5 Myths About Children's Teeth

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Myths about your child's health can cause some serious, detrimental problems to their health, whether it be in the present or somewhere down the line in your child's future. Many people seem to be negligent regarding tooth care for their child for a host of speculative reasons. Most of the reasons are sadly unfounded. This article will serve to debunk some of the myths that are spread about children's teeth, many of which, sadly, have contributed to a serious lack of oral care in numerous children.

Baby Teeth Aren't Important

It seems that a number of people are convinced that baby teeth are not important since they will eventually fall out anyway. Yes, it is true that all 20 of your children's baby teeth will eventually fall out. No, it is not true that they are unimportant! Baby teeth do not fall out willy nilly, for no reason at all, and at no specific time. Rather, there is usually an approximate time that baby teeth fall out. If the baby teeth fall out early, this can cause overcrowding among the child's adult teeth. Additionally, by not keeping track of your child's tooth care, they can develop painful abscesses and cavities, the pain and health issues of which can continue to haunt them well into adulthood.

My Child Can Brush His Or Her Own Teeth

While it may appear that your child can brush his or her own teeth, this is not usually the case. Although the front teeth usually pose no problem for children, there are a variety of hard to reach places in the mouth, especially the back, that children have a relatively difficult time reaching. Most children, in fact, do not develop the manual dexterity to brush these hard to reach areas until they are in 2nd or 3rd grade. Here is a general rule of thumb: until they learn cursive writing, they can't adequately brush their own teeth.

Cavities Easily Develop In Children

If you are keeping up with your child's dental hygiene, he or she should absolutely not be developing cavities. Many parents are under the impression that cavities can easily develop in the mouth of a child because their enamel is soft. Nothing can be further from the truth. Enamel, even in the body of the child, is one of the hardest substances that the body produces. If a child is developing cavities, it is because you are not providing adequate dental hygiene for him or her.

My Child Does Not Need To Visit The Dentist Until He Or She Starts School

This myth stems from the larger myth that a child's baby teeth are unimportant and that real dental hygiene starts when their adult teeth grow in. A child should start visiting a dentist once he or she shows signs of growing teeth. There are numerous reasons for this. The dentist can check to make sure that all of the child's teeth are growing in properly, they can make sure that no cavities are present in the teeth that are growing in, and perhaps most importantly, they can begin to establish a rapport that will last through your child's childhood on into young adulthood.

It Is Alright To Soothe My Child To Sleep With A Bottle Of Milk

There is a partial truth to this. It is acceptable to soothe your child to sleep with a bottle of milk, but, as with juices, don't overdo it. Milk has plenty of sugar content in it, which, when exposed to enamel, can negatively affect the tooth and begin the process that causes cavities.

There are plenty of myths out there regarding a child's oral hygiene. A good rule of thumb is if it seems suspect, then ask your pediatric dentist whether there is any truth to the subject matter or not.


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