WHY MILK TEETH ARE IMPORTANT
Do not neglect your baby teeth.
Milk teeth or baby teeth are important because a child’s self confidence, self esteem and speech develops if he/she has healthy baby teeth.
Milk teeth start erupting from the age of 6 months and sheds till the age of 12 to 13 years. During this period , maintaining the milk teeth in a good health is important as it helps the child to bite, chew and eat with ease thereby the child can get adequate nutrition for maintaining his / her overall general health in a good condition. Maintaining baby teeth also helps in the development of jaws and facial growth.
Baby teeth hold space for the next coming permanent teeth to erupt in a proper fashion which in turn can help prevent crowding of teeth in the future. Space present after loss of baby teeth at an early age due to decay or trauma needs to be maintained. Without a maintainer, there are chances of tilting of adjacent teeth and crooked way of eruption of permanent tooth.
So, a milk tooth should always be healthy and retained in the oral cavity until it sheds on itself. Neglecting milk teeth diseases may lead to problems in permanent teeth.
A good oral hygiene practices and a regular monitoring by pediatric dentist can keep your child’s teeth in a good health.
Oral health is overall health !!! Why not maintain it from childhood !!!
Tips to take care of your baby’s teeth
- A mother needs to maintain her oral health right from her pregnancy
- Visit your pediatric dentist when your child turns one or within 6 months after the first tooth erupts
- Clean your baby’s gums using wet washcloth / dampened piece of gauze wrapped around your finger after every feed
- Start using finger brush after teeth erupts
- Do not put your baby to bed with feeding bottle
- Avoid in between meal snacking
- Brush your baby’s teeth twice a day
- Start using fluoridated tooth paste when your child learns to spit
- Limit the amount of sweetened / sticky foods
- Clean the mouth after the intake of sweetened foods
- Use a floss if there is tight contacts between the teeth
- Get the cavities filled as soon as it starts
- Consult your pediatric dentist if your child develops habits like thumb/ finger sucking , breathing though mouth, lip biting, nail biting etc
- Talk to your dentist regarding preventive measures like fluoride application etc. to protect your baby’s teeth