Healthy habits, healthy life

Establishing oral health routine early on is key to children’s long-term oral health

Children’s oral health isn’t something to joke about, but it’s something that pediatric dentist at IWK Health and Nova Scotia Dental Association president Dr. Jennifer Maclellan says is possible to have fun with.

Maclellan says forming habits early on is key to establishing a child’s long-term oral health. So how do you encourage your kids to brush their teeth? Make it an activity and join in on the fun.

“It’s important to lead by example. If caregivers make brushing a family activity and find fun and creative ways to get kids into the routine early on, that is very important,” says Maclellan.

Maclellan says dentist visits should start very early in a person’s life — either by the child’s first birthday, or within six months of their first baby tooth appearing.

“This visit is about providing prevention, hygiene and diet information, and tips and tricks on how to look after these with infants and toddlers,” says Maclellan.

Before brushing begins, caregivers should wipe children’s mouths with a clean, damp washcloth and, as soon as the first baby teeth come in, brush them with a toothbrush while wiping the rest of the mouth.

Maclellan says caregivers should brush children’s teeth twice daily. Use a grain-of-rice sized amount of fluoridated toothpaste for children under three (if recommended by your dentist) and a pea-sized amount when three and over. As children begin to do things like tie their shoes or print their name, she says they can try brushing while caregivers supervise.

“Watch they’re doing a good job, especially at night — the most important brush of the day.”

Maclellan says setting a sugary treat time once a week will limit how often sugar is eaten, and people can instead make fun, healthy snacks — fresh fruits and veggies, if available, and hard cheeses to eat daily. And remember, anything but water between meals, even watered down, can cause cavities.

“What we eat and how we eat impacts our oral health,” she says. “Tooth decay happens from eating cavity-causing food, like sugar or refined carbs, such as crackers, frequently.”

With Halloween fast approaching, Maclellan wants to remind people how eating sugar impacts oral health not just due to the amount of sugar eaten, but how often. For example, she says having five pieces of chocolate at once is safer than five one hour apart.

Use these tips to help your child form good habits early on and to protect their oral health, which is critical to overall health and wellbeing.

“If we can establish good habits early, they will carry on throughout life,” says Maclellan.

For more information on how to protect your child’s oral health, visit nsdental.org.

PHOTO CREDIT: Storyblocks photo. Helping children form habits early is key to ensuring their long-term oral health.