This week we will go on to talk about the earliest beginnings of healthy teeth in children. Can you predict what I will say next? Healthy baby teeth begin even before you are pregnant. Mothers-to-be need to have good nutrition for their own bodies to nurture the unborn child in the next nine months. Anything that impacts mothers' health can impact babies' health. To believe otherwise is akin to placing your head in the sand and believing a stork will bring you a perfect child.
As a mother-to-be accepts this responsibility for the future of her unborn child, she may need to change some eating habits. The process of changing habits is difficult but the results will pay off as you learn more about good nutrition and the care of teeth. When you begin to feed your baby table foods, you will be aware of the dangers of sweets and soda pop on baby's teeth and their effect on the developing body and brain.
As baby's teeth develop, it becomes important to develop the habit of cleaning the teeth. When little teeth appear, parents can use a clean wash cloth to wipe the food coatings and acids in the mouth from the teeth before bed and maybe even at another time in the day. It is the combination of the food and the digestive juices in the mouth that bring about cavities. Healthy baby teeth are important as a place holder for the adult teeth that will come in. Healthy baby teeth also provides the healthy mouth environment in which the adult teeth will grow. As your toddler learns to tolerate gentle wiping of the teeth, you can introduce a soft baby toothbrush to your routines.
One of the seemingly innocuous habits we imprint upon our babies is sipping all day long from a sippy cup. The habit of using a juice filled sippy cup all day is bad in at least two ways. The child will have the sugars and acids of the juice coating the teeth continuously and secondly, they will never really be hungry for a sit down meal. You will spend a few months wiping up spills while your child masters a small child size cup. However if you give your child a jice filled sippy cup to walk around with all day you will spend a lifetime on dental work.
Twinkletime Rhymes to Print
Re dental health...A New York City dentist, Dr. Alice Deutsch, has put out a free booklet on dental care for moms-to-be. Many women neglect dental work for fear of harming the fetus, but the opposite is true...Recent research has linked dental problems to pre-term delivery, low birthweight and gestational diabetes. Readers are invited to write for a free copy of the booklet: "Prenatal Dental Care: Myths and Truths About Dentistry During Pregnancy." Contact geo2301@gmail.com
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