teeth off to a healthy start, avoid these dental health no-nos.

Neglecting the Dentist

The No. 1 no-no is holding up until there is an issue before bringing your child to the dental specialist. The American Dental Association recommends that children visit the dentist inside a half year after their first tooth shows up and no later than their first birthday. During that first visit, your child’s dentist will look for cavities and other oral issues, evaluate tooth decay risk, and teach you on the best possible approaches to clean your baby’s teeth.

After the initial visit, your baby should keep on having regular check-ups at least every six months. If he is at increased danger of tooth decay, his dental specialist may suggest more successive visits.

Middle-of-the-Night Breastfeeding

When you're nursing a baby, all day and all-night feedings are more than OK — they're neccessary for the baby’s health. However, once your child's teeth start to appear, you might need to maintain a distance from those center of-the-night feedings.

Lactose, which is the main sugar in breast milk, gives around 40 percent of a breastfed baby’s calories. Child teeth can become decayed if overexposed to breast milk around evening time because of that sugar. Moms who keep on breastfeeding when baby teeth come in must will to clean their child's mouth after feeding. Indeed, he suggests that you wash or wipe away the milk left in the baby’s mouth after every feeding.

Sucking a Baby Bottle at Night

Called "bottle mouth" by a few specialists, pitting and discoloration on the teeth can be a consequence of evening time bottle-feeding. If the mouth isn't cleaned, sugar from the milk or juice will stay on the teeth for quite a while during the evening and can in the long run destroy the enamel. So, think twice before lulling a child to sleep with a bottle full of milk or any liquid containing sugar.

Sippin' On Sippy Cups All Day

Once your child graduates to a Sippy cup, maintain a distance from this bad oral health: Letting him carry it all day or take it to bed t night (for similar reasons that utilizing a bottle this way is undesirable). Always sipping milk, juice, or any sweetened fluid does not allow a child’s natural saliva a chance to rinse away sugars that is a reason of tooth decay. In fact, New York legislature was recently approved for adding notices about child tooth-decay to Sippy cups.

For good dental health, limit sippy containers to mealtime and snack time — and have your kid’s wash and swallow with water after drinking any sugary drink.

Swallowing Toothpaste

Fluoride — the natural cavity warrior — is useful for your children's teeth. In fact, in communities that don't have enough fluoride in the water system (which can be dictated by reaching the local health department), dental specialists may recommend fluoride supplements beginning at a half year old.

Yet, a lot of fluoride can cause fluorosis, a condition that makes white or dark coloured spots on children's teeth. So, while gooey toothpaste can be amusing to play with, it's imperative to educate your children not to swallow it — particularly if it contains fluoride.

Until the point when your child is mature enough to have the capacity to spit after brushing, you can utilize non-fluoride toothpaste specially made for children's teeth. Simply ensure they're getting the appropriate amount of fluoride with a fluoride supplement.

Thumb Sucking with Big-Girl Teeth

For babies and little child’s, a little thumb sucking is ordinary — and it most likely won't cause any harm until the point when permanent teeth have replaced the baby teeth.

However, once the permanent teeth begin coming in — normally somewhere between the ages of 4 and 6 — thumb sucking can cause a misalignment of the teeth, which can prompt various issues, for example, trouble biting. If your child won't quit sucking her thumb, you should tell your dentist. Most kids will become out of it by about age 4, yet if your child proceeds with, behaviour modification with a reward system will usually break this habit.

Giving Pacifiers to Preschoolers

Just like a thumb sucking, sucking on a pacifier is a flawlessly normal and healthy child habit. In any case, pacifier utilize (simply like thumb sucking) can likewise influence a child’s oral health by interfering with ordinary tooth and jaw development.

Pacifying into the little child years can be a tough habit to break — the best time to quit enabling your baby to utilize a pacifier is at about age 1 to defend baby teeth.

Gnawing on Pencils

Once your child’s set for school (she grew up so quick!), don't be amazed if you see her with a No. 2 pencil in her mouth — this terrible dental habit is very basic in school kids.

In addition to introducing bacteria into the mouth, this habit can cause wearing without end of tooth surfaces and can prompt risky oral injury if a kid falls while having a pen or pencil in the mouth. Most children can bring an end to this habit once they are mature enough to understand the risks.

Nibbling on Nails

Around 30 to 60 percent of kids and young teenagers bite their nails, as indicated by the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). Nail gnawing isn't only bad for the nails — it can make genuine harm to a child’s dental health.

In fact, AGD cautions that nail gnawing expands a child’s risk for bruxism, which is accidental teeth grinding. Thusly, bruxism can prompt facial pain and sensitive teeth. The most ideal approach to end this habit is to explain the dangers to your kids and find alternatives and rewards.

Chugging Sugary Sodas

Carbonated sugary colas and soft drinks are terrible for everyone's teeth, except they are especially hard on recently ejected children's teeth. Tragically, insights demonstrate that around 20 percent of 1-and 2-year-olds are exposed to these beverages consistently. Try not to give your child to develop a soft drink habit.

Great child parenting is the way to a kid's dental health. Give your kid a healthy begin to oral health with protected and nutritious food and drink choices.

Kensington Dental & Implant Centre