How to prevent cavities in my child’s teeth?

This is one of the most commonly asked from parents, irrespective of the age of the child. This article discusses prevention of dental decay depending on the age of the child.

When should I first take my child to the dentist? 🤔

As soon as the first tooth erupts, or by the first birthday, whichever is earlier! Regular follow up visits, depending on the caries risk of the child, play a major role in prevention of dental caries!

Prevention of cavities begins even before the birth of the child. As the child grows, age appropriate preventive measures should be suggested by your dentist. We discuss a brief overview in this article.

Counselling before birth

Prevention of dental caries begins from the time the child is in the womb.

A mother’s oral health is a strong predictor of the oral health of the child. Kids are three times more likely to get cavities if the mother/primary caregiver has cavities. Also, a dentally aware family tends to pay more attention to maintaining oral hygiene and cleanliness.

0-3 years 👶

A soft sterile gauze/ finger brush can be used to clean the gum pads even before the eruption of teeth. Once the teeth begin to erupt, maintaining cleanliness is of utmost importance. Use of a small ‘smear amount’ of fluoride free toothpaste is recommended. The parents are responsible to maintain oral hygiene at this stage.

As far as possible, bottle feeding, especially at night time should be avoided. After the first birthday the process of weaning should be started. Gradually , night feeds should be completely stopped, and the ritual of cleaning teeth before sleeping should begin. Weaning, and a complete transition to solid foods should be completed by the second birthday.

3-6 years

Slowly the child will want to assume responsibility for his/her own toothbrushing. But the parents still need to ensure oral hygiene maintenance. At least once a day, the parents should perform complete oral hygiene measures for the child. After the child learns to spit/rinse/gargle/expectorate switch over to a toothpaste containing 500ppm of fluoride.

6-12 years

The permanent teeth begin to erupt around 6-7 years of age. The lower incisors and first permanent molars are the initial permanent teeth to erupt. The permanent molars erupt without any tooth ‘falling off’ so it is important to be aware of its impending eruption.

The child assumes more and more responsibility for his/her own oral hygiene. Still, parental supervision is strongly recommended. A ‘pea size/ chana dal size’ amount of toothpaste containing fluoride should be used at this stage.

12+ Years

The child assumes complete independence and responsibility for oral hygiene maintenance. The transition to the permanent dentition is nearly complete. A regular size ‘ribbon’ of toothpaste containing 1000ppm of fluoride can be used now. Brushing twice a day, flossing and mouth rinses should all form part of the regular oral hygiene measures.