How to maintain oral hygiene in children

What is dental caries?

Early years dental caries is decay that may appear soon after teething and can damages all surfaces of the milk teeth. Early childhood caries spreads rapidly and cab affects the entire dentition. In addition, damage to the deciduous teeth (milk teeth) may eventually lead to deeper damage to the developing permanent teeth. It is important to bear in mind this is a long continuous process.

Early childhood caries risk factors:
1. Bacteria and dental plaque.
2. Diet (mostly sugars).
3. Genetic factors related to the structure if the tooth and the level of resistance of the host (e.g.
the level of antibodies in the saliva and calcification of the tooth).

How to fight dental caries?

Remove bacteria that are on the surface of the teeth. The most efficient way to do so is tooth brushing in order to mechanically remove the bacteria. In addition, it is important to avoid uncontrolled consumption of sugars, especially at night, including prolonged bottle feeding or breastfeeding. It is advisable to brush the teeth or wipe them immediately after a night feed. I am aware that this is a difficult in practice, but is still recommended.

At what age should children brush their teeth?

it is recommended to start brushing teeth when the first tooth appears. At first the brushing can be done with a silicon finger brush or even using a wet gauze. With the eruption of more teeth it is recommended to brush the teeth with an age-appropriate toothbrush with a small head and large handle.

How many times a day should you brush the child’s teeth?

The recommendation is to brush the teeth twice a day. Although both brushes are important, the evening tooth brushing to eliminate all food debris accumulated during the day, is more significant. In addition, the saliva flow at night is reduced, the mouth is closed and its temperature becomes ideal for the multiplication of bacteria and subsequent caries. It is also recommended to brush the teeth also in the morning because of most of the bacterium activity occurs at night, which results in bad taste and smell.

Who should brush the child’s teeth?

As a child up to the age of 7-8 years have often not mastered legible and neat handwriting, they may not have developed the motor skills to efficiently brush their own teeth. Therefore, up to this age it is recommended that the child will start brushing his teeth by himself, followed by a responsible adult to properly finish the job.
Because the morning brushing is lower in significance, the child can be allowed this one by him/herself.

What toothpaste should children use?

There is a difference in the fluoride concentration between toothpastes that are recommended for different ages. The reason is one important guideline principle.
The principle is that children under the age of 6, certainly those under the age of 2, tend to swallow the toothpaste. Therefore, the recommendation, as you’ll see below, is for different amounts of toothpaste.

The recommendation under the age of 6 is to use toothpaste with concentration of 1000 PPM in different amount according to age:
Under the age of 24 months – an amount the size of one rice grain.
Between ages 2-6 years – an amount the size of a pea.
Age 7 years and up – the guideline is to use toothpastes with concentration of 1450 PPM with the amount just covering the bristles of the brush, as for adults.
It is important to rinse the mouth after brushing.
Try to give the child the toothpaste they like the most (princesses or superheroes) in the right fluoride concentration, so that it will encourage them to brush their teeth regularly.

Which toothbrush should be used by children?

A toothbrush should be age appropriate so that the brushing will be more efficient. The younger the child, the smaller the head of the brush is in order to reach areas in the mouth that are more difficult to reach in a small mouth. In addition, the toothbrushes fibers are soft in order to prevent hurting and injuring the gums.
In recent years there has been increasing evidence for an electric toothbrush in children. This toothbrush makes the motion of brushing easier for both parents and children, one should make sure it is placed correctly on the teeth. An electric toothbrush is also a device that might help remind the child to brush his teeth. Except for its price, using it is certainly not harmful.

Should children use mouthwash?

Aside toothpastes, children over the age of 6 years can use mouthwash as this is the age when they can control spitting out the mouthwash and not accidentally swallowing it. The recommendation for mouthwash as an additional preventive measure against dental caries and as a measure to increase the concentration of fluoride in the oral cavity. Note that this is not an antiseptic mouthwash that some adults use, but mouthwashes that contain fluoride at a concentration of 230 PPM.

Is there place for using dental floss in children?

Up to the age 3.5-4 years there is no need to floss because children have gaps between their teeth. After this age these gaps start to close and then it’s the time to start flossing as toothbrushes unable to reach between the teeth. Even if a children brush their teeth twice a day with the help of an adult, there is no chance for them to reach the contact points between the teeth. Therefore, the additional use of dental floss is recommended. There is a various selection of dental floss accessories that make flossing a more pleasant experience for children.

In conclusion,even if you don’t adhere to all the recommendations listed above, the best time to make a change is today. Adopt one or two of the above recommendations and give your children the very best.