Good oral health habits formed in childhood last a lifetime. As a parent, you have enormous influence over your child’s relationship with dental care \u2014 from the foods they eat to how they feel about visiting the dentist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Begin cleaning your baby’s gums with a damp cloth before teeth even appear. The first tooth typically arrives around six months of age \u2014 start brushing with a smear of fluoride toothpaste immediately. The first dental visit should happen by the first birthday or within six months of the first tooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many parents assume baby teeth are not important because they fall out anyway. In reality, baby teeth hold the space for permanent teeth and play a critical role in speech development and chewing. Decay in baby teeth can spread to developing permanent teeth beneath them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frequent exposure to sugar is the primary driver of childhood decay. This includes fruit juice, flavoured milk, and frequent snacking. Limiting sugary drinks to mealtimes, offering water between meals, and never putting a baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice dramatically reduces decay risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deep grooves on the back molars are the most cavity-prone surfaces in children’s mouths. Fissure sealants are a thin plastic coating painted into these grooves, effectively sealing out food and bacteria. They are quick, painless, and highly effective when applied at the right time (soon after the adult molars erupt).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bring your child to your own dental appointments as an observer before their first check-up. Use positive language \u2014 avoid words like “pain,” “needle,” or “drill.” Many paediatric dentists use tell-show-do techniques and reward systems to build trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dental anxiety in adulthood almost always traces back to early experiences. A gentle, positive introduction to dental care is one of the most valuable gifts you can give your child.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Good oral health habits formed in childhood last a lifetime. As a parent, you have enormous influence over your child’s relationship with dental care \u2014 from the foods they eat to how they feel about visiting the dentist. When to Start Begin cleaning your baby’s gums with a damp cloth before teeth even appear. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-paediatric-dentistry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.chandruthemes.com\/dentabeam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}