Are Your Baby’s Teeth Healthy?

Posted December 8, 2016

Now that your bundle of joy has come home from the hospital, your house is likely a bustle of feedings and diaper changes, and all the adjustments that come with being a parent of a newborn. Over the next few months, your baby will be growing daily and changing faster than you can believe, and one of the changes you will see is your baby’s first few teeth erupting. While it might be tempting to ignore their dental health, knowing those baby teeth will fall out eventually, it is actually incredibly important to care for your child’s baby teeth, and your pediatric dentist can help you understand why.

Do Baby Teeth Need Dental Care?

Babies cannot be born with adult-sized teeth, because their jaws are not yet large enough to support them. So, they are born with baby teeth, instead. While these might seem unnecessary, especially at first, before your child is even eating solid food, baby teeth actually serve several incredibly important functions. First, they make chewing possible. Secondly, they help to serve as placeholders for adult teeth. Thirdly, baby teeth can actually help to prevent infection of the gums.

How Can You Preserve Your Kids’ Smiles?

You can help to care for your child’s oral health even before the teeth appear, by gently wiping his or her gums after feedings, with a soft, clean cloth. Then, as teeth begin to appear, you can begin gently brushing them with a baby-sized toothbrush. Initially you will not even need toothpaste, but as your child grows you will want to choose a grain-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. They also need to see the dentist at least twice a year, starting around their first birthdays.