A variety of unhealthy oral methods can damage your child’s teeth. The most common are avoiding dental appointments, grinding teeth, incorrect brushing methods, thumb sucking, and high sugar diets. As a parent, it is essential to help your child develop good oral hygiene habits, such as preventing tooth decay and keeping a child’s gums healthy.
Avoiding Dental Visits Is a Bad Habit
If your child hates going to the dentist, you can postpone their next visit. However, next week may progress to next month, resulting in the cancellation of the appointment. This is one of the worst dental habits. Avoiding dental check-ups can lead to minor concerns.
It may be difficult to recreate these negative memories, but over time it will become easier for both you and your child. By using positive visuals or phrasing, you can train your child’s brain to associate dental appointments with “fun” and “educational.” On the other hand, soft toothpaste is a great way to make going to the dentist a pleasant experience.
Your child should see a dentist within six months of the first tooth appearing and then have frequent, regular check-ups.
Fingernails Eating
Nail-biting is a bad habit that many young people have. Even if it is common, it is still bad for children’s teeth. Cutting one’s fingernails increases the chances of teeth sticking out, breaking, or just cracking. As a result of this trend, they may become more prone to Brexit. If your children use braces, they may be at greater risk of losing their teeth.
Damage to the gum tissue, which sharp nails can cause, is another potential danger caused by the habit of cutting nails. Bacteria can be transmitted from other parts of the body to the mouth because very few children wash their nails before chewing. If you see your children chewing their fingernails, tell them right away that they should not do it again.
Sucking on Hard Candy and Lollipops
Hard candy is something that almost every child will love. Red pops and other hard sweets come in various pleasant, charming flavors that young people can enjoy by slowly sucking. The sugar in the candy reacts with the plaque on your teeth, forming an acid that eats away at the tooth enamel.
No kid should be forced to resist all the time, but hard sweets should be kept for special occasions. If your children are involved, make sure they brush their teeth immediately afterward.
Grinding of the teeth
Grinding teeth, also called bruxism, affect 2 to 3 in 10 young people and exacerbate poor oral hygiene. This medical condition is more common during deep sleep stages or stressful times, which is why standard therapies such as wearing a mouth guard at bedtime or simple stress reduction techniques such as exercising or letting your child know about their feelings. Being outspoken can help reduce symptoms. And avoid further damage.
Bruxism can lead to initial wear of the teeth and eventually to the teeth and jaw, making daily tasks such as smiling, talking, and biting difficult and unpleasant. If you think your child is grinding their teeth, read more about how to treat grinding teeth in children or if this condition persists, make an appointment with your dentist.
Brushing Techniques That Aren’t Correct
If you don’t teach your kid how to brush their teeth properly and prevent tooth decay, they’ll develop negative dental habits when they become older. Brushing your teeth too forcefully may wear down your gums and cause a recession. Instead, instruct your youngster how to brush with a soft toothbrush in gentle circular strokes.
Sucking Thumb
Thumb sucking may cause permanent tooth misalignment in children between 4 and 6. Medical doctors advocate using a reward system to help your kid break this habit if they do not grow out of it.
Opening Bags and Packaging with Teeth
When children see adults using their teeth to open potato chip bags and intricate grocery packaging, they may begin to do the same. They could attempt to open treats or toys with their teeth as tools. If you find your children doing this, explain that this behavior may harm their teeth and suggest a different approach to open harsh products.
As a Snack, Chewing on Ice
After your children have finished drinking, prevent them from gnawing on ice. According to the Pediatric Dentistry Indianapolis IN, tooth enamel is a crystal, and ice is a crystal. As a result, the two do not mix well. If your children nibble on ice repeatedly, one will eventually shatter. If it’s their teeth, it may cause a lot of discomfort and lasting damage to the teeth.
Both the ice’s chilly temperature and its rough surface may cause injury. If urging your kids to quit chewing on ice doesn’t work, provide them cooled drinks that don’t include ice and recommend them sip using a straw. Make sure kids understand that chewing on ice is not a good idea. Set a positive example by not chewing on the ice yourself.
An Excessive Amount Of Sugary
Too much sugar in your child’s diet or drinks is especially damaging to their freshly formed teeth. Instead, support a good start to oral health in youngsters by removing harmful dental habits and adopting healthier nutritional choices, such as replacing sodas with naturally sugar-free beverages.
Toothpaste in the Mouth
Fluoride, a natural cavity fighter, is beneficial to your children’s teeth. Dentists may recommend fluoride supplements as early as six months old in towns with insufficient fluoride in the water supply (this may be checked by calling the local health department).
However, too much fluoride may induce fluorosis, a disorder in which children’s teeth develop white or brown patches. While playing with sticky toothpaste is exciting, it’s critical to educate your children not to swallow it, mainly if it includes fluoride.
Pediatric Dentistry Indianapolis IN is a dental practice that specializes in children’s dentistry. “You may use non-fluoride toothpaste created specifically for children’s teeth until your youngster is old enough to spit after brushing.” “Just make sure they’re receiving enough fluoride by giving them a fluoride supplement.”
