Dental Caries is on the Rise
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that dental caries is the most common childhood disease in America today, five times more common than asthma. Even more alarming is the fact that the decay rate is on the rise. Today, 8% of our nation’s infants and toddlers have “Early Childhood Caries”, formerly called Baby Bottle Tooth Decay. Approximately 18% of three year old children have more than one cavity. That number increases to 40% in five year olds with over 95% of eighteen-year-olds having had at least one cavity. Of concern is the association between early childhood caries and an increased rate of permanent tooth decay. The doctors at All Kids Dental offer multiple strategies to help prevent such problems and to help your child become a cavity-free adult.
Preventing Early Childhood Caries
Tooth decay in children is termed early childhood caries and can vary from a single minor cavity to what was formerly called baby bottle tooth decay. Cavities in children represent an infectious disease that is generally transmitted from the primary care giver, usually the mother, to the infant. Fortunately, caries is preventable and with current protocols, your child can grow up to be a cavity-free adult. Here are a few of the key factors in preventing early childhood caries:
- Begin brushing your child’s teeth early, when the first tooth presents.
- Discontinue the night and naptime bottle between 12-14 months of age.
- See your pediatric dentist every six months beginning at age one.
- Brush your child’s teeth before bedtime, with nothing to drink but water after brushing.
- Start using a half of a pea sized amount of fluoride tooth paste between 30-36 months of age.
- Minimize between meal snacks or drinks.
- Begin flossing your child’s teeth between 4 and 5 years of age.
- Have sealants placed on all permanent molar teeth.
- Begin using a fluoride mouth rinse at six years of age.
- Provide a well-balanced diet with a variety of foods from the five major food groups.
Continue brushing and flossing your child’s teeth, at least once per day, until they are at least seven years old. At that point, transition them to brushing and flossing independently, with occasional parental supervision.