Baby Oral Care
The teething process begins between 5 to 7 months of age , when the lower central incisors erupt. Shortly after the maxillary central incisors appear between 6 to 8 months of age. Girls teeth usually appear before those of men.
The age at which the first teeth is variable between each baby , but this is accompanied by other abnormalities of growth or development as it depends on the general state of health , family characteristics and an adequate supply of protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins and minerals.
By age, we can expect the following number of teeth:
Age – Number of teeth
8 months – 4 cloves
12 months – 8 teeth
16 months – 12 teeth
20 months – 16 teeth
Teething is sometimes accompanied by discomfort, such as irritability, swollen gums, broken and somewhat loose stools.
Oral care in children
Babies need good dental care, both at home and they can provide pediatric dentists. The more attention this early start, the sooner you will help keep your baby’s first teeth are healthy and grow properly.
This is important because the first teeth (baby teeth or temporary) are used for chewing, smiling, talking and to keep the space needed for permanent teeth. When a tooth is lost too soon or has an advanced caries, neighboring teeth can move and occupy the empty space, so the new teeth (permanent) can come in crooked, well, this premature tooth loss may also affect speech and psychological aspects of your child, as the perception of body image and self esteem.
The oral care should begin as soon as your child is born, you can gently wipe the gums after breast or bottle, removing milk residues that have remained. To do so could use a cloth, gauze or a small wet cloth diaper.
After five months, will stimulate the gums, so as to encourage the development of jaws and tooth eruption. This is achieved by allowing the child to bite hard, cold objects, which relieves pain and discomfort caused by the eruption of a new tooth.
When the first teeth erupt, they should be cleaned with a soft infant toothbrush without toothpaste. After two years of age shall apply toothpaste on the brush. The amount of toothpaste should be the size of a lentil, because the child tends to swallow and it is desirable to avoid too much fluoride.
As the child learns to rinse well and do not swallow toothpaste, you can increase the amount of it in the brush.
Obviously, the size of the brush should be commensurate with the size of the teeth. To eight years, age at which the child acquires sufficient motor skills to brush alone, must be watched while brushing.
Dental damage can be caused by a bottle or pacifier, when children fall asleep with a bottle in the mouth, or milk, formula, liquid sugar or fruit juice or wet mothers nipples in order to reassure honeydew their babies. The sugars are attached to the teeth, promoting tooth decay in baby teeth. These bad habits must be avoided decay time and treated early to prevent damage to the teeth.
Tooth decay caused by sugar is easily prevented by cleaning your gums and little teeth after every bottle and offering a clean pacifier or a bottle containing water only for their hours of sleep.
Tips
- Do not use local anesthetics to relieve discomfort from teething, because the relief they offer is of very short duration.
- Provide cold, hard objects to chew, such as so-called “scratch-gum, preferably those which are full of water and cooled in the refrigerator.
- Brush your teeth after every meal or supervise your child until he is able to brush alone, especially at night.
- Check your carb intake, food and sugary drinks.
- After the first year, replace the milk bottles by the glass and avoid night nursing.
- If the discomfort and irritability are accented by teething may be given painkillers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
- Visit your dentist when your baby is between six months and one year of age. Later take him to visit every 6 months.
Possibility Related Posts:
Tags: Baby Oral Care, baby's first teeth, central incisors, permanent teeth