Your Childrens Health

When your little one’s teeth come through, it’s important to ensure that your child learns good teeth cleaning habits from the start – as good habits will set kids up for life.  It can be easy for mums and dads to be a little complacent about milk teeth – they will be replaced, so what’s the harm in a few cavities in early life?  Well, remember that your child may still have that decayed tooth until the age of twelve – causing pain and irritation.
So how can parents ensure that their little one’s teeth are kept clean and healthy?  Well the main cause of tooth decay is bacteria.  So the longer a child doesn’t clean his or her teeth, the longer the bacteria has to grow in the mouth.  Top tips include remembering not to give your child a bottle with a sugar drink or fruit juice, as this increases contact with the teeth.  If your child eats something particularly sweet and sticky, brush their teeth after, or at least make sure he or she washes it down with lots of water to flush out the mouth. 
A child can start using toothpaste from roughly the age of two – but mum or dad should still brush the teeth for them until the age of six. 

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 18th, 2006 at 9:49 am and is filed under Dental. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.