Momaye's Diary

Showing posts with label milk teeth. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

On Choosing the Right Toothbrush for Your Child

At age 6, my son's milk teeth are all intact. Though he had his first teeth earlier than other babies, I thought he will lose them earlier too.

When he had his annual check up, I asked the dentist when will he lose his milk teeth. She said it will be around 6-7 years old.

She added, Matthew has strong teeth and has less cavities too.

That's because he has regular dental check up starting almost two years ago. (Read: Throwback Thursday: Matthew Andrei + Nutri10 Plus Syrup + Ceelin Chewables)

Dental check up can be earlier or as soon as your child has their first set of teeth. But in my case, I purposely delayed it for fear that he might have phobia with the dentist (based on my experience). I want him to be ready before his first dental check up but I also make sure we care for his milk teeth properly.

Also, choosing the right toothbrush is very important. Let me share some tips on how to choose the right toothbrush for your child.

The Size

Toothbrush is not one size fits all. Our child's mouth is definitely smaller than ours. So they should have smaller toothbrush with heads generally about 1" long and 1/2" wide. Or the size that will allow the bristles to reach around the backside of the furthest molar teeth in the mouth on both sides.

photo source

The Bristles

Always choose soft bristles. This is to prevent gum injuries and enamel damage. You know children are always in a rush and might end up brushing too fast or too hard. This may lead to sensitive teeth because of over-aggressive brushing. So go for soft bristles when ever in doubt.

The Grip

Have you noticed that even how small the kids brush are, the grip are larger? This is because children still lacks manual dexterity or skills to brush their teeth thoroughly. So a larger grip will help them better.

Manual or Electric?

When it comes to choosing between manual and electric-powered toothbrush, you must consider your child's preference. Some kids like the whirl of a electric-powered toothbrush while others don't mind it at all. But since children still lacks manual dexterity or skills to brush their teeth thoroughly, an electric-powered toothbrush is a big help. Especially because electric-powered toothbrush has different brushing modes that can help improve oral health.

Design

For younger kids, the toothbrush's design is important. Important means when they like the design, they like to use it and so loving to regularly brush their teeth will follow. But then again, you must consider the four above first before considering the design.

Experts Advice

Consider also what's your pediatric dentist's advice is. They should know what is a toothbrush that undergone thorough quality control tests for efficiency and more importantly, for safety.

So there you go some tips on how to choose the right toothbrush for your child.

Do you care about your Baby’s Milk Teeth?

I know every mom’s concern is how to keep their baby’s milk teeth strong. My son, at 17 months, has almost complete set of teeth. When he is just 3 months, we already noticed bumps on his gums with visible white caps. His first two teeth erupted when he was going 6 months.

@ 6 months

@ 8 months

@ 9 months

@ 10 months

@ 17 months

His teeth erupted so fast since then. He will have 2-4 teeth simultaneously coming out. That is why I am very much concerned with cleaning his teeth and with what he eats, as well.

Babies actually have teeth beneath their gums. While in the womb, baby teeth begin to grow forming tooth buds in their gums. Majority of the babies have their first teeth eruption between ages 4 to 7 months. While for late bloomer, they have to wait unit they are one year old or more.

Teeth usually erupted one at a time over a period of months. Its usual order is as follows: Bottom two middle teeth à Top two middle teeth à Teeth along the sides and back. The second molars, which are found in the very back of the mouth on top and bottom, are the last teeth to pop out at around baby’s second birthday. So your child should have a complete set of 20 milk teeth at age of 3. These should not fall until his permanent teeth are ready to start popping at around 6 years old.

Milk teeth are as important as permanent teeth. Milk teeth let your child to chew better making them healthier. When baby’s teeth are not healthy and well-aligned, your child may have hard time chewing and thus, may not have a well-balanced diet. When your child has tooth decay, loose teeth or aching gums, he may refuse to eat or may only take soft or liquid foods she eat with lesser pain. However, your child needs a balanced diet of a variety of foods, and that chewing foods of different quality induces and exercises the gums and gives a flushing out action for the teeth.

Also, a child who is starting to lose his milk teeth may have difficulty forming words and speaking clearly. Healthy milk teeth are also important in the normal development of the jaw bones and facial muscles.

Healthy milk teeth also give your child d a happy healthy smile. And lastly, milk teeth reserve room for the permanent teeth to help them guide into their position.

These are the importance of baby/milk teeth. So taking care of them is a MUST. Here are some pointers to help our little one clean his/her teeth successfully (Courtesy of Baby Teeth Maintenance Menu)

Dental Hygiene Milestone

0 - 1 Year Old

You as a parent need to take on all the responsibilities on cleaning these baby teeth.

Tool: a moistened gauze or washcloth, NO toothpaste

How Often: once a day

Method: Wrap the gauze or cloth around the finger and massage the gum and the teeth

1-3 Years Old Kids at this age will be able to start learning about tooth brushing and parent are responsible for providing guidance. You definitely have to help him/her on flossing. But you only need to do it if there's no space in between those baby teeth.

Tool: Kid's sized tooth brush, fluoride toothpaste (start around 2 years old) or a non fluoride toothpaste, click here, floss

How much: toothpaste ~ a pea size; floss ~ an (parent's) arm's length

When: Brush once in the morning; once before bed; Floss once before brushing

How long: Brush at least 1 minute for kids.

Method: There are many methods you can try. Usually, it's easier for kid to brush their teeth in the direction of those teeth grow. Here's a sequence you may want to follow.

3 - 6 Years Old
At this age, you should let your kid take up the responsibility of brushing their teeth in the morning. They'll love the sense of independability. Help them with flossing and brushing before they go to bed.

> 6 Years Old
Supervise your kids actively when they are doing their own brushing in the morning and at bedtime. They may still need your help on flossing until they are 9 years old.

So it is very important to start to teach our babies a good oral hygiene at an early age. This will give them a sense of responsibility of taking good care of their permanent teeth as well.

Brush Brush Brush!

How time flies! My son is now 17 months and growing so fast. One of his fast developments is that he almost has complete set of teeth. And because of this I am worrying for its early decaying.

Did you know that "Children usually have 20 milk teeth. They start to push through the gums (erupt) at about six months. Most children have all 20 teeth by the age of two or three. However, this can vary so don’t worry if your child’s teeth come in faster or slower than this.

Your child's milk teeth are important for eating, speech, smiling and confidence. They are also important for the development of permanent teeth, so it's very important to look after them." - Caring for your child's teeth

Good thing we started brushing his teeth even before his teeth erupted. We are using the silicone brush that can be inserted into a finger. But when he is starting to bite, we shifted to stages toothbrush. Then, this sure will be enough so hubby brought him a kiddie Mickey Mouse toothbrush from Oral B (sorry I do not have photo of it, I will insert once I got one).

However, just brushing is not enough as I see some yellow stains in his teeth. So we brought hapee kiddie toothpaste. But ooopss! It has fluoride and my son doesn’t know how to spit yet. Fluoride is dangerous to helath when swallowed. According to Wikipedia, children may experience gastrointestinal distress upon ingesting sufficient amounts of flavored toothpaste.

Fortunately, I got information from MomCenter Philippines about this Sansfluo toothgel cleanser that is a non-fluoride toothgel! Without any hesitation I brought one at Mercury Drugstore that cost 91.5025 pesos for a 50-ml tube (I know you want to know the price, lol!)