Dental Problems In Kids

     Dental cavities are the most common chronic health problems in children. They are 5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever. They are especially common in lower-income families. While access to dental care is a problem – a study in 2012 reported that less than half of children on Medicaid received a routine dental visit in 2008 - the consumption of sugary drinks is prevalent in all levels of society and those drinks are one of the main sources of dental disease.   

     As common as dental problems are, they are easily preventable. The first problem is the “bow-mouth” gap between the upper and lower front teeth which is caused by a toddler having a pacifier in his mouth all day long,  This doesn’t actually cause cavities, but it is a frequent concern for parents. A pacifier is a wonderful way to settle a baby down and, in the first six months of life, parents should allow pacifiers at any time.  But, after six months of age, infants will grab anything nearby and chew on it, so it is a perfect time to stop the daytime pacifier habit. The six month-old is still allowed to have a pacifier as much as he wants at nap-time and night-time to settle down, but during the day the pacifier “disappears”. If you don’t give your infant a day-time pacifier, he won’t develop the habit, won’t ask for it during the day and you will never have a pacifier problem.

     The most important thing parents can do to prevent cavities is to limit sugar-containing drinks to being milk at meals. Feedings during the night with breast milk or formula coat the teeth with sugar that then sits for hours. After one year of age, infants rarely need feedings during the night and usually only want to suck on something to go to sleep with. That can be a pacifier or a bottle of water, but parents should avoid milk, formula or juice at night. During the day, many toddlers suck on a bottle or sippy-cup of milk or juice all day long or are continually snacking on goldfish or fruit snacks. This constant exposure to sugar rapidly creates cavities that can often lead to expensive and painful surgery by age two. Again, the way to prevent these cavities is to give milk with meals, give water to drink between meals and to eliminate juice from the toddler’s diet.  Rather than giving your child “100% real fruit juice”, give 100% real fruit.

     Finally, after the first teeth erupt, brush the toddlers teeth with a small (grain of rice sized) amount of toothpaste twice a day. Now that there is fluoride in most toothpastes and rinses, adding fluoride to drinking water has become less important. Fluoride treatments are helpful and can be applied in many primary care physicians’ offices.

     When thinking about a toddler’s health, it is common to overlook the teeth, but that oversight can lead to long-term problems.