A Page From The Diary Of A London Dentist
Kaitlin came complaining to me, “Hello Doctor! I am surprised to see cavities in teeth of my 3 year old kid.”I know that children’s dental health is one area that most families and parents today need to focus on. These days I am treating more and more younger patients having cavities in their primary teeth. So I gazed the young lady’s anxiety.
First off, I appreciated her for being a parent that she is. I know of many parents that ignore the same problem assuming that it is only to the baby teeth and that they eventually will fall out resulting in better teeth. However, they are not aware of the fact that it is far from truth. Dental experts like me would know that cavities at such age would result in several complications including loss of tooth/teeth at early age, development of crooked teeth, speech and hearing problems, and most of all poor confidence and self-image. In fact a child as young as 1 year old should make its first visit to dentist and brushing should start from 2 years of age and supervised till 6 years when the child is learned to do it on its own. I explained to the anxious mother about several factors that are contributing to this increased problem, such as an upsurge in the sugary snacks and increased use of water that is non-fluoridated. I also told her that today’s children spend little time than required for brushing.
As a dental care specialist I tried to convince her of the fact that it’s not an easy feat to imparting dental hygiene to kids of that small age but one can always try by all means to take this challenge. I gave Kaitlin some handy tips and asked her to follow them diligently and reassured her that her child will not be one to visit me frequently.
Floss regularly right from age the kid started to show eruption of first two teeth.
Emphasized on the importance of flossing the molars, as they lay closely spaced to one another than the incisors or canines.
Parents’ supervision and assistance while brushing is essential until the kid attains age of 6. Here, parents should educate their kids of right technique of brushing teeth.
Change brush once every 3 months. Additionally, change the brush if the child suffered a throat infection.
To make brushing a fun event go for kid-friendly paste flavors and give a brush that is adorned with their favorite toon characters.
Last, every parent to stand as example than mere educator. Brush two times daily. Gargle after every snacking.
Kaitlin left my room convinced.
