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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.
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Parents
should begin tooth-brushing as soon as the first tooth appears in the
mouth.
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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.
If you want more information, please feel free to contact us
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