Your Childs First Dental Visit It is generally recommended that an infant be seen by a dentist by the age of 1 or within 6 months after his or her first tooth comes in. Visiting a dentist by the time the first baby tooth appears enables the child to begin a lifelong preventive dental care program to minimize tooth decay and cavities. • Dentists can detect early tooth decay, provide parents with information on proper oral and facial development, determine fluoride needs and more. Parents should clean infant mouths and gums regularly with a soft infant toothbrush or cloth and water. • Children older than six months need fluoride supplements if their drinking water does not contain enough fluoride. Fluoride supplementation in infants has been shown to reduce tooth decay by as much as 50 percent. • Infants and young children have other unique caries-risk factors including development of dietary habits and childhood food preferences. • Baby teeth should be brushed at least twice a day with an aged-appropriate sized toothbrush using a “smear” of fluoridated toothpaste.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 21:37:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015