Baby teeth matter

Baby teeth come in between six and nine months of age. These teeth help your child eat and speak, and help adult teeth come in straight.

Even before baby teeth appear, infants need proper oral health care to help their teeth grow strong.

As a caregiver, there is a lot you can do to help your child, such as:

• Not letting your baby fall asleep at the breast or with a bottle of formula. If your baby normally falls asleep while feeding, brush his or her teeth before feeding.

• Not feeding your child juice and pop. These drinks have a lot of sugar in them, and sugar helps to form cavities. If your baby prefers to fall asleep with a bottle, fill it with water.

• Never putting sugar, honey, corn syrup, or other sweet food on a soother.

• Cleaning your baby’s mouth and teeth after all meals and snacks.

• Feeding your child healthy snacks. Vegetables, fruit, and dairy products make good snacks.

• Using a tiny smear of fluoride toothpaste to brush baby teeth twice daily as soon as they come in.

• Discussing fluoride supplements with your oral health care professional for children older than six months. If their drinking water does not contain enough fluoride, they may need fluoride supplements. Fluoride treatment in infants has been shown to reduce tooth decay by as much as 46 per cent.

It’s a good idea to get your child used to going to the dentist at an early age.

Children should have their first dental screening within six months of the first tooth coming in or by their first birthday, even though they may not have all of their teeth.

Early dental screening helps make sure your child’s teeth are growing well and are not at risk for cavities or tooth decay.

If left untreated, tooth decay in a child can cause pain, affect how adult teeth grow, or even affect speech.

The Baby Oral Health Program provides free dental screening for all children, aged 0-4, in Windsor-Essex County.

A screening by a public health dental hygienist includes a:

• Check for cavities.

• Chat about a healthy mouth and teeth.

• Fluoride treatment at no cost, if needed.

There are many benefits of a Baby Oral Health Visit, including:

• Starting your child on a lifelong path of taking good care of his or her teeth.

• Finding tooth decay and fixing it early.

• Providing parents with information on a healthy diet and how to keep your child’s mouth clean and healthy.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit provides many oral health programs that may help your child.

To find out what services are available and if your child qualifies, please call 519- 258- 2146 ext. 1199 or visit WECHU.org.

You can also connect with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit on Facebook and Twitter.

The Health Unit will be posting regular dental health tips on its social media accounts during the months of April to June.