CAVITY PREVENTION AND CHILDREN
A University of Minnesota dental researcher suggests that most children
who get cavities when they are older had poor oral dental habits in infancy
and early childhood.
Dr. Pamela Erickson, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota
Dental School reported that infants and toddlers who develop cavities
in their baby teeth are up to 17 times more likely to get cavities in
permanent teeth than children who had no cavities.
Erickson compared two groups of young children at the school's Pediatric
Dental Clinic where 58 had baby bottle caries and 57 were cavity free. After 6 years, she found remarkable differences. The children with the
cavities had far more decay in their permanent teeth.
Her advice, like that of most dentists, is to start good oral hygiene
habits early in life and follow the list that follows:
- keep the infants gums clean by using a moist soft towel and wiping
after every feeding.
- start brushing the teeth as soon as they erupt.
- schedule children to see the dentist at around 1 years old.
- take the child to the dentist for recare appointments at least twice
yearly.
- have sealants placed on the child's permanent molars and premolars
to reduce the chance of cavities on the biting surfaces of these teeth.
- never allow the child to sleep with a bottle containing sweetened
liquids or milk.
- have child brush at least 2 times per day, using only a very small
amount of toothpaste on the brush to prevent swallowing the excess and
over-fluoridating the child.
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune 2-13-1997
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