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Healthy habits are important to pickup from an early age!
Did you know over 40 percent of children will develop cavities by the time they reach kindergarten? We think that mind-boggling statistic could be improved by simply practicing the right amount of prevention with your kids. Teaching your children healthy habits to protect their smile is one of the most important things you can do as a parent.
Tooth decay is considered the most common disease affecting kids. To give you some perspective, it’s nearly five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever. The great news is a disease like tooth decay is entirely preventable.
Your children will grow their primary teeth, also referred to as ‘baby teeth’, in the span of three years. Nearly a decade later these primary teeth are replaced by our adult permanent teeth. It’s a relatively short period of time that ultimately sets the table for our oral hygiene as adults.
Doctors strongly believe taking good care of primary teeth is essential as they act like conductors for our adult teeth. If a baby tooth is lost prematurely due to decay, the adult tooth can be compromised in a variety of ways. Unhealthy oral habits also leave your child susceptible to infection and even difficulty speaking.
Take an interest in your children’s oral hygiene like you would your own. Even before their primary teeth develop, use soft gauze or an approved brush for infants to clean their gums following every feeding. Applying light pressure in cleaning can even relieve some pain attributed to teething.
When your child develops their full set of primary teeth, it’s time to instill your own healthy habits. Find the time to brush your teeth with your child every night – it’s the best way to ensure they model your behavior and keep to a regular schedule.
