Why Your Child Must See the Dentist

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The fact that children's teeth are not permanent and will eventually be replaced by their adult teeth may lead some people to the incorrect assumption that taking care of them is not important. However, instilling good dental hygiene habits in your children from a young age is very important. Otherwise, they will carry bad dental hygiene habits into adulthood and also ruin their adult teeth, among other issues.

Good Dental Hygiene

One very important part of your children having good dental hygiene is taking them to pediatric dentistry Santa Monica CA professionals. Just like adults, children should see their dentist every six months. They can provide them with the in-depth cleaning of their teeth and gums that is necessary to prevent tooth decay and disease.

When they are not visiting the dentist, your children should practice good dental hygiene at home. They should floss once a day or more. They should brush their teeth twice a day, for at least two minutes at a time. An easy way to help them keep track of how long they brush is to play a two-minute-long song for them as they brush! This can also encourage them to brush their teeth by making the experience a little more fun.

Bad Dental Hygiene

If your children do not floss, brush and visit the dentist as recommended, they are likely to experience some very negative side effects. Their teeth are likely to decay, become painful and fall out prematurely. It is even possible for them to start suffering from gum disease. The early stage of gum disease, called gingivitis, is more common in children than the later stage, called periodontitis.

In order to avoid your children suffering from these painful problems, it is important for you to instill good dental hygiene habits in them from a young age.