5 Simple Ways That Can Help Your Kid Avoid Tooth Cavities

5 Simple Ways That Can Help Your Kid Avoid Tooth Cavities

If your child is complaining of tooth pain and sensitivity, it’s time you take your kid to the dentist. Tooth decay and poor oral hygiene is not only found amongst adults but is prevalent amongst many kids too. This is largely due to a combination of many bad eating and oral habits. It’s essential that you take care of your kid’s teeth to ensure that a strong base is created while your child grows into an adolescent. Here are 5 simple ways to help your kid avoid cavities and maintain healthy oral hygiene:

1. Brush teeth twice a day

Encouraging your children to brush their teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste is vital to keep their mouths clean especially after meals or before going to bed. If care is taken during the initial years of baby teeth, kids don’t have to suffer from tooth decay and early tooth loss. Using fluoride supplements, a soft toothbrush or cloth, right from the very first tooth, will surely keep the cavities at bay. As baby teeth are delicate and extremely vulnerable, parents should take extra care of their teeth from the age group of 6 – 12 months.

2. Avoid starchy snacks

Apart from dental cleaning, parents need to supervise their children’s diets ensuring that they do not binge on candy, pastries, soda, chips and other starchy snacks. But one cannot only blame the unhealthy snacks for their effect on teeth, our daily food items like milk, cereals, bread and other such products leave behind debris that stick to our teeth and gums eventually creating cavities.
A well-balanced, nutritious diet is important for children. By discouraging the excess eating of candies and other carbohydrate snacks and ensuring that your kid brushes their teeth soon after they consume any sticky foods, children will learn to adopt healthier eating habits and maintain dental hygiene from a young age.

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3. Avoid frequent snacking and sticky foods

Apart from eating the right food and restricting your child from eating sticky, chewy items, the frequency of their snacking also plays in a big role in the health of their teeth. If you snack too often, the acids that the mouth bacteria creates erodes your teeth enamel when produced too frequently. By staying away from binge snacking, your kid can benefit in more ways than one – healthy teeth, a balanced diet, steady weight and high energy levels are just a few.

4. Year one dental visit

Regular checkups and visits to the dentist will help to identify any form of tooth decay from the early stages, which will help avoid unnecessary cavity fillings and other dental procedures in the long run. By following up with regular dental cleanings, schedules given to you by your child’s dentist and staying open to suggestions, recommended by your trusted dentist, you can save up on those fat bills in the long haul.

5. Few home remedies

If you’re uncomfortable with too many antibacterial treatments like mouthwash, consider other natural antibacterial ingredients like wheatgrass, nutmeg, cloves and turmeric.
Children are unaware of their bad dental hygiene and often fall prey to the prevailing problem of cavities and tooth decay. It is vital that responsible parents follow the steps mentioned above to keep their children’s teeth clean and strong.