{"id":1037,"date":"2020-10-06T11:06:55","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T16:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dentistryforkids.info\/?p=1037"},"modified":"2024-11-07T17:41:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T17:41:41","slug":"pediatric-dental-guideline-for-children-0-12-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/2020\/10\/pediatric-dental-guideline-for-children-0-12-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Pediatric Dental Guideline for Children 0-12 Years Old"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a parent, it can be easy to dismiss the importance of your child\u2019s oral health while they still have their baby teeth or as their permanent teeth are just erupting. Knowing they\u2019ll have another set of teeth that will grow in seemingly downplays the care needed, but your children\u2019s dental health is important, even as a baby. Unhealthy teeth as a baby could lead to difficulties in chewing or speaking, and cavities in baby teeth are just as damaging as cavities in permanent teeth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children\u2019s teeth change so much during these early years before their permanent teeth are established that it can be hard to keep up with the proper care at each stage. Here\u2019s what you need to know about caring for your child\u2019s teeth.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dental Care for Children 0-3 Years Old<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teething Advice<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An infant\u2019s first tooth typically appears after the first six to seven months. As they are teething, their gums are likely to be very sore. Some ways to alleviate this soreness include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rubbing your baby\u2019s gums with your finger.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Letting your baby chew on a toothbrush or frozen wet washcloth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giving your baby chilled teething rings.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talking to your doctor about giving your baby Tylenol or Ibuprofen if the other three suggestions aren\u2019t alleviating pain.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brushing Your Baby\u2019s Teeth<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once a baby\u2019s first teeth start appearing, you should start brushing. When you\u2019re selecting a toothbrush, make sure to choose a brush with soft bristles and a small head. As you\u2019re brushing their teeth, use a small amount of low-fluoride (less than 1000ppm) or a non-fluoridated toothpaste that\u2019s about the size of a grain of rice, then increase to a pea-size amount of the fluoridated toothpaste once they turn three <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or when they are able to spit excess toothpaste into the sink<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You should brush twice daily for optimal teeth care.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When to Take Your Baby to the Dentist<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the first tooth erupts, as you\u2019re brushing your child\u2019s teeth, keep watch on the condition of their teeth. If you notice any sort of decay or discoloration, such as brown spots or tooth pits, you should take your child to a pediatric dentist for an exam. Regardless of the condition of your child\u2019s teeth, they should see a pediatric dentist somewhere between one and two years of age. Along with an exam, your pediatric dentist can also give expert advice on tooth care, teething problems, thumb habits, growth and development of teeth, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building Healthy Dental Habits<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An infant or toddler\u2019s dental health goes beyond teeth brushing to include habits such as diet, thumb sucking, and bedtime routines. Some habits to keep in mind include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limiting your child\u2019s excess sugar intake and encouraging them to drink water throughout the day to prevent cavities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only giving your child water in their bottle or sippy cup before bedtime \u2014 breast milk, formula, and fruit juices all contain sugar.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preventing tooth misalignment from pacifier, thumb, or finger sucking. Children should stop using pacifiers by ages 2 and thumb or finger sucking by the age of 4 with positive reinforcement. Most kids are able to stop on their own, but not all.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dental Best Practices for Children Ages 3-6<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your child should have all of their baby teeth by the time they\u2019re 3 years old, with their first permanent tooth appearing around age 6, meaning these few years are important for maintaining healthy dental habits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tooth Brushing for Young Children<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your child can start brushing their own teeth once they\u2019re old enough to hold a toothbrush, but brushing should be assisted by an adult for at least one brushing per day. They can continue using low-fluoride children\u2019s toothpaste during these years and along with a soft bristle toothbrush. Brushing twice a day is still essential to good dental hygiene, and it\u2019s especially important to brush before bedtime.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Healthy Habits for Good Oral Health<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similar to infants and toddlers, it\u2019s important to limit sugar intake as much as possible in addition to preventing any tooth misalignments or accidents. Some habits to keep in mind include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Encouraging healthy snacks and water intake, steering away from sports drinks, juices, and sodas, as those contain high amounts of sugar.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensuring your child has the proper sports gear. If your child is starting organized sports during these years, it\u2019s important to use proper mouth guard protection to prevent any tooth-related accidents.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preventing tooth misalignment from sucking on a pacifier, thumbs, or fingers. Your child should have stopped using their pacifier by this time and should stop sucking on their thumbs or fingers by age 3 or 4.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dental Guidelines for Children Ages 6-12<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These teeth make up the set that your child will use for the rest of their life, so dental hygiene, as always, is essential during this stage as permanent teeth start to erupt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Eruption of Permanent Teeth<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A child\u2019s baby teeth typically fall out, with new permanent teeth growing in, starting around age 6 or 7. Your child will continue to lose baby teeth and grow their permanent set until around age 12. Typically, once a child starts losing their baby teeth this cycle will continue with around four new teeth every six months. Flossing at night is a great habit to initiate when a child&#8217;s permanent teeth come in. It is likely the child will need assistance until they develop the ability to do it independently.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tooth Brushing for Ages 6-8<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At this stage, it\u2019s important for children to still get help from an adult for brushing their teeth. A parent or guardian should encourage proper brushing techniques and make sure they\u2019re brushing thoroughly for about two minutes twice a day. The recommended amount of fluoride in their toothpaste is between 1350ppm and 1500ppm, which can be found in the ingredient information on the box.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tooth Brushing for Ages 9-12<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Children are old enough to start brushing their teeth on their own with supervision as needed for the recommended two minutes twice a day. At this point, your child is safe to use adult toothpaste rather than children\u2019s toothpaste.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lifelong Oral Hygiene Habits<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a child\u2019s permanent teeth erupt, it\u2019s important to continuously encourage general good habits. Some oral hygiene habits to keep in mind during this stage and throughout adulthood\u00a0 include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drinking water throughout the day, especially after eating.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brushing twice daily, especially once before bed, and flossing at least once a day.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gently brushing your tongue as you brush your teeth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limiting sugary and acidic foods and drinks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scheduling regular dentist appointments. This may differ depending on your oral health, but it\u2019s recommended to see your dentist every six months.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schedule a Dental Appointment With Pediatric Dentistry\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you welcomed a new child or are looking for a new local dentist, Pediatric Dentistry will prioritize your child\u2019s oral health. You can schedule an appointment with either our Des Moines or Ankeny office with our caring staff and qualified pediatric dentists. If your child is a first-time patient with us, we ask that you fill out our new patient form ahead of the scheduled time to make the process easier for everyone. We look forward to seeing you and your child at their next dental check-in!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a parent, it can be easy to dismiss the importance of your child\u2019s oral health while they still have their baby teeth or as their permanent teeth are just [ <a href=\"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/2020\/10\/pediatric-dental-guideline-for-children-0-12-years-old\/\">more <i class=\"fas fa-chevron-circle-right\"><\/i><\/a> ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Pediatric Dental Guideline for Children 0-12 Years Old","_seopress_titles_desc":"Children&#039;s teeth change so much during their early years that it can be hard to keep up with. So, read our guide to learn everything you need to know.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1037"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1310,"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1037\/revisions\/1310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dentistryforkids.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}