As soon as you give birth to your kid, you have to make sure that he or she ends up with a bright smile. The only way to do so is to maintain his or her oral health and hygiene. Without the right knowledge, you may find this to be very difficult. But worry not, below are details containing tips on how to ensure your infant’s oral health and hygiene is taken care of. All you have to do is put the tips to practice and watch your kids grow up with healthy gums, white teeth, and remarkable smiles.
Clean their mouths after every meal
Just like grownups, you need to make sure you clean your infant’s mouth after every meal. That includes breastfeeding or bottle feeding. That is going to ensure that they maintain clean gums and excellent oral hygiene. If the infant is yet to grow the first teeth, you need to use a soft cloth dipped in warm water. Make sure you remove the water before proceeding to clean the baby’s mouth. The water should be clean, and so should the piece of clothing.
Rub it through the gums and rinse it before proceeding. The cleaning process is going to remove any food remains and particles from the baby’s mouth. Doing so will avoid the creation of plaque in the baby’s mouth, something that may lead to infection of the gum. You mustn’t forget this infant oral health routine. It is the only way that your kid is going to grow up with healthy teeth and strong gums.
Don’t share utensils with your infant
There is an explanation as to why kids tend to have their own set of utensils. If you have no idea, then here is the reason why. Various oral diseases can easily be transmitted from one person to another through bacteria. That means if you share utensils with your kid, the chances are that you may end up transferring bacteria to the kid’s mouth. Once that happens, you will find your infant having oral problems such as tooth decay at a tender age.
To prevent such a scenario, you need to make sure that your kids have their own set of cutleries and other eating utensils. That way, it is going to be hard for you to transfer any bacteria. You should also refrain from tasting the infant’s milk with your mouth before giving it to him or her. Remember, even if you are planning to have kids crown installed on a tooth, later on, you need to ensure the natural teeth are in good condition. The only way to do so is to protect your kid from various oral problems.
Schedule dentist appointments
There are so many things that a dentist can see or discover at that young age. That is why starting to schedule visits to the dentist is crucial once the kid reaches one year. The dentist is going to have routine checks on your infant’s teeth. If he or she notices any developing problem, the dentist will recommend a solution that is both inexpensive and less comprehensive. That is because the problem will still be in its early stages.
If you take long before you visit the dentist, you are going to give room for oral health issues to develop further. That is going to cost you more, and the procedure may be extensive. So don’t assume that your infant is too young for dental visits. As soon as you make the first visit, make sure that you visit the dentist every six months. That is not unless the dental practitioner ends up recommending an early appointment due to various reasons.
Don’t let the baby sleep with a feeding bottle
Some parents find the baby to be very stubborn whenever it’s time to sleep. They thus end up leaving the infant with the feeding bottle until he or she falls asleep. Some even allow them to spend the whole night with the bottle so that in case they wake up in the middle of the night, they have something to soothe them back to sleep. You should know that doing so can be very dangerous to the baby in so many ways.
First, the baby may end up choking, and second, the routine may cause tooth decay. That is because the contents of the bottle are going to remain on the kid’s teeth overnight. Once that happens, plaque will begin to form, and in no time, the baby will end up having tooth decay. The contents in the feeding bottle may also end up decolorizing the baby’s teeth. The last thing you want is for your baby to end up with rotten teeth at a young age only because you often let him or her sleep with the feeding bottle.
Exercise appropriate diet
Your infant’s teeth depend on food for them to grow healthy. That is why you need to exercise a proper diet at all times. You need to avoid sugary foods and other confectionery that are full of sugar. Such foods may end up causing tooth decay, and that is something you wouldn’t want your infant to undergo. It would be best if you also avoided juices since they have a high chance of causing tooth decay than many other food products.
It would help if you gave your kids vegetable smoothies and water. Also, consider foods rich in calcium like dairy products. That is going to enable them to grow up with healthy teeth that don’t have decay. A balanced diet like healthy soups and mashed potatoes is going to provide them with the nutrients required for healthy teeth. Such infant dental care ideas are going to improve oral hygiene.
Those are so far some of the best and most effective tips for infant oral health and hygiene. Each tip aims at ensuring the kids end up having healthy white teeth. It is also a way of avoiding oral problems such as tooth decolorizing and oral decay at an early stage. You should thus ensure that you implement the above tips.
