The smile of a child
Taking care of oral hygiene from an early age is crucial for the health and proper development of your child. How to take care of it depends on the age of your child.
Before the appearance of the first tooth (up to about 6 months of life)
Taking care of the oral health of a child should begin in the first few months of life. This will not only keep hygiene, but also accustom the child to the procedures in this part of the body.
What should we do? Every evening, before putting the child to bed, we should clean the mucosa and gum walls of the child. We can do this with the help of special accessories that are friendly to babies. For this purpose, for example, silicone pads can be used, which are placed on our index finger.
Why is this important? Regular cleaning of the oral cavity in a toddler allows you to keep it clean, which is extremely important for the health of teeth and gums. In addition, early introduction of the child to the ritual of taking care of the oral cavity helps him to get used to such procedures and makes it easier to care for teeth and gums later.
After the appearance of the first tooth (0.5 - 2 years)
We recommend using a soft toothbrush with a small head, smoothly rounded bristles and a comfortable grip for the parent to clean the teeth of a child of this age. Such a toothbrush is the best for the delicate oral cavity of a baby. Remember to clean the surfaces of the teeth thoroughly, removing any food residues and gently massaging the gums.
Up to 3 years of age, it is recommended to use toothpaste with a content of 1000 ppm (i.e. very small amounts) of fluoride. Fluoride has a positive effect on the structure of enamel. It helps to prevent tooth decay by inhibiting demineralization of enamel, affecting the metabolism of bacteria and supporting remineralization, making teeth more resistant to tooth decay.
Pay attention to the fact that the paste has a neutral taste, so that the child does not have problems with its acceptance. Remember that up to 3 years of age, the excess toothpaste should be removed from the teeth with a damp gauze.
Remember to brush your teeth in the morning and evening. If the child is breastfed or formula-fed, brush your teeth after the night feeding, but use toothpaste without fluoride, e.g. with toothpaste containing xylitol.
Oral hygiene in a preschool child (3 - 6 years)
For the basic hygiene of the oral cavity of a preschooler, you can use a toothbrush (manual, electric or sonic) and toothpaste. A manual toothbrush should have a small head and soft, rounded bristles.
Apply toothpaste with a concentration of 1000 ppm of fluoride. Apply in an amount corresponding to the size of a pea. Teach your child to spit out the toothpaste, not swallow it. Swallowing a larger amount of toothpaste with fluoride can cause white spots to form on the teeth.
Up to 7-8 years of age, you should brush your child’s teeth, while teaching him to brush his teeth independently.
Brush your child’s teeth in the morning and evening. Additionally, you can use an irrigator and floss. The irrigator will allow you to clean the interdental spaces and massage the gums thanks to the jet of water under pressure. The floss is great for cleaning interdental spaces. The threads also provide substances with an anti-decay (fluoride) or antibacterial (chlorhexidine) effect.
An easy brushing technique is the Fones method (circular movements). Set the bristles of the brush perpendicular to the long axis of the teeth, then make circular movements, cleaning the buccal and labial surfaces of the teeth. On the chewing surfaces of the teeth, make horizontal brushing movements.
Another method is the rolling technique (roll). Use it at the time of the eruption of the first molar tooth. Direct the bristles of the toothbrush gingivally at an angle of 45° to the surface of the tooth and make rolling movements from the gum towards the chewing surface. The chewing surfaces are cleaned by brushing movements.
Tooth brushing in school-age children (7 - 14 years)
Children of this age should be able to take care of the cleanliness of their oral cavity themselves. They can use manual, electric or sonic toothbrushes to brush their teeth. It is important that the toothpaste contains 1500 ppm of fluoride and that it is applied in an amount of 1-2 cm to the toothbrush.
The child should brush his teeth at least twice a day – in the morning and in the evening.
Additionally, at this age, we can use mouthwashes. Fluoride mouthwashes help to strengthen tooth enamel. However, remember to use fluoride mouthwashes at a different time than brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste, so as not to exceed the recommended amount of fluoride for children. Chlorhexidine mouthwashes are used therapeutically, recommended by a dentist in case of specific problems.