Even though you may teach your children to brush their teeth three times daily, and you may show them how to follow all the instructions that the dentist gives them on proper brushing methods, they will still have a great deal of plaque left on their teeth. This is because there are so many places where plaque can hide, and where a toothbrush may not have an easy time reaching. Because plaque is invisible, it is even harder for children to brush all of it off their teeth. This is where plaque disclosing tablets can help.

Plaque is film that consists of food debris and bacteria. It builds up on teeth each time a child eats. While it is virtually impossible to see even under a bright light, disclosing tablets can make it immediately visible.

These red-colored liquid that is produced will harmlessly stain tartar and plaque that are resident on a child’s teeth. It will help your child find the areas that need more brushing.

Using this simple tool helps remove plaque every day before it mineralizes and turns into tartar. (Another word for tartar is calculus). After a child gets tartar on his or her teeth, he or she cannot brush or floss it off. A professional tooth cleaning at a dental office will be required at this point.

It is so much easier to teach a child to use disclosing tablet. These are reasonably priced and completely bio-friendly tools that are made from a harmless vegetable dye that stains the plaque, but never stains the teeth. After a child gets used to using them, it becomes much easier to intuitively know, as if by second nature, where the various hiding places for plaque are located. This provides a child with a visual frame of reference to work with when learning basic dental hygiene.

Please be mindful of how important it is to teach children to never swallow the liquid or their toothpaste.

The process is surprisingly simple. To begin with, a child brushes or flosses the teeth as usual. Then, he or she chews a tablet until it turns to liquid. The liquid acts immediately, turning the plaque into a brightly colored red stain that can be seen in the mirror. Both the plaque and the vegetable dye can then be brushed off until there are no more red spots remaining. When the teeth are completely white again, this indicates that all the plaque has been removed.

Plaque disclosing tablets are typically used as a short-term strategy of dental hygiene. Once a child learns what spots on the teeth experience plaque buildup, it is much easier for him or her to get in the habit of consistently and rigorously brushing and flossing these areas.

Labels: flossing, pediatric tooth care, plaque disclosing disclosing tablets, tooth brushing

Braces for children correct a great many problems that plague growing kids. Overbites, underbites, and occlusion are just some of the many dental conditions that braces and functional dental appliances correct. Braces can be used on a child of any age provided they are affixed to permanent teeth. If a child is very young, and still has most of his or her primary teeth, functional dental appliances can be substituted for braces and still achieve impressive results.

Sometimes a child does not even need braces if problems with teeth are detected early on. In the early stages of most problems, a functional appliance is often all that is needed to correct the teeth of a child. One such device is called a space maintainer. It is used after a baby tooth has been lost and the permanent tooth has not yet emerged. A space maintainer can prevent the teeth that surround the gap in the smile from becoming crooked. If placed immediately after a baby tooth is lost, a space maintainer can conceivably make it unnecessary for a child to have braces.

This is not to say that braces are not necessary. Sometimes they are the only option. It is good to understand the challenges of dental hygiene that accompany orthodontics in order to better equip your child for both a healthy and beautiful smile in future years to come.

The downside to braces, however, is that they make the already challenging discipline of dental hygiene even more challenging for children. When a person of any age has braces, it is harder to keep teeth plaque-free and prevent cavities.

Children who are wearing braces need to use a soft toothbrush (so that bristles can reach under the wires and still clean teeth), and they need to use a toothpaste with fluoride. It goes without saying that they need to brush after every meal. The surface of each tooth should be brushed in a circular motion, and extra care must be given to the areas where braces meet the tooth, and where the tooth meets the gums.

Children with braces need to floss their teeth. No exceptions. Toothbrushes simply cannot reach between teeth, so only floss can remove the plaque that causes cavities in these places.

To floss teeth with braces, kids should use a threader and slide it underneath the arch wire. They should then pull the floss between their teeth, pull it into a C shape, and move it around their mouths, flossing both sides of every tooth.

After children have finished flossing, they need to make sure they have not missed any areas. Once they have checked their teeth thoroughly, they should rinse their mouths thoroughly with water.

Reducing foods with sugars will help children with braces prevent cavities. Hard foods like Cornnuts and ice will damage they can damage braces. Children should eat softer foods and cutting harder foods into smaller bites when at all possible.

By watching their eating habits and paying careful attention to their daily dental hygiene, children with braces can keep their mouths healthy and teeth in great condition.

Labels: braces, children with braces, cosmetic dental braces, dental hygeine, flossing, tooth brushing

Proper tooth brushing is essential to the health of all children. Children have to be taught good brushing habits and proper brushing techniques. Failure to teach these disciplines can encourage negligence that will follow a child into adolescence and adulthood. Proactive parents should supervise their children as they are brushing their teeth to make sure they are doing it correctly and for long enough periods of time.

Children need to brush their teeth at least two times a day, but it is better to have them brush after each and every meal. There are four things to keep in mind as well.

The type of toothbrush matters.
Children must always use a soft bristle brush. Medium and hard bristle brushes should NOT be used. A soft toothbrush is more able to remove plaque below the gumline. This is essential to dental heath, because plaque below the gumline contributes to rampant cavity formation in young children.

Medium bristle and hard bristle toothbrushes do not have the flexibility necessary to reach under the gum, and they have a tendency to cut the gums.

