First of all, yes, babies can get cavities as soon as their teeth being to erupt. This tooth decay can cause oral health problems even at a very early age.  How does this even happen? Have you or your caregiver ever tested the temperature of your baby’s food by tasting it and then used the very same spoon to feed your child? If so, then your child probably has had some cavity causing bacteria introduced to his/her mouth. And if you or the caregiver has poor oral health, the consequences for the child are even worse.
 
If you share spoons, drinking glasses, lick a child’s pacifier to “clean it” or even if you kiss a child on the mouth, the bacteria can be transferred to the baby’s mouth.  This “bacterial inoculation” is most critical during the child’s first 24 months, so care must be taken before the age of two to prevent this from happening.
 
What can you do?
 
1. Make sure you or other caregivers have excellent dental health and care. Many studies link bad teeth of the caregivers as a factor in the poor teeth of the child.
2. Use the “2 spoon” rule when you feed the child. One spoon for you to test the temperature and the second to feed the child.
3. Start cleaning the child’s mouth with gauze or a small clean washcloth after food intake. This is especially important when the first tooth comes in.
4. Parents and caregivers can suck on Xylitol mints (usually 2 mints 6 times a day for a total of 6 grams a day). This helps change the bacterial formation in the mouth.
 
For more detailed information, we came across this excellent article from Marshfield Clinic.  You can click here to read it.  Feel free to contact our office if you have further questions. 

Unfortunately we live in a day where we all have to deal with more and more security. While we are thankful for the protection it provides, we all admit that it often feels like it gets in our way. What if I told you there was an option for a higher level of security for your child's dental health that is painless, lasting, and won't feel like it gets in the way. In fact, your child will probably not even remember they have this extra level of security for their smile. You, however, will feel good about this extra layer of protection.  I'm talking about sealants. 

At my office, we do everything to help our patients prevent cavities. One of the things that is very effective in preventing decay is a sealant. When our teeth grow, sometimes the grooves and pits of the teeth do not completely close, leaving  open a  "microscopic valley” that is very prone to bacterial invasion and consequent  cavities. A sealant is done by cleaning out the pits and grooves of the tooth and then applying a sealer, or sealant, that closes up the gap in the enamel that nature did not do. It is an easy, painless and fairly quick procedure. Before we do a sealant, we always use a laser to scan the tooth to see if it has a cavity in these areas. If no decay is present, we can confidently seal the tooth and reduce decay in these areas by   80 % in just the first 2 years after application.

Take this quiz to test your knowledge about sealants.  Here's some help for the quiz... Sealants aren't just for kids. 

Here is a good informative video from the American Dental Association on Sealants. It is only a minute long...

If you are interested in giving the gift of sealants to your teeth or to your children's teeth, please contact our office and schedule an apointment. This is one gift you won't have to stand in line to return.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Distincitve Dentistry.

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