Two Steps That You Can Take to Keep Your Child's Teeth and Gums Healthy

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If you are concerned about your child's dental health, here are two steps that you can take to keep their teeth and gums healthy.

Talk to a family dentist about fixing your child's crooked teeth

If your child's permanent teeth have emerged and seem to be quite crooked, you should consider speaking to one of your local family dentists about this issue. Having crooked teeth won't just affect the appearance of your child's smile. It could also increase their risk of experiencing dental health issues in the future.

This is because plaque bacteria and tiny specks of food can get caught in the space between two crooked teeth. Due to the fact that this space is often very small, your child may not be able to remove all of the aforementioned bacteria and food with their toothbrush or a piece of floss.

This can lead to two problems. Firstly, the combination of the bacteria and the rancid food particles may result in your child suffering from chronic halitosis. This could affect their self-confidence and may negatively impact them when they socialise with their peers in school.

Secondly, the residual bacteria will eventually erode the tooth enamel. This could cause permanent sensitivity issues in the affected teeth and create cavities that would then need to be filled (to prevent further decay and subsequent tooth loss). The bacteria could also inflame their gums and thus put them at risk of gum disease.

These problems can be avoided if your family dentist refers your son or daughter to an orthodontist so that they can get braces fitted. Braces will slowly realign your child's crooked teeth, and in doing so, help to prevent the above-mentioned problems from occurring.

Be mindful of what you put into their lunchbox

It is very important to be mindful of what you put in your child's lunchbox each day. Ideally, you should avoid including any sugary items (including fruit) in their packed lunches. If you want to have some fruit at some point during the day, you should give them some either in the morning or when they come home at night.

The reason for this is as follows; like most children, your son or daughter probably brushes their teeth after eating their breakfast and their dinner. This means that any sugar they consume during these particular meals does not remain on the surface of their teeth for very long and, as such, does not inflict too much damage.

Conversely, after your child eats their lunch at school, they probably won't brush their teeth. As such, the remnants of any sugary snacks that they eat at this time will stay on their teeth for several hours. During this time, the bacterial plaque in their mouth will use this sugar as a food source and end up excreting acids that will destroy your child's tooth enamel and increase their chances of getting cavities in the future.

As such, it is best to simply avoid putting any sugar-rich snacks in your child's lunchbox.


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