No Kidding - Children’s Oral Health Is Crucial to Healthy Adult Teeth, Says Mountain View, CA Dentist

Teeth are strong but surprisingly vulnerable, and this is particularly the case with kids’ teeth. It’s a common misconception that it doesn’t matter what happens to children’s teeth in the early years, as those teeth will fall out anyway. In fact, dental hygiene in early childhood is a crucial foundation for a mouthful of great teeth as an adult. Problems like caries or gum disease in the early years can lead to pain, missed school days, or bigger heath issues. It is critical to prevent and protect against such issues from infancy.




Proper dental hygiene and attention to oral care should be established as early as possible to prevent future complications – and it’s not just the parents’ job. A Dentistry IQ website report dated September 3, 2014 stresses that children need to learn how to brush and care for their own teeth at an early age. The best way for them to do this is to learn from dentists. The article notes that cavities caused by poor dental hygiene are the principal causes of some of the most common childhood diseases in the country. Shockingly, this could be stopped if only kids learned how to care for their own teeth properly:

Adhering to daily effective oral hygiene has a very positive effect on controlling or eliminating dental caries. Despite a considerable degree of progress in the reduction of dental caries in the U.S. over the past several decades, it continues to be the most common infectious childhood disease. Dental caries is five times more common than asthma, four times more common than early childhood obesity, and 20 times more common than diabetes.

Based on data from the CDC’s National Center for Health statistics, the report, “Trends in Oral Health Status – United States, 1988–1994 and 1999–2004,” represents the most comprehensive assessment of oral health data available for the U.S. population to date. Tooth decay in primary (baby) teeth of children aged 2 to 5 years increased from 24% to 28% between 1988 to 1994 and 1999 to 2004.(1)

It’s never too early to teach children the value of daily dental care. A professional dentist can help parents set their children on the right track to good oral health by providing regular checkups, pain-free dental treatments, and encouragement on habitual brushing and flossing.

The skill of brushing
Tooth brushing is quite a sophisticated skill. Children do not develop the dexterity needed to handle their own toothbrushes until they reach the age of six. So parents need to help their children to brush their teeth, as well as making sure that they do so for two whole minutes morning and evening. Left to themself, a child just can’t get it right. But, regardless of the age range, parents should schedule regular appointments for their children with a certified dentist with pediatric experience. An experienced dental professional can help both parents and children realize what can be done to safeguard vulnerable young teeth from harm and create the foundation for future oral heath. Dentists play an important role in the future health of children. – and they are eager to do so.

(Source: Toothbrushing: Science or child’s play?, dentistryiq.com, Sept. 3, 2014)