May 15: Oral Health for Your Baby and Child

BY NICHOLE:

For the Moms:

Oral health for your baby begins at birth and continues throughout their life by the patterns that parents set.

One of things we discussed was baby bottle tooth decay. When babies are put to sleep with a bottle, the milk pools in their mouth and decays the enamel. Here are some picture of the different stages.

We also talked about thumb-sucking/and pacifier use.

It is best to try to kick the habit earlier than later. My dental hygiene books said to get rid of the soother at 3 months, because they only need it for comfort for their first 3 months, but I found with my 3 kids they needed it till they were 6-7 months and then I could take it away. It is always hard, but easier to do it when they are younger than older. It can also cause the teeth to form incorrectly and deform the jaw structure. I also never let my kids suck their thumbs and take out the thumb whenever I saw them putting it in their mouth. There are findings that show the soother does more damage than thumb sucking, but you can't take a thumb away.

Make sure to set a good example for your children and spend time taking care of their teeth. It will make them have a happier smile their whole life.

For other information: here is one link I found for your baby/child about how to have good oral health, that will set a pattern for their whole life.

www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile19a.stm

For the Tots:

We did a cow craft, frankly out of convience for me; nothing to do with teeth. I needed to have a farm craft for the next day for something else and just added a few more to my pile. So we used foam sponges and made spotted cows. This was the picture we used, which was brought to my attention that this cow has some problems: horns for a male and udder for a female, which one is it? Who knows, but the kids had a fun time.