Battle Bacteria with Brushing

Battle Bacteria with Brushing

Your child’s mouth contains billions of bacteria—some helpful and some harmful. There are more than 700 different types of microbes that call the mouth their home, and just one tooth can host as many as 500 million bacteria. While some bacteria actually help control the development of cavity-causing plaque, others can cause tooth decay and periodontal (gum) disease if the teeth and gums are not cleaned regularly and properly.

The best way to keep your child from developing cavities and infected gums is to make sure he or she brushes twice a day (the best times are after breakfast and before bedtime). This will keep bacteria populations in check and minimize the risk of tooth decay and periodontal disease.

Passing up snacks and brushing after having one are obvious preventive measures. Here are a few other important guidelines your child should follow to make sure the risks of tooth decay and periodontal disease are minimized:

• Have your child brush all of his or her teeth, not just the front ones, spending some time on the side and back teeth and brushing for two to three minutes. Use a timer or a song to keep track of the time.
• Your child should use a soft-bristled brush. Replace it every three to four months—earlier if bristles show signs of wear. If your child becomes ill, replace the brush when your child recovers.
• After brushing, have your child rinse his or her toothbrush with warm water and dry it in the open air—not in a closed container, which can enable bacteria to multiply. And don’t clean toothbrushes in a dishwasher or in the microwave, both of which can damage bristles.
• Talk to us about swishing with an antiplaque mouth rinse and mild pediatric mouthwash, which can help reduce harmful bacteria that can cause decay and gum disease.
• Although gum disease is not contagious, harmful bacteria can be spread from one person to another. Thus, not sharing toothbrushes, lip balm or gloss, water bottles, musical instruments or any personal item that comes in contact with the mouth is important.

Of course, one of the best ways to make sure your child’s teeth remain healthy is to schedule—and keep—regular dental checkups at KiDDS Dental. Pediatric dental care is essential to help your child avoid dental problems in adulthood. Establishing good oral health habits saves time, money and headaches in the short and long run, so it is never too early to start your child on the road to optimum oral health.

If you have questions about your child's oral health, click here to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jared. Or give us a call at (509)-891-7070.

Balance Cavity Causers with Cavity Fighters

Balance Cavity Causers with Cavity Fighters

During infancy, children go through a stage when they try to stick into their mouths almost anything they can get their hands on. While children eventually learn the difference between plastic blocks and actual food, that doesn’t mean everything that’s edible belongs in their mouths. Some foods help children’s teeth grow healthy and strong. Others rot them away. It’s important to know the difference.

Cavity Fighters—Consume a Lot of These!

• Fluoridated water: Easily available in most areas and an essential part of a child’s diet, fluoridated water helps prevent cavities and keeps your child hydrated.
• Milk, yogurt, cheese and other dairy foods: The calcium, phosphates and vitamin D found in dairy products all promote strong and healthy teeth. Even better, calcium can actually form a barrier on top of the tooth that protects it from acids that cause cavities.
• Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables: These versatile foods are not only good for your child’s mouth but they also serve as an effective alternative to some of the “cavity causers” listed below. Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables stimulate the flow of saliva that washes away the acids and food particles that lead to cavities. And as a bonus, these foods will freshen your child’s breath.
• Xylitol gum: As a sweetener in sugar-free chewing gum, xylitol shows great promise for cavity prevention because the bacteria present in the mouth cannot use xylitol to grow. With xylitol use, fewer decay-causing bacteria survive on tooth surfaces, less plaque forms and the level of acids attacking the tooth surfaces decreases. When purchasing sugar-free gum, check the list of ingredients. If xylitol is listed first, the amount will be at decay-preventing levels.

Cavity Causers—Avoid These!

• Sugar-sweetened chewing gum, caramel, taffy and other sticky candies: Not only do these foods contain lots of sugars but they actually stick to your child’s teeth and cause his or her mouth to fill with acidic bacteria that rot the teeth.
• Soft drinks and fruit juices: These beverages are full of sugar and take a long time to drink, thus remaining in your child’s mouth long enough to create an ideal environment for cavities to develop.
• Citrus fruits: Citrus is incredibly acidic. And acid eats teeth. Don’t let your child suck on these fruits or keep them in his or her mouth for long periods.

Being smart about what your child eats is important, but it’s not enough. If you want to do everything you can to fight cavities, bring your child in to KiDDS Dental on a regular basis.

Dr. Jared would love to answer any further questions regarding your child's oral health. Call us to schedule an appointment today! 509-891-7070.

Baby Those Baby Teeth

Baby Those Baby Teeth

Baby teeth (properly called primary teeth) usually all fall out by the time your child is about 12 years old. Most, in fact, are gone years earlier. So, if baby teeth inhabit your child’s mouth for a relatively short time, why is their health so vitally important? The dental experts at WebMD recently provided some answers.

Healthy primary teeth

• provide your child’s mouth and face with an essential element of “normal” appearance
• keep spaces available for the permanent teeth to later erupt in their correct positions
• are essential for speech development and clarity
• let your child chew properly, which makes getting good nutrition easier
• help ensure that the permanent teeth will emerge in a healthy condition

Untreated decay in baby teeth can harm the permanent teeth growing beneath the gumline. If baby teeth are lost too soon because of decay, the adult teeth may grow in crooked or spaced too closely together. What’s more, untreated decay (also called cavities or caries) causes pain and can progress into an abscess that can cause infection to spread to other areas of your child’s body.

Preventing decay is relatively simple. The key: Limit contact between your child’s teeth and liquid carbohydrates—in other words, drinks with sugar. These include not only drinks like soda but also fruit juices, milk, formula and sweetened water.

Avoid laying your baby down for the night or a nap with a bottle that contains anything but plain water. The most common cause of decay in baby teeth occurs when the child is put to bed with a milk- or formula-filled bottle. In fact, early childhood caries is frequently called baby bottle tooth decay.

Before his or her first birthday, transition your child from a bottle to a sippy cup. This helps prevent liquids from settling on the teeth. Even with a sippy cup, however, sugary beverages are still less desirable than plain water. Resist adding sugar to food, and avoid coating a pacifier with sugar or honey.

Finally, after your child eats or drinks, wipe his or her gums with a wet cloth or gauze. Start using a toothbrush once the teeth erupt. This helps remove residue that can develop into bacteria-laden plaque, a precursor to decay.

Taking care of baby teeth helps ensure healthy adult teeth. See Dr. Jared as soon as the first baby tooth erupts or by the age of 12 months. It’s never too early to start good oral care.

If you have questions about good oral care, click here to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jared. Or give us a call at (509)-891-7070.