Q&A for Parents

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What can I do to protect my child’s baby teeth?

You can do a lot to protect your child’s baby teeth.

  • Even before your baby's teeth show, you should clean the gums with a damp cloth after meals and at bedtime. Your dentist can teach you how to clean your baby's gums and teeth.
  • Once teeth show, you should clean them with a soft-bristled toothbrush (without toothpaste) after meals and at bedtime.
  • Avoid serving your child sugary snacks and beverages. It’s especially important to steer clear of snacks that tend to stick to teeth, such as raisins, caramels, taffy and hard candies.
  • Encourage your children to snack on foods that don’t promote tooth decay. Foods like cheese, nuts, fresh fruit, carrots and natural juices without added sweeteners are good choices.
  • Don’t allow your child to fall asleep with the bottle. This can create a problem called nursing bottle mouth
  • Avoid soda.
  • It is good to wean your child from a bottle between 9 and 12 months of age.

Baby teeth are important because:

  • The good habit of brushing baby teeth will start a good habit for the adult teeth.
  • Baby teeth hold space for the adult teeth to grow into.
  • Baby teeth allow kids to eat right and sleep with ease.
  • Baby teeth also help kids speak clearly.
  • Healthy teeth help kids do better in school because they are not in pain.    
  • Children with healthy baby teeth feel good about themselves.

What is nursing bottle mouth?

Nursing bottle mouth is a dental condition caused by frequent exposure of young teeth to liquids that contain sugars. Plaque—the clear, sticky substance that causes tooth decay—uses the sugars in those liquids to eat away at tooth enamel. Every time a child drinks a liquid that contains sugar, bacteria attack the teeth for at least 20 minutes. When a child falls asleep while breastfeeding or with a bottle of milk, formula, juice or sugar water, the teeth are continually bathed in sugar. Over time, that bacteria can completely destroy the baby teeth.

How can I prevent nursing bottle mouth?

The best prevention involves eliminating sugar, the fuel source for the acids that destroy enamel. If your child needs a bottle to fall asleep, fill it with clear, cool water only. Never allow a child to suck a bottle containing sugar-filled liquids for a long period of time.

Does it matter how I clean my child’s teeth?

It matters very much. Visit our staff for instructions in the best way to clean your child’s teeth. Once most of the baby teeth have come in, you should begin brushing and flossing your child’s teeth on a regular basis. If your city’s water supply isn’t fluoridated, ask Drs. Taylor and Stalker about fluoride supplements. Fluoride helps keep tooth enamel strong. Our staff can suggest other ways of keeping your child’s teeth strong and healthy.

Why is fluoride needed?

Teeth are covered with a sticky film of germs, called plaque. Plaque uses food we eat to make acids that cause cavities. Fluoride fights the acid that cause cavities by making teeth stronger. Even before teeth come in, fluoride water can make teeth stronger. After teeth come in, fluoride treatments, fluoridated water and fluoride toothpaste protect against cavities.

How can my child get fluoride?

  • Drink Fluoridated water.
  • Brush teeth with fluoride toothpaste. ( a pea-size amount is all that is needed)
  • See Dr. Taylor, Dr. Stalker and Dr. Ham every six months for fluoride treatments.

What is a sealant?

A sealant is a tiny plastic coating that is placed on the chewing surface of the back permanent teeth. Sealants keep food and bacteria away from the grooves of these teeth. Sealants will protect teeth from plaque and acids. Plaque can change the sugar and the starch from food into harmful acids that attack the teeth and cause cavities. Sealants protect the grooves of the back teeth by sealing out plaque, food and acids.

Who should get sealants?

All children should have sealants placed on their back teeth as soon as the permanent tooth FULLY erupts. Sealants can only be placed on teeth that have no cavities. That is why it is important to take your child to the dentist every 6 months so that the sealants can be checked and applied.  In a lifetime you have the possibility of sealing a total of 20 permanent teeth.

How are sealants put onto teeth?

Sealants are easy to apply and it only takes a few minutes. After cleaning the tooth, the sealant is painted onto the grooves of the back teeth and it hardens. Sometimes a special light is used to help harden the sealant. This procedure is very easy and painless.

What if my child has a tooth knocked out?

More children lose teeth to trauma than to decay. Children are especially prone to dental emergencies between the ages of one and two, when they are just learning how to walk, and between the ages of seven and ten, when they are especially active. If your child has a tooth knocked out:

  • Find the tooth as quickly as possible. The first 30 minutes are critical.
  • Pick up the tooth by the crown, not the roots, which contain fibers necessary for reimplantation. If the tooth is dirty, rinse it in water but do not scrub it.
  • Gently push it back into the socket if you can. If not, hold it between cheek and gum, put it in a glass of milk, or place it in a moist towel, in that order preference. Do not reimplant a baby tooth, as this may injure the developing permanent tooth underneath.
  • Take your child to a dentist or hospital emergency room as soon as possible. If you have a pediatric dentist, call the office immediately.

Chipped or fractured teeth can be repaired, too. Collect the pieces and take them to your dentist. Talk to your pediatric dentist about ways you can help your active children avoid injury. For more tips on dental emergencies, please visit the "In Case of Emergency" page.

For more information about helping your child develop healthy habits, visit http://www.aapd.org/parents/