How to Take Care of Your Kid’s Oral and Dental Health?
Are you worried about your kids’ teeth? Every parent wants the best for their child, whether it comes to their academics or their dental health. Dental health is very important not just for aesthetic reasons but also for their overall health. Every parent should teach their children about kids’ teeth care from a young age so that it becomes a habit of a lifetime. This blog will be every parent’s cheat sheet for their kid’s dental care journey.
Why is teaching dental care necessary for Kids?
Education about kids’ teeth care is important for children for the following reasons. First, teaching dental care to children early on establishes good oral hygiene habits that help prevent tooth decay, bad breath, and gum diseases. Second, it promotes overall health, as poor oral health can also lead to other health issues. In addition, a good smile builds confidence and fosters good self-esteem in children.
What Things to Do for Healthy Teeth?
Following these tips are going to help maintain good dental and oral care of your kid:
1. Feed Them Healthy Food
Making your kid follow a healthy diet for kid teeth care is a task because kids are prone to crave sugary foods. It is essential to feed kids food items like strawberries and kiwis because they are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C has antioxidant properties that help maintain the strength and structure of teeth. Foods like broccoli, sweet potatoes, garlic, and onions are known for being nutrient-dense and are vital for maintaining dental health. Foods rich in calcium, like milk, cheese, and curd, prevent tooth decay and give strength to the teeth.
2. Brush Twice a Day
Brushing twice a day is essential for children’s dental health. It helps prevent cavities, gum disease, and bad breath. Regular brushing removes food particles and bacteria that can damage children’s teeth. Establishing this habit will help lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.
3. Floss at Least Once a Day
Flossing is as essential for your kid as brushing. Floss can reach places where brush can not, and it is easy to remove food particles with the help of floss. Brushing with flossing is a foolproof shield against dental issues like cavities, bad breath, and gum disease. Teaching flossing to kids will develop a habit that will be life-changing for them.
4. Replace Toothbrushes Often
Replacing a kid’s toothbrush every 3 to 4 months is necessary because toothbrushes accumulate bacteria over time. Replacing a toothbrush if your child has been sick is even more critical. Every toothbrush in the house should be stored so their bristles do not touch each other. Most parents wait to replace the toothbrush till the bristles do not wear out, but it is not the appropriate criteria to check if a toothbrush is still functional or not.
5. Get Routine Checkups
Parents should consider booking dental checkups for their kids twice a year. Regular dental checkups will help in detecting early cavities or gum problems that can be solved at the earliest. Prevention of dental problems in your kid is better than their cure. Parents can start visiting the dentist, as soon as their baby starts developing milk teeth because the base for healthy permanent teeth is prepared during the infant years of the kid. It is important to maintain the strength of the milk teeth of the kid because if neglected, milk teeth might fall sooner than the expected time and then it might result in adult teeth growing crooked and out of place, leading to dental issues in future.
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The Best Foods For Healthy Teeth
There are certain foods that are good for the dental and oral health of your kid. The following food items should be included in your kid’s diet to ensure their dental health:
1. Cheese, Milk, and Yogurt :
Dairy products like Cheese, Milk, and Yogurt have nutrients like calcium, phosphorus and protein. All these nutrients are important for good dental health. The calcium in dairy products is important for building strong teeth and bones. Enamel is the protective outer layer of teeth that protects teeth from decaying and calcium helps in strengthening that enamel layer. Dairy products also contain a good amount of phosphorus, which works with calcium in strengthening teeth and rebuilding the enamel layer of the tooth. The protein in dairy products is necessary for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Protein helps in rebuilding tissues in the mouth including the gums.
2. Apples and Pears
Apples and pears are excellent fruit options that promote dental health in kids. Pears and Apples both are considered natural toothbrushes due to their crunchy texture that scrubs the teeth when eaten, removing plaque and debris in the way. The water content of these fruits stimulates saliva production and saliva is necessary for cleaning away the food particles and also works in neutralizing acids in the mouth that might cause tooth decay in kids. Even when these fruits contain sugar they are a natural sugar source and also help in regulating the blood sugar level in the bloodstream.
3. Leafy Greens (Spinach, Lettuce, Kale)
Making Leafy Greens like Spinach, Lettuce, and Kale part of your kid’s diet contributes to maintaining the child’s dental health. Leafy vegetables are a good source of calcium, a component important for giving strength to a kid’s teeth. Vitamin C in leafy green vegetables maintains dental health by fighting gum diseases and reducing inflammation in the teeth. Chewing green leafy vegetables produces saliva that helps in removing plaque and food particles from the teeth.
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Food to Avoid for Healthy Teeth
Kids are stubborn and tend to choose foods as per their taste buds. They like to eat only those foods that they find appealing in taste like sugary drinks, candies, chips etc. These kinds of highly processed foods are bad for a kid’s overall health as well as their dental health. Following are the most common food items that are bad for kids’ dental health with replacements that are healthy for them.
1. Candy:
There is no kid out there who doesn’t like to eat candies. Candies are every kid’s favorite food item. Candies are nothing but just flavored sugar in solid form. Eating a lot of candies can cause issues like painful cavities in the teeth of kids. If you want to reduce the amount of candy from your kid’s diet, then replace candies with fresh fruit, dry fruit and nuts. With time kids will become fond of the taste of fruits and dry fruit.
2. Chocolates
Chocolates are one of the most favorite snack items of a kid. Readily available chocolates in the market have a very high and unhealthy amount of sugar in them that can cause cavities and gum problems if not eaten with precautions. Parents can make homemade chocolate for their kids where the amount of sugar can be adjusted. In making homemade chocolate parents can replace the sugar with honey, dates or peanut butter to make it even healthy. There are some brands that make healthy chocolate for kids, with healthy ingredients. Chocolates can be replaced with healthy protein bars and desi peanut chikki as well.
3. Carbonated Drinks
Carbonated drinks are high in sugar and they also reduce the production of saliva leading to negative oral and dental health. The bacteria present in the mouth feed on sugar and produce acids that damage the tooth enamel. Carbonated drinks are acidic in nature and when consumed regularly can lead to severely damaged teeth enamel. Carbonated drinks are not good for the overall health of the kids and kids might become addicted to carbonated beverages. When kids demand carbonated drinks, parents can replace those drinks with real fruit juices, coconut water, milkshakes and lime water.
4. Potato chips
Potato chips are prepared with potatoes that have high starch. Starch breaks down in sugar in the mouth and provides fuel for bacterial growth that can cause tooth decay. Due to the acidic nature of potato chips, they can erode the teeth enamel, if eaten consistently. Potato chips leave sticky residue on kid’s teeth that can cause cavities if not removed through brushing and flossing. Potato chips can be easily replaced with nuts like walnuts and pista which are good sources of many healthy nutrients.
Conclusion
Developing the right oral hygiene habits in youngsters from an early age is necessary for their holistic fitness and well-being. By introducing kids to the significance of a balanced diet, everyday brushing, flossing, and regular dental checkups, parents can easily lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy enamel and gums. When parents inspire children to make healthy choices in what they eat and drink and limit sugary meals, they can ensure the perfect dental health of their kids.
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