Preventive Dentistry for Children and Teenagers
You and Your Child
Prevention

Pediatric dentists advise parents that regular dental care should begin by age one. By this age, many children already have dental decay.

The prevention of dental disease is an important consideration during the first few visits. Your pediatric dentist will discuss gum diseases and explain how to avoid them or how to minimize damage if it already has started. He/she will discuss a program of preventive home care including brushing, flossing, diet control, and the importance of fluorides.

Parents should begin tooth-brushing as soon as the first tooth appears in the mouth.

He/she also may discuss early childhood caries (baby bottle tooth decay), a pattern of decay associated with prolonged nursing. The teeth in a child who either sleeps with a bottle or who nurses frequently can develop a type of decay that attacks quite rapidly. The upper front teeth and then upper and lower back teeth decay rapidly and all of the baby teeth may be destroyed if the condition is not detected and corrected early enough. To prevent nursing caries, pediatric dentists recommend that a child be weaned by approximately 12 months of age.


This 14-month-old child has nursing bottle decay.


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