Not every parent considers it necessary to care for their baby's milk teeth, believing that sooner or later they will fall out anyway. However, this is fundamentally a misconception that can lead to serious problems in the future. It is best to start taking care of your teeth from the moment they appear.
For a child up to one year old, parents themselves can massage the gums and wipe the first teeth with gauze wrapped around their finger. You can also use a special silicone pimple brush. Closer to the year, it will be possible to offer the baby to pick up a brush on his own and try to brush his teeth.
Start instilling in your child the habit of brushing your teeth in the morning and evening, showing by example that you do it too. Demonstrate brushing techniques to your child regularly; show him how to hold the brush correctly, how much paste to squeeze on it, etc. Over time, brushing will become a habit, and the baby will reach for toothpaste with a brush on his own.
Choosing a toothbrush
Children's toothbrushes can be roughly divided into the following categories:
- for kids from 0 to 2 years old;
- for children from 3 to 6 years old;
- for children of school age;
- for teenagers.
According to dentists, it is necessary to choose a toothbrush based on the quality of its bristles. It can be either natural or synthetic. Natural brushes now practically do not exist, since in practice they turned out to be very unhygienic (a large number of various microorganisms began to multiply in them), in addition, such brushes split too quickly and failed. The most preferable synthetic brush is a rounded shape, which allows you to carefully care for both the teeth and gums of the child. In addition, the bristles should be soft if you choose to brush for milk teeth for a child under 6 years old.
But even if your child's teeth have not yet erupted, you need to take care of proper gum care. For such babies under the age of 2 years, special silicone fingertip brushes are produced, with which it is recommended to massage the baby's gums, helping them to more easily endure further teething.
For an older child, it is recommended to choose a brush that is as comfortable as possible for the child's hand. Their rubberized handle is usually slightly thicker than those used on adult brushes to keep the child's hand as comfortable as possible. The purchase of a brush in the form of animals, plants and cartoon characters should be abandoned for a while until the child learns to care for his teeth on his own.
Don't neglect simple hygiene rules. Before the first use, the brush must be doused with boiling water. In addition, both adult and children's brushes must be replaced every 3-5 months. For the convenience of parents, some brushes have a special color indicator, the color change of which will tell you that it is time to change the brush.
Choosing a toothpaste
The choice of toothpaste must be taken no less seriously. Pay attention to whether the paste you choose contains fluoride. When purchasing a paste for a child under 2 years old, you should refrain from buying pastes containing fluoride. The fact is that such a kid still does not know how to properly rinse his mouth after brushing his teeth and swallows most of the paste. And fluorine, in turn, getting into a child's body in large quantities, can cause irreparable harm, even cases of death are known.
In addition, baby paste should not contain abrasive substances, so as not to damage the delicate baby enamel.
If you want to buy a "healthy" paste, choose one that contains: propolis, myrrh, aloe vera, tea tree oil, chamomile, lemon balm, mint.
It is not worth purchasing a paste for everyday use, aimed, for example, at treating bleeding gums, especially without first consulting a pediatrician or dentist. The fact is that such pastes may contain potent substances and preparations (such as triclosan) that cannot be used on an ongoing basis.
