How to Care for Baby Teeth

Seeing your child's teeth for the first time is one of the cutest and most momentous occasions in your life as a parent. After months of watching them drool and gnaw on random objects, they finally have that first microscopic tooth emerging. A full set of baby teeth will replace that annoying grandma smile in a couple of years. According to smilesonyonge.ca, child tooth care is extremely critical. Some people think it isn’t because all of these teeth will one day be replaced by permanent teeth. You still need to care for them, though.

Gum Care for Babies

Gums need to be taken care of right after they have been born. Do not use a toothbrush or toothpaste at the start – they are still very sensitive to chemicals like fluoride. Instead, get yourself a soft cloth that is moist, or even a damp bit of gauze. Twice a day, instead of brushing, wipe your baby’s gums. This task should ideally be done right after feeding them, or right before they go to bed. Cleaning the gums down prevents bacteria from building up on the gums, and leaving plaque behind that could start eating away at your baby’s teeth, the second they begin to emerge.

What About Brushing Their Teeth?

You can start brushing their teeth when their first tooth emerges from their gums. You should pick an unique baby brush with a soft set of bristles, a tiny head, and a large, easy-grip handle. Don’t use the toothbrush at the start. Just wet the brush and use it instead. Start using toothpaste the size of a grain, and then increase it gradually to a pea-sized amount as more teeth begin to come in. The toothpaste should ideally be fluoride based and made for children. Over the course of about three years, increase the size of the amount of toothpaste.

Teething and Maturity

You have to keep brushing at least twice a day, until your baby can hold their brush when they are a toddler. This chore doesn’t mean you let them do it on their own, though. You have to supervise the brushing for as long as you can, or until your child can spit their toothpaste out without you having to help them. This phase usually happens when they are six-years-old.

Teething is the process by which your child’s first teeth erupt through their gums. It is every bit as painful as it sounds. Over the course of two whole years, the baby teeth make their way through the gums to the surface. Babies cry, drool, have gum pain and toothache, and can even have a slight temperature while teething!

You can relieve the pain by rubbing their gums with your finger (clean, of course), or by purchasing special teething rings that your baby can munch on to help the teeth emerge faster and to numb the gums, so they don’t hurt as much. Try to make whatever you put in their mouth as relaxed as possible.