Health Science: Caring for Children's Oral Health

How old is your baby?

Have you changed your teeth? Do you have toothache? Do you like to eat sweets? Do you brush your teeth? From the age of 6, children's permanent teeth will continue to erupt, and the deciduous teeth will fall off one by one, forming a mixed dentition stage of deciduous teeth and permanent teeth. It will not be until the age of 15 that all permanent teeth have erupted. This is the most active and critical stage of growth and development in a person's life. It is also an important period for the development and growth of children's jaws and dental arches. It is the main formation and functional improvement period of oral and craniofacial morphology. This stage is also the peak period for caries and gingivitis. How to do a good job in children's oral health care and early prevention and treatment of dental and jaw deformities. Parents and friends, come and have a look!

1. Characteristics of children's dental diseases

1. Gingivitis is mainly caused by unclean oral hygiene. As long as you brush your teeth and rinse your mouth carefully, you can solve the oral hygiene problem.

2. High caries rate, early onset, wide range, fast speed and no obvious subjective symptoms. Caries are mainly concentrated on three teeth and one surface, namely the occlusal surface of the first and second deciduous molars and the first permanent molar. This has two guiding significances in prevention strategies: first, caries prevention should be early, before the peak age of caries, so as to achieve the greatest benefit; second, focus on the key points, grasp the three teeth and one surface, and the caries problem of young children can be basically solved.

3. Any factors that are not conducive to the normal development of the whole body and local oral cavity may lead to abnormal development, eruption, arrangement and occlusion of teeth, abnormal development of the jaw and face, and affect the individual's facial beauty, with very serious consequences.

4. Dental trauma among children is on the rise.

2. How to take good care of children's oral health

1. Learn oral health knowledge. Children are in an important period of growth, both physically and intellectually. They should take the initiative to read some popular science books about oral health to improve their knowledge and cultivate their own oral health care ability.

2. Regularly carry out oral health check-ups at least once a year. Detect problems early and treat them promptly. Treat diseased deciduous teeth correctly. Never ignore them. Under the guidance of a dentist, give them appropriate treatment. Don't mistake the first permanent molars that begin to erupt at the age of 6 for deciduous molars and fail to treat them in time. Malocclusions caused by crossbite ("underbite"), impacted teeth, tooth replacement disorders, and bad habits should be taken seriously and treated early.

3. Learn the correct way to brush your teeth, choose a suitable toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. Brush your teeth in the morning and evening, rinse your mouth after meals, and develop good oral hygiene habits from an early age.

4. Use pit and fissure sealants to prevent caries. Apply them to the first permanent molars at the age of 6 and to the second permanent molars at the age of 12. Under the guidance of a dentist, choose the appropriate method of applying fluoride to prevent caries.

5. Eat a balanced diet and avoid sugary snacks and delicate pastries that easily stick to teeth. Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth immediately after eating, especially before going to bed. Do not eat anything else.

6. Prevent the occurrence of dental and maxillofacial deformities at an early stage, promptly treat the deformities that have occurred and block their development, or guide the benign development of the dental and maxillofacial structures through early control, thereby ensuring the healthy development and growth of children's oral, maxillofacial, craniofacial, physical and mental health.

3. How to protect dental health?

1. Daily maintenance homework, effective brushing

Practice the "three-three system": brush your teeth three times a day, each time for three minutes or longer. And make sure the bristles are at a 45-degree angle to the tooth surface, rotate the brush head, and brush every tooth as much as possible, moving the toothbrush back and forth between the upper and lower teeth to remove deep dirt. Do not brush your teeth sideways, and do not brush too hard.

2. Choose a toothbrush that suits you

Toothbrush: Only by choosing a health toothbrush that meets the requirements of oral hygiene can you achieve the effect of cleaning teeth without damaging teeth and periodontal tissues. The characteristics of a health toothbrush are: the brush head is small and can be rotated flexibly in the mouth; the bristles are arranged reasonably, which is convenient for cleaning teeth, and the toothbrush itself is also easy to clean after brushing; the bristles are thin and elastic; the top of the bristles is round, which is not easy to damage teeth and gums. Electric toothbrushes are also a good choice. The slight vibration generated by their high-speed rotation can not only promote blood circulation in the mouth, but also have a massage effect on gum tissue.

3. Choose the toothpaste that suits you

Toothpaste: In order to prevent tooth decay, you can choose an anti-caries toothpaste with a repair function. The formula contains free fluoride ingredients that can directly act on the surface of the teeth. Cracked areas of the teeth are particularly susceptible to absorbing free fluoride. Therefore, free fluoride can play a directional repair role and effectively repair damaged enamel, thereby preventing bacterial invasion.

4. Eat more "tooth-loving foods"

High-fiber foods, such as vegetables, whole grains, and fruits, are good for teeth. Meat, eggs, and milk, which are high in calcium, should be consumed more. Avoid eating too much sweets. Especially during the infant and toddler period, parents should pay attention to the choice of diet. Parents should let their children eat more vegetables that can promote tooth chewing, such as celery, cabbage, spinach, leek, kelp, etc., which are good for the development of the lower jaw and the alignment of teeth.

5. Teeth cleaning is essential

Using ultrasonic cleaning and other methods to clean dental plaque and tartar in the oral cavity in a timely manner is what people call "teeth cleaning", which is one of the main means of preventing periodontal disease. Brushing teeth and teeth cleaning cannot replace each other, because new bacteria can form on the teeth within a few hours after thorough brushing, and the maximum amount can be reached within 30 days. If you do not pay attention to oral hygiene or brush your teeth incorrectly, a large amount of plaque will accumulate on the surface of the teeth, especially in the parts that the toothbrush cannot reach, and it will become tartar over time. If there is dental plaque and tartar on the surface of the teeth and it is not removed in time, it can cause a series of diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis.

Contributor: Hua Lingling, Fengjia Central Hospital, Zhanhua District