From the very birth of a child, he should be taught the rules of hygiene. Every day, to wash, brush teeth and cut nails, all these things for a child should become a habit. Based on this, it is necessary to teach a child to cleanliness from an early age. With the appearance of the first teeth in a child, somewhere around 6-8 months, caring parents begin to think about when to start brushing their children. And many more different questions accompany parents in this topic, for example, how to properly brush teeth to a baby, do it yourself or wait for the child to do it himself, and how to teach him how to do it.
Dentists and pediatricians are advised to care for baby teeth from the time when they appear. Many parents are mistaken, believing that they don’t need care for their milk teeth, because they will fall out anyway, and then the permanent ones will grow. It is necessary to remember that the health and strength of permanent teeth are directly dependent on the state of dairy ones.
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When should you start?
So, the question of when to start brushing a child’s teeth can be safely answered - from the time they appear. It is necessary to accustom to the process gradually:
- At first, parents should brush their teeth and teach them the process, and from 1.5-2 years old, crumbs can do it themselves.
- But up to 4-5 years it will not work very well in kids. And it is desirable that parents clean their teeth to children again.
Somewhere to 2 years old, the child already has about 20 teeth, and often, many teeth need to be treated. This is due to the fact that many babies start brushing their teeth after 2-3 years.
Oral cavity care until teeth appear
Until the baby has first teeth, gums need to be cleaned with napkins. Approaching the time when it will be possible to brush the teeth of the baby with a brush, you need to use toothpaste. Today there is a huge range of children's cleaning products that can be used for a child from birth. Their composition, as a rule, does not include fluorine and other hazardous substances. As a result, they are safe for the child, because the baby sometimes swallows toothpaste.
How to brush your teeth?
So, now you need to figure out how to properly brush your child's teeth. If you brush your baby's teeth, then take a gauze for this process and soak it first in warm boiled water.
Care depends on age:
- When the baby reaches one year old, you can get for it a toothbrush with rubber spikes.
- If the child has more than 12 milk teeth, you can start using a soft artificial bristled brush.
- If not 2 years old, it is better not to use toothpastes.
Little children need to constantly ensure oral hygiene despite the number of teeth. He should get used to the feeling of cleanliness in the oral cavity, and this is possible if from the moment your teeth cut out you started to care for them. At such an early age, the child is not able to do it himself, so he cannot do without the help of parents. The child should have its own toothbrush with rubber spikes.
Brush your teeth gently, gently, undulating and circular movements. Do everything so as not to injure the gums and the enamel of the teeth is not damaged.If he doesn’t like to brush his teeth and he doesn’t give it, then use a toothbrush with elastic bristles that can be put on an adult's finger. Or use the usual gauze moistened in saline.
How to teach a child to brush teeth and teach him
First show your child how to brush their teeth. Dab a toothbrush in boiled water and then move it over the baby's teeth. When a child becomes interested in this process, then let him do it himself. At the same time help him directing arm movements. Continue to do this until the child understands and reinforces the skill of brushing teeth. As a rule, by 2 years old the baby can brush his teeth himself, but only under the supervision of parents.
For more interest in brushing your teeth, choose different colored brushes of different shapes. There are also those who are able to teach how to properly care for your teeth. For example, there are toothbrushes that make a sound with vertical movements, and with horizontal ones - no. That is, if you clean your teeth properly, there will be a sound. There are also brushes that can change color after three minutes of use, because you need to brush your teeth for 2-3 minutes.
If the baby refuses the procedure?
Sometimes it happens that a child does not want to brush his teeth. What to do in this situation? Naturally, each parent will need to make a little effort and make this procedure as joyful and interesting as possible. Find an individual approach, with the help of which it would be possible to motivate a child to brush their teeth daily. Find special songs or rhymes, under which you could have fun and rhythmically brush your teeth, moving the brush. Do this for a child with something like a game, for example, you can brush your teeth on a toy. If the child is interested in this, then he will be happy to wait for the next cleaning of the teeth.
It is necessary to remember that constant oral hygiene is the key to success in the prevention of caries and its subsequent complications. And this, you see, is important for healthy teeth.
Toothpaste selection
Choosing toothpaste for your baby is not easy. Very often parents buy a toothbrush and toothpaste together. This is considered to be wrong. To begin with, the child must understand how to properly brush his teeth and rinse his mouth. The baby should remember and learn that water should be spit out in the sinkrather than swallow. An example of this, of course, will be the mom and dad of the baby. When the child understands all the details of this procedure, then you can buy him toothpaste. Most often this happens at the age of more than 2 years.
It is important to opt for the right toothpaste. And to do it now is not so easy. Today, there are so many different brands of pastes, and in most cases, people buy, making a reference point on the TV. Based on various commercials and television shows, we know that toothpaste should have fluoride in its composition.
However, a large number of studies have shown that even though fluoride strengthens the teeth, it also negatively affects the body when it is used regularly, poison the body. This is very important for children. Because kids in most cases swallow water, and do not spit it out. Moreover, if the toothpaste comes with some kind of fruit flavor, then the children will be happy to deceive their parents. If fluoride constantly enters the body of a child, then it can cause fluorosis, that is, a disease of the teeth from an overabundance of fluoride.
Based on this, when choosing a toothpaste for a child, pay attention to presence of fluorine in its composition. It may not be there at all or in a very small dose (no more than 50 mg per 100 g). Naturally, in modern times no one will refuse fluorine. It will still be added to toothpastes, only in a different dose, corresponding to the age of the person. So pay attention to the age at which you can use toothpaste.For the smallest babies, choose those that are written from birth or 1-2 years old. It is also not recommended to buy toothpastes with a healing or whitening effect, because they have elements in their composition that are not advised for a child’s body.
When a child turns 2 years old, it’s recommended start visiting a pediatric dentist. The doctor will talk in detail about the proper care of the child’s teeth, find and see the problem in time, and solve it. Only in no case do not frighten the baby with a dentist, they say you will not brush your teeth - let's go to the dentist and he will drill your tooth and put a filling. This will negatively affect the attitude of the child to the doctor both now and in the future. Always try to brush your baby’s teeth and rinse the mouth after eating sweets or other sweets.
Remember that caring and attentive attitude to the teeth of the baby is the key to a beautiful smile in the future. And also do not forget that the child takes an example from parents, daily watching them, as they care for their teeth.
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