Children should brush with fluoride toothpaste.
Fluoride makes tooth enamel harder and more resistant to tooth decay. It can stop a in its tracks and make it easier to repair the tooth with cosmetic dental bonding (we do not use silver amalgam fillings in pediatric dentistry.)

Please keep in mind that fluoride toothpaste should never be swallowed. Teach this to your children and store the toothpaste out of reach until they are old enough to understand the dangers of fluoride toxicity.

The angle at which children brush their teeth is also very important.
The toothbrush should be tilted so the tip will brush the backs of the front teeth. This gives the insides of the teeth more attention. It is better for children to begin by brushing the insides of the upper teeth, then switch to the insides of the lower teeth.

It is necessary for children to brush their teeth in a specific pattern.
Whatever teeth the child starts brushing, it is important that he or she follow the same pattern every day to make sure all tooth surfaces are cleaned. Children need to be regularly reminded to gently brush their tongues and the roofs of their mouths. As strange as such advice may seem at face value, it is actually very healthy for the child because it removes the same germs that cause plaque buildup and bad breath.

We have also found, after many years of practicing pediatric dentistry, that children sometimes consider it even more fun to brush their tongues than their teeth!

Labels: dental floss, pediatric dentistry, tooth brushing

Parents are often puzzled by cavities that develop in the teeth of their children. Most of these children are too young, in the eyes of their parents, to have such dental condition. Facts are, children can experience tooth decay almost as soon as their teeth come in, so understanding what causes cavities, and staying away from misinformation and myth, is the best way to maintain a child’s dental health.

One of the many complaints that dentists hear from parents is that a child should never have cavities if he or she avoids eats sugar. This is not exactly the case. Many people believe that white sugar, candy, and other sweets are the main causes of cavities in children. They believe that by simply preventing their children from eating these foods, they will protect them against cavities.

The facts are quite different. In actuality, there are a number of hidden sugars in foods that most people would never refer to as sweets. Breads, milk, and even potatoes contain sugars that can and do cause cavities in children. Still other foods normally labeled nutritious, such as fruit, can be turned into derivative snack products that cause tooth decay. Fruit rollups and raisins both have certain types of sugars that stick to the tooth surfaces. These sugars will remain on the tooth enamel longer than those in a soda. Surprisingly as well, any drink in a baby bottle, even milk, has enough sugar to cause tooth decay if the baby keeps the milk in his or her mouth for a long enough period of time.

If a person has a nursing infant and the upper teeth are still coming in, the teeth will be exposed for prolonged periods of time during nursing. Oral bacteria feed on the sugars in milk and will damage an infant’s formative teeth if action is not taken. The best defense against cavities in infant children is to use a special, soft bristle toothbrush made just for babies. Teeth can also be wiped with a washcloth, cotton swap, or cotton ball after each feeding.

There is another myth going around that genetics somehow causes cavities in children. While it may be true that genetics plays a possible role, the facts are that cavities are almost always the result of behavior or negligence, not some unknown force in the DNA. For instance, if one child out of a family of 5 has six cavities, and the rest of the children have none, there is more than likely some very simple, rational explanation. The child may be eating more treats or using improper brushing or flossing techniques.

In such instances, guidance and supervision are the only ways to direct children into better eating habits and dental hygiene practices.

Labels: cavities in children, pediatric dentistry, tooth brushing, tooth decay

The basics of good dental hygiene have never changed and never well change. A combination of brushing, flossing, and regular dental checkups and cleaning can ensure a bright healthy smile for life. You have to do your part to make this work. The dentist can correct almost any problems when you come to see him or her. However, only you can prevent problems.

The best toothbrush to use is one with soft, rounded bristles. Medium toothbrushes and hard tooth brushes can damage gums. Use a toothbrush that is comfortable for you to maneuver, and use a manual toothbrush. Almost all you hear about power toothbrushes is hype.

Good oral hygiene requires using toothpaste that contains fluoride. Other ingredients in toothpaste, such as antibacterial agents, are good, but they are no substitute for fluoride. Tartar control and teeth whitening agents are fine, as well as baking soda, but nothing beats good fluoride toothpaste.

Flossing is another element of good oral hygiene that everyone knows about, but that many neglect to do.
The type of floss does not matter. What is important is to cover all the sides of the tooth and move it below the gum line in the process. Do so until you hear a squeaking sound, which indicates all tartar has been removed.

People make all sorts of excuses about why they do not floss. They say it hurts them, or causes their gums to bleed. These are not valid reasons to avoid flossing. Healthy gums are not hurt by flossing, nor do they bleed. If you hurt when you floss or see blood, call a dentist immediately to get checked out for gum disease.

It is estimated that 80% of all Americans suffer from gum disease, but many of them do not know they have it. Leaving Periodontitis untreated leads to all sorts of complications, including tooth loss and even life threatening conditions such as heart conditions.

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It is important to visit a dental office for periodic cleaning and regular checkups in addition to maintaining a regimen of good oral hygiene. Professional teeth cleaning services is something that everyone should have done on a regular basis. Hygienists at the Medical Center Dental Group can screen for tooth decay with x-rays and a special cavity-detecting laser called diagnodent. A standard cleaning session also involves fluoride treatments and careful review of your case history to provide you with personalized at-home care recommendations to maximize the chances of successful daily oral hygiene.

Labels: dental floss, dental hygeine, oral hygeine, Sensodyne Toothpaste, tooth brushing, tooth whitening