Oral Care In Infants

Have you ever considered how to take care of baby teeth? Taking care of an infant's teeth is important because the teeth are already present inside the baby's jaw at birth. According to the dentist, the care should start long before the first teeth appear.

Importance Of Healthy Teeth In Infants

Healthy teeth in infants are essential for the following reasons:

• It maintains spaces for permanent teeth.
• The shape of your child is formed because of infant's teeth.
• Your child can talk properly after teeth eruption. 
• It makes chewing and eating easier. 

Risks Of Tooth Decay

Tooth cavities can be formed in the baby's mouth if not cleaned regularly. Cavities form due to plaque caused by the intake of sugar from medicines, and bacteria make acid. This acid harms the teeth and leads to cavities. Cavities form faster in infants as compared to adults. Cavities can cause:

• Pain
• Harm to teeth that have not yet erupted
• Infections

How To Clean Infant's Mouth

Following methods can be used for oral care.

• Before and after teeth eruption, clean infants' mouths after every feed. Place your baby in a comfortable position, through which you can see your baby's mouth.
• Before the teeth come out, you can use a clean gauze pad or soft cloth with your finger. Make the gauze slightly wet. With the help of gauze, wipe your baby's gums gently.
• When your infant's teeth begin to appear, start using a soft brush. Put the brush's bristles alongside the row of teeth and against the gum line. Now, brush carefully in circular waves. Moving back and forth can damage the gums. End this by brushing the tongue gently.
• Toothpaste is important for children as soon as the first tooth comes out. For babies under three years of age, take a rice-sized toothpaste. For children above three years, a pea-sized pas Fluoride te is enough.

How To Prevent Cavities In Infant

Healthy practices can reduce the risk of cavities in infants:

• Massage the baby's gum tissues.
• Avoid putting the baby to bed with a bottle or allow your baby to feed at the time of sleeping.
• Infants start teething at the age of 4 to 6 months. During this time, they start drooling. To avoid this, give them a teether or cold washcloth. You can also chill the teether to soothe their gums.
• Dental cavities are transmissible, so avoid testing the temperature of the liquid with your mouth or cool the teether. In this way, the bacteria will not get transferred.

Final Thoughts

So, Infant oral care is more important than most parents understand. Here we have given ways to help a newborn prevent oral health problems and avoid cavities. Baby bottles and breastfeeding can cause damage to oral health by forming cavities in the mouth. Hence, taking care of an infant's oral health is important.

Contact your kids’ dentist in Stockton, Sajjad Rizvi D.D.S. at Happy Kids Dental, today to learn more.

Resource

Tooth Decay Prevention In Kids

*Neither this nor any other content in this media is meant to prescribe, recommend, or prevent any treatment or procedure. We highly recommend that you get the advice of a qualified dentist or other medical practitioners regarding your specific dental condition .