Every parent wants the best for their children and good dental health is no exception. At our North Jacksonville pediatric dental office, we help children achieve and maintain good dental health, something that will benefit them well into their adult years.
Tooth decay is more common than people realize and if left untreated, it can lead to serious health problems which will affect the quality of their lives not only as children but as adults too. Unfortunately for parents, general society and the internet are both flooded with people giving unhelpful advice. It’s very common for parents, especially those new to parenthood, to feel like they are constantly being judged and are falling behind on medical advancements. As the best pediatric office in North Jacksonville, we make it our mission to give parents helpful tips and guidelines to help them encourage their children to take proper care of their teeth.
If you are a parent looking for the best way to keep your kids’ teeth healthy and clean, the following tips should help you out:
- Reduce their sugar intake:
- Quite a lot of the patients we treat here at our North Jacksonville pediatric dental office have the same problem…they consume too much sugar. In all fairness to parents, we understand that children are picky eaters. There is no challenge quite like trying to get your little ones to eat their vegetables only to fail miserably after multiple tries. As such, many parents resort to giving sweets and desserts as incentives which, although crafty, is damaging for their oral health in the long run. Our advice is to swap sugary treats with an alternative such as healthy, naturally sweet fruits with low acidic values or vegetables such as butternut squash or sweet potatoes. Of course, we are not suggesting you cut the sugar out completely just, keep the intake as low as possible.
- Avoid prolonging the use of a pacifier
- Pacifiers, although helpful for children to soothe themselves naturally, are not good for oral health when they are used for too long. Furthermore, prolonged use of a pacifier can lead to problems in your child’s tooth development. In general, by the time a child turns 3, they should not be using a pacifier.
- Avoid bottle feeding before bed
- A lot of formula contains quite a bit of sugar. In general, mothers are encouraged to breastfeed but for several reasons, not every mother is able to do so. If you are bottle feeding, it’s important not to feed your child right before bed. In general, children should not consume beverages right before bed but if they need to, we recommend swapping out juice and milk with water.
- Avoid using teething rings and gel
- The FDA has warned parents to avoid using gels and rings when they are teething due to the presence of harmful chemicals such as benzocaine which are not good for children’s health. We here at Setzer, Cochran, Soares and Hubbard, the best pediatric office in North Jacksonville, encourage parents to opt for natural alternatives.
Conclusion
Raising a child is not easy but as long as you are following the above mentioned tips and bringing your child in to our offices for regular dental checkups, their teeth will be clean and healthy for many years to come.