DENTAL HYGIENE FOR CHILDREN
It is always important to remember that practicing proper dental hygiene education is very important to our children’s health. Appropriate oral care should begin at an early age and continue throughout life. So, what should we teach our children? The most important steps on the way to lifelong oral health is to brush teeth every day, use fluoride-containing toothpastes, limit candies and other unhealthy sweets, and regularly visit the dentist.
Certainly, dental hygiene for children starts from a proper brushing. Teeth should be brushed for at least 3 minutes 2 times a day – morning and evening. The ideal preventive method is brushing after every meal. Floss does the job that a toothbrush cannot do. It is designed to remove food fragments and plaque from between your teeth. It is a good idea to use rinses (elixirs) to keep a child’s breath fresh , as long as it is an elixir specifically created for children and adolescents. A mouth irrigator is the only way to remove all plaque and food debris from hard-to-reach places.
Fluoride-containing toothpastes are widely used nowadays for prophylactic caries. Fluorides increase the resistance of teeth to acids produced by plaque microorganisms and inhibit the activity, increasing mineralization of enamel. Hygienists recommend these pastes for children and adults to prevent tooth decay.
In addition, a healthy lifestyle is impossible without a rational diet. Sugar affects teeth enamel badly. With the help of carbohydrates, bacteria create plaque, this process ends in production of organic acids that damage of tooth enamel. It is advisable to eat fruits and vegetables after sweet, sticky, soft foods and between meals. Therefore, we strongly advise to put some fruit and fresh salad into the child’s lunchbox.
Visiting the dentist is recommended at least twice a year. Only a professional examination by a dentist will allow you to check if the level of oral hygiene is acceptable, identify caries in its initial stages and carry out the necessary treatment and preventive procedures.