Common Dental Healthcare Mistakes Parents Unknowingly Make

Up to 45% of children have had dental cavities in their baby teeth. This means that well-meaning parents may actually be making mistakes that are harming their child’s teeth. Many parents may not even be aware that they’re making these mistakes!

Dental Health Mistakes Made by Parents

Below are a few ways that you may accidentally be harming your child’s dental health:

• Waiting to make your child’s first dental appointment – According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, your child should visit the dentist either by their first birthday or the emergence of their first tooth, whichever comes first. After their first appointment, kids should be seeing the dentist every six months.
• Skipping the fluoride – Fluoride has been controversial in the past, but experts have now mostly agreed that fluoride is a great way to prevent childhood dental cavities. However, the dose of fluoride is important. For kids under two, use only a grain-of-rice-sized amount of toothpaste and for kids over two, use a pea-sized amount. If you have concerns about fluoride, please don’t hesitate to talk to Dr. Ben Kwok.
• Putting your child to bed with juice or milk – Putting your child to bed with a drink other than water is the fastest way to ensure he or she will get tooth decay. It’s known as bottle rot, and it happens when juice or milk is allowed to sit on the teeth during sleep, eating away at the vulnerable tooth enamel.
• Allowing kids to brush by themselves – You should be helping your children to brush or at least supervising their brushing habits until they’re seven or eight years old. Any younger than this and you’ll need to make sure that all the surfaces of the teeth are being brushed or flossed.

Here at Little Smiles of Delaware, it’s important to us that your children have healthy, cavity-free childhoods. To make your child’s first appointment or to schedule a routine cleaning and exam, please contact our Delaware, Ohio pediatric dental office today.