And what kid doesn’t have one of those?
Sure, you’re going to want to make sure that you do absolutely everything in your power to make sure that they understand the benefits of quality oral hygiene at a young age, but you’re going to have to prep for the fact that they are likely to get at least one cavity – just like everyone else.
The real trick isn’t completely eliminating the chance for a single cavity to rear its ugly head, but instead to find a way to cavity proof your child’s mouth so that they never get more than one. This isn’t all that difficult when you know exactly what you’re up against, and honestly, you are probably going to be able to cavity proof them without feeling stressed or pressured so long as you pay close attention to the details we provide you below.
At the end of the day, it really all boils down to just making sure that your child’s mouth and their teeth are taken care of and that they have established the kinds of quality oral hygiene habits that will allow them to keep all of the original teeth throughout their life!
Strip the sugary stuff from their diet
It’s going to be impossible – impossible – to strip every single sugary snack or treat from the diet of children (especially when they are able to head off to school and interact with other kids), but you’ll want to do your best to try and curb the indulgences of sugary snacks as much as you reasonably can.
Sugar is the granddaddy of them all when it comes to cavity causing foods, and sugary drinks are right there with them. Not only that, but once the sugar starts to eat away at the enamel on their teeth, it’s going to become one of the major food sources for the bacteria that will take up positions in those early cavities.
As the bacteria continues to grow and reproduce, it’s going to turn that sugar into acid – eating away even more at your teeth. This is the kind of cycle that you want your kids to have to deal with.
Make sure they’re brushing twice a day (with a fluoride toothpaste)
When you have children you’re going to have to juggle a lot of different responsibilities, and you are almost always going to find that at the end of the day, there’s just not enough time in 24 hours to do everything that you’d like to.
However, you need to make absolutely certain that your children are building healthy oral hygiene habits day in and day out – and that all starts with making sure that they brush their teeth bright and early in the morning and then just before they head into bed. There are a lot of people out there that skip one (or both) of these daily brushing’s, and boy do they pay for it!
Find a quality mouthwash for them to use throughout the day
It used to be that dentists and other oral hygiene professionals recommended that everyone brush their teeth almost immediately after eating every time that they ate throughout the day, but that’s no longer the truth.
We now understand that microscopic bits of food remain on the surface of teeth for up to 30 minutes after you eat, and those microscopic compounds act like sandpaper if you brush right after eating.
This is why you’ll want to flush your mouth (and encourage your children to do the same) after they eat so that you get the bulk of the deep clean you would have with brushing without damaging the outer layers of your smile.
Send them to school with travel-sized bottles of mouthwash and they shouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever making sure that their teeth are just as good as brand-new all day long!
Take advantage of regular professional cleanings at least twice a year
First, you want to make sure you find the best family dentist for your children to go to. You don’t want to make mistakes when choosing your next dentist.
The best way to make sure that your children aren’t developing cavities throughout the year is to actually take them to the dentist every six months or so for a professional cleaning and a checkup.
Yes, this is going to involve a little bit of extra scheduling. And yes, it can get to be a bit of a headache having to run to the dentist every six months – especially if you have more than one child.
These professionals are going to be able to really detail your child smile, making sure that it is perfectly clean and threatening to avoid cavities no matter what else happens. These kinds of deep cleanings can help protect their smile for years and years to come!