Teething and Tooth Hygiene
Baby bottle tooth decay can start as soons as your baby begins to teeth. Even though your child will eventually lose all its milk teeth, tooth decay will speed up this process. Milk teeth act as spacers for permanent teeth and tooth decay can lead to gaps before the permanent teeth are ready to come in. The remaining milk teeth may then clump together in an attempt to fill in the gaps, which may cause the permanent teeth to come in crooked and out of place. Therefore daily dental care is extremly important, even before your child's first tooth emerges.
You can begin taking care of your baby's teeth by using your finger to wipe your baby's gums daily with a clean, damp washcloth. It's especially important to do this after feeding. Once teeth begin to emerge you can use a very soft, tiny infant's toothbrush and plain water; do not use toothpaste (toothpaste shouldn't be used until your child can spit out the paste on their own; usually at around 3 years of age). Also, give your baby a toothbrush of their own. This way they get used to having their teeth brushed. But never use the baby's brush to clean her teeth; use another one - baby will usually chomp on their own brush, and never allow your baby to play with their brush unsupervised.
How to prevent infant tooth decay
As well as cleaning your baby's gums and teeth you can help prevent tooth decay by following the following advice.
The biggest cause of tooth decay in young babies is baby bottle tooth decay. Formula milk usually contains more sugar than breast milk. The sugar mixed with bacteria, moisture and warmth is what causes tooth decay. The practice of putting a baby to bed with a bottle, which the baby can suck on for hours, is the major cause of this dental condition. The sugary liquid flows over the baby's upper front teeth and dissolves the enamel, causing decay that can lead to infection. The longer the practice continues, the greater the damage to the baby's teeth and mouth.
Try to avoid using pacifiers that have been dipped in any sugary mixtures. Sucking on sweetened pacifiers for hours on end is a sure recipe for tooth decay.
Also watch out on the amount of juice you give your baby. Juices contain acids that destroy the enamel of the tooth. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that toddlers consume no more than six ounces of juice per day.
Finally, don't wait for your child to finish teething before getting professional advice. Get your child's teeth checked out when you can see between 6 and 8 teeth or when the child is one year old. Your dentist can spot any potential problems and give you advice on prevention of tooth decay..