Dental care is important throughout all stages of life, but not many people truly realize just how critical it is to prioritize and develop proper oral health habits from childhood. Children with poor oral health are three times more likely to miss school as a result of dental pain, and what’s worse is that according to the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, 51 million school hours are lost each year due to a dental-related illness. While there are many common mistakes that parents make when starting their kids on a dental regimen, it’s relatively easy to avoid them and keep your child on track for a lifetime of positive oral health. Here are just a few of the most common pediatric dentistry mistakes and how to avoid them.
Beverages like fruit juices may seem healthy, especially if they’re labeled as 100% fruit juice. But they’re still loaded with sugars and citric acid that naturally eat away at the teeth — not so healthy after all. Keep your child’s juice intake limited, and instead, try to get them to drink more water and dairy or nondairy milk. Dried fruit snacks and chewable vitamins can cause the same issue, but beverages often play the biggest role in children’s overall sugar consumption.
Many idealistic parents like to think that their children are perfectly capable of doing a sufficient job at brushing their teeth, but many times, they’ll take shortcuts or have bad technique. It’s always best to take the time to supervise your child as they brush their teeth to prevent bad habits from forming or affecting oral health.
The bottom line is that while adult teeth typically don’t start to come in until around age six, baby teeth act as placeholders for the permanent teeth, and damage to them can cause substantial problems later. Preventing these mistakes can help your child understand the importance of proper dental care throughout all stages of life. For more information about a family dentist, contact Smilez Pediatric Dental Group.
