For both kids and adults, regular dental check-ups are important. And, for children, the sooner kids receive dental checkups, the better. Early checkups mean healthier dental hygiene throughout a child’s life.
Why are early check ups so important? They can:
- Prevent cavities and tooth decay
- Help children to chew easily
- Help children to speak clearly
- Help children to smile confidently
- Lead to life-long healthy mouths
An early check-up also ensures that your child receives enough fluoride, which is essential for healthy teeth.
So Why is Fluoride Important?
Fluoride is a natural mineral, one that is found in many different foods and water supplies. It’s important to reduce tooth decay, especially for young children. While dental enamel is developing, fluoride protects kids from cavities.
Because of its importance for dental health, fluoride is often added to most public water supplies in the U.S. Studies have shown that children who drink water that has fluoride will have less cavities than those who don’t drink fluoridated water.
Dental cavities are common for both kids and adults, so using fluoride is one way to help prevent cavities from forming. In fact, fluoride is essential to maintain the best dental health in people of any age, not just children. For kids, it’s even more important than adults though, because teeth are just beginning to develop.
How Exactly Does Fluoride Help Your Child’s Dental Health?
Fluoride helps your child’s health by preventing tooth decay and cavities. It makes teeth less likely to experience decay as kids grow older, too.
Fluoride works due to remineralization, a process that strengthens both permanent erupted teeth and incoming teeth alike. Consumed foods and acids in the mouth can weaken tooth enamel by demineralizing it, but fluoride helps prevent this. It is absorbed right into the enamel on your child’s teeth, reversing and hardening any soft spots on the tooth.
So Are Dental Fluoride Treatments Necessary for Kids?
The best way to find out is to bring your child to the dentist, which is recommended by the American Dental Association by the time they turn one. Continue to bring your child to the dentist every six months at minimum after that, as recommended by your dental team. In doing so, your dentist can examine your child’s teeth development and determine if fluoride treatment is needed.
At home, brush your young child’s teeth with a tiny bit of fluoride containing toothpaste, and as your child grows older, be sure to have them brush regularly with a toothpaste that contains it.
Along with Fluoride Monitoring, Why Should a Child Visit the Dentist?
Because dental health is tied to the health of the entire body, making sure kids have the best in oral health habits and care starting at an early age is important for overall well-being.
Dentists can provide restorative services for children, including composite fillings, crowns, pulp treatments, and also tooth extractions if necessary too. Remember, good oral hygiene starts with the very first baby tooth. Although baby teeth do fall out in a few years, they’re space holders for your child’s permanent teeth. And without good oral care, even baby teeth can decay and cause problems including gum and tooth pain and inflammation, disease, and difficulty with eating, speaking, or sleeping.
Bring Your Child for a Dental Visit
If you’re ready to bring your child for a visit to the dentist, reach out today! We’ll start your child on a journey for good oral health, and check to see if your child needs a fluoride treatment for the best in dental health, to keep your child confidently smiling!