When you think about dental hygiene for your kids, are brushing and flossing the only things that come to mind? These two items are highly important to maintain good oral health, but recently, the American Dental Association “recommends earlier fluoride distribution for children,” meaning parents will have to put a tad more effort in caring for their children’s teeth.
Although other findings have stated that children should receive fluoride treatment by age six at the dentist, these new findings urge them to receive it even earlier than their first visit. Upon developing their first tooth as babies, the ADA believes that they should be receiving this treatment. One of the major issues in children’s teeth is the possibility of uncared teeth leading to decay and eventually cavities, but using this fluoride at an earlier time in life will help to decrease the chances for these issues to develop.
These findings came about through the Journal of the American Dental Association, and they suggest that “pea-sized quantities of toothpaste can lead to a higher risk of fluorosis when toothpaste is ingested and children younger than 3 should use smaller amounts of toothpaste.” Under the supervision of parents, children should make sure they brush for a solid 1 ½ to 2 minutes and be careful to spit out excess toothpaste to prevent from swallowing it. Parents should set up a dentist for their children and allow them to teach them the proper ways to care for their teeth. In doing so, their oral hygiene will be pristine for years to come!
