What Every Parent Should Know About Children’s Preventative Dental Care

Make preventative dental care a priority.

As a parent, your to-do list is likely miles long with keeping up with your children’s activities and your own life priorities. However, one of the most significant investments you can make in your child’s future health is often overlooked—preventative dental care. Establishing a dental home early on does more than just present cavities. It can help build a foundation for a lifetime of confidence and physical well-being. If you are searching for a dentistry home for your children in Boise, Staley Dental is worth checking out.

What Preventative Dental Care Includes

Preventative dentistry is the practice of caring for teeth to keep them healthy. This is especially important for children because their mouths are in a constant state of transition. Baby teeth serve as vital placeholders for adult teeth. If a primary tooth is lost too early due to decay, it can lead to crowding and alignment issues that may require orthodontic work later.

At Staley Dental, preventative dental care is multi-faceted. It isn’t just a quick look at your child’s teeth but a comprehensive strategy to shield the mouth from disease. The priority of preventative dental care is a routine dental evaluation, which includes a visual inspection of your child’s teeth, gums, and jaw development. Your child will also receive an evaluation of their bite, as this can help prevent other health problems. A professional cleaning will also be performed, which helps to remove plaque and tartar, not to mention give your child’s teeth a nice shine.

The Staley Dental team may recommend fluoride treatments or dental sealants for your child. Both are additional treatments that may help prevent cavities. Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps to fortify teeth. A dental sealant is a thin, protective coating that is painted on the back molars to help prevent cavities from forming in the tooth’s grooves.

When Children Should Start Dental Visits

A common misconception is that children don’t need to visit the dentist until they have a full mouth of teeth. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Dentists recommend children visit the dentist when a baby’s first tooth has erupted, or no later than their first birthday. That is because as soon as a tooth erupts, decay can begin.

A first dentist appointment is often an educational opportunity for parents. The Staley Dental team likes to discuss what to expect during your child’s oral development, and share tips and tricks for taking care of baby teeth. We can also discuss teething, thumb sucking, and proper nutrition. And just like with adults, our dentists recommend that your child visits us every six months.

The biannual checkup allows our team to monitor your child’s development, as well as catch small spots of decay before they turn into cavities. Some children may be more susceptible to cavities, so we may want to see them every three to four months.

Daily Habits to Support Healthy Smiles

While professional visits are essential to your child’s dental health, the real work starts at home. Dentists recommend brushing teeth at least twice a day for a minimum of two minutes each time, as well as flossing at least once a day. During brushing, the focus should be on each tooth, and making sure all surfaces are cleaned, including the backs and sides of each tooth.

Parents can begin their child’s dental journey when their children are infants. Even before a tooth appears, dentists recommend using a soft, damp cloth to wipe down your child’s gums after feedings to help remove bacteria. This practice can also help your child get used to having something in their mouth so that visiting the dentist won’t be so foreign.

As your child turns into a toddler, a very small amount of toothpaste can be used to brush your child’s teeth. Dentists recommend nothing more than a grain of rice sized amount of toothpaste. At this point, parents will be doing all of the brushing for their child.

When they hit preschool age, they can begin brushing their teeth on their own, with help as needed, especially when it comes to their molars. A pea sized amount of toothpaste can now be used. As your child gets older and their dexterity improves, they can take over their own oral healthcare. However, parents may need to step in and assist with flossing until they get the hang of it.

The Roles of Fluoride and Dental Sealants

In children’s dentistry, fluoride treatments and dental sealants act as a line of defense against cavities.

Fluoride, as mentioned above, is a naturally occurring mineral that can help remineralize the tooth’s enamel. It can help repair tiny microscopic holes caused by acid before they become full-blown cavities. While the toothpaste your child is using should contain fluoride, a professional fluoride treatment at Staley Dental is more concentrated and more effective than toothpaste alone.

Dental sealants are there to help protect your child’s molars from cavities. The chewing surfaces of molars have pits and fissures that toothbrushes often have a hard time getting to. A dental sealant can help protect those spaces, and are usually recommended as soon as your child’s adult molars emerge.

Help your child feel comfortable at the dentist.

Some children may feel some anxiety when it comes to the dentist, but that doesn’t have to be the case. By starting your children off visiting the dentist around their first birthday, the dentist’s office can become a familiar place. We also recommend talking about the dentist in a positive fashion instead of in a negative light.

At Staley Dental, we welcome children of all ages. If you are looking for a dental home for your child, give us a call today to schedule their appointment!