News And Events

Care of Your Child’s Teeth & Gums 

Good Diet = Healthy Teeth

All Katy preventive dental treatments promote healthy eating patterns to get healthy teeth. As prevention is key for good oral health a balanced diet will help your child achieve those goals. We recommend food variety and healthy oriented options for your children’s diet. Avoiding as much sugar as possible, specially for snacks, as it can lead to cavities. Washing your child’s teeth after meals I also a major factor in the prevention of tooth decay. Avoid constant snacking and when eating, make wise choices and go for nutritious foods. Vegetables, low sugary treats, low-fat yoghurt/cheese, are always healthy, easy and available options for your little one.

How Do I Prevent Cavities?

Good oral hygiene removes bacteria and leftover food particles that combine to create cavities. For infants, use a wet gauze or clean washcloth to wipe the plaque from teeth and gums. Avoid putting your child to bed with a bottle filled with anything other than water. See “Baby Bottle Tooth Decay” for more information.

For children with teeth, brush their teeth at least twice a day with a fluoridated toothpaste. Also, watch the number of snacks containing sugar that you give your children.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends visits every six months to the pediatric dentist, beginning at your child’s first birthday. Routine visits will start your child on a lifetime of good dental health. Your pediatric dentist may also recommend protective sealants or home fluoride treatments for your child. Sealants can be applied to your child’s molars to prevent decay on hard to clean surfaces.

Seal Out Decay

A sealant is a clear or white dental material that is applied to the chewing surfaces (grooves) of the back teeth (premolars and molars), where four out of five cavities in children are found. This sealant acts as a barrier to food, plaque and acid, thus protecting the decay-prone areas of the teeth. Most recent studies show an 80% decrease in pit and fissure cavities when sealants are placed and kept up to date. Sealants are not permanent. They wear over time with chewing and need to be replaced every 2-3 years.

Fluoride

Fluoride is an element, which has been shown to be beneficial to teeth. However, too little or too much fluoride can be detrimental to the teeth. Little or no fluoride will not strengthen the teeth to help them resist cavities. Excessive fluoride ingestion by preschool-aged children or younger can lead to dental fluorosis, which is a chalky white to even brown discoloration of the permanent teeth. Being aware of a child’s potential sources of fluoride can help parents prevent the possibility of dental fluorosis.

Some of these sources are:

Too much fluoridated toothpaste at an early age, such as ingesting an entire tube of toothpaste in one setting.

The inappropriate use of fluoride supplements.

Hidden sources of fluoride in the child’s diet.

Two and three-year-olds may like the taste of the toothpaste and ingest the entire tube. Toothpaste ingestion during this critical period of permanent tooth development is the greatest risk factor in the development of fluorosis. Your child will not develop fluorosis from swallowing paste from brushing. There must be excessive ingestion. Excessive and inappropriate intake of fluoride supplements may also contribute to fluorosis. Fluoride drops and tablets, as well as fluoride fortified vitamins, should not be given to infants younger than six months of age. After that time, fluoride supplements should only be given to children after all of the sources of ingested fluoride have been accounted for and upon the recommendation of your paediatrician or pediatric dentist in Katy.

Certain foods contain high levels of fluoride, especially powdered concentrate infant formula, soy-based infant formula, infant dry cereals, creamed spinach, and infant chicken products. Please read the label or contact the manufacturer. Some beverages also contain high levels of fluoride, especially decaffeinated teas, white grape juices, and juice drinks manufactured in fluoridated cities. All of this is important to know when it comes to dentistry for your children.

Parents can take the following steps to decrease the risk of fluorosis in their children’s teeth:

Place only a grain of rice sized (younger than 3 years) or a pea-sized (3 years or older) amount of fluoridated toothpaste on the brush when brushing.

Account for all of the sources of ingested fluoride before requesting fluoride supplements from your child’s physician or pediatric dentist.

Avoid giving any fluoride-containing supplements to infants until they are at least 6 months old.

Obtain fluoride level test results for your drinking water before giving fluoride supplements to your child (check with local water utilities).

Mouth Guards

When a child begins to participate in recreational activities and organized sports, injuries can occur. A properly fitted mouthguard, or mouth protector, is an important piece of athletic gear that can help protect your child’s smile and should be used during any activity that could result in a blow to the face or mouth, preventing any dental emergencies.

Mouthguards help prevent broken teeth, and injuries to the lips, tongue, face or jaw. A properly fitted mouth guard will stay in place while your child is wearing it, making it easy for them to talk and breathe.

Ask your pediatric dentist about custom and store-bought mouth protectors.

Beware of Sports Drinks

Due to the high sugar content and acids in sports drinks, they have erosive potential and the ability to dissolve even fluoride-rich enamel, which can lead to cavities.

To minimize dental problems, children should avoid sports drinks and hydrate with water before, during and after sports. Talk to our pediatric dentists, Dr Elizabeth Chen or Dr Sheryl Hunter Griffith before using sports drinks.

If sports drinks are consumed:

reduce the frequency and contact time

swallow immediately and do not swish them around the mouth

neutralize the effect of sports drinks by alternating sips of water with the drink

rinse mouthguards only in water

seek out dentally friendly sports drinks