Important Times in a Child’s Dental Schedule

by: S Porter


Dental and health topics are talked about frequently in the
United States and it seems that the do’s and don’ts change on a
daily basis. We all know that we should see a dentist every six
months for preventative care because that hasn’t changed for
many years, but what about your children? Teeth are easily
maintained after they all come in and nothing else changes, but
while children grow they need several checkups to ensure long
lasting healthy teeth. What happens during the first 12 years of
your child’s life will impact their teeth for as long as they
live.



Children begin to get their baby teeth between 3 and 6 months
and it’s easy to tell when this is happening because of their
need to bite. After their baby teeth begin to come in, they can
be cleaned by a light rubbing with a wash cloth until they are 1
year old. From 1 to 7 years old, children need a soft toothbrush
and a pea sized dab of toothpaste. Dentists recommend that
children make their first trip before they are 3 years old, but
it’s time to make a decision at 1 year. If your child has high
risk factors for tooth problems, 1 year is a good time to make
your first appointment. High risk factors include; lots of
juice, going to bed with something to drink, thumb sucking and
most of all… the health of YOUR teeth.



From 6 months to about 7 years, children have their baby teeth
and they need to be treated well to last even that long.
Fluoride and calcium are chemicals that bonds to teeth and makes
them much stronger, but too much fluoride and it can cause teeth
to become brown stained. It is essential that children receive
the right amount of these chemicals and the only person
who can tell you how much is your dentist. Some parts of the
country have more naturally occurring fluoride in the water and
food supply than other parts of the country and your local
dentist will be able to tell you how much your child is getting.
Fluoride and calcium are even more important after your child’s
adult teeth come in between 6 and 7 years old. These are the
teeth they will have for the rest of their lives and
strengthening them very early on will help protect them until
they have children and grandchildren of their own.



Research has always shown that children who don’t receive proper
dental care early on have tooth problems most of their lives.
Not getting enough strengthening chemicals in their food due to
malnourishment and lack of dental care has always plagued the
poorer sections of the country and the children pay for it. Over
half of the country has no dental insurance through their
employer and dental appointments can become very expensive if
your child needs braces or has cavities. One solution to this
problem is a dental discount program like Ameriplan. In one
of these programs, dentists offer big discounts to their
patients in exchange for cash payment. These programs cost less
than $20 a month but they can cut the cost of braces in half.
Other portions of the population may get assistance through
Medicare and Medicaid, but lots of people will have to just suck
it up and pay out of pocket.



New advances in mouthwash and toothpaste can allow you to whiten
your teeth or strengthen them from the inside, but children have
no idea what they need and don’t need. It’s up to us as parents
to see to their health and dental and provide them with long,
happy and productive lives. When our children have children of
their own, most of these dental do’s and don’ts will have
changed. Until then, we can only do what we feel is best and
what we know works!



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