Infant Oral Health
A pediatric dentist is the expert to see when it comes to the development and care of your little one’s teeth. Much of infant oral health care is about educating yourself as a parent or guardian, so you can make the best dental choices for the growing kids in your household. Get the support you need from Dr. Mitchell Loeb, DDS, MS, pediatric dentist at Kid Grins in Edina, MN. Contact our pediatric dental office to schedule your child’s first dental visit by the time they reach their first birthday.
Avoid Bad Habits Before They Start
Babies don’t have teeth, but their oral health is just as important as the rest of their well-being. Often, comfort measures lead to dental problems. Some of the most common habits that interfere with good infant oral health include:
- Using a pacifier
- Taking a bottle to bed
- Thumb sucking
- Drinking anything but water and milk
While it is difficult to stop a child from sucking their thumb or convince them to give up their pacifier, habits like these can lead to early cavities in baby teeth and the improper development of the jaw.
Your child won’t necessarily avoid orthodontics or cavities if they don’t have bad habits, but certain behaviors make these circumstances far more likely and complex.
Dental Cleaning Tool for Infant Oral Health Care
Preventive care strategies must be savvy with infant oral health care. Babies tend to prefer chewing on whatever is in their mouth rather than allowing someone to brush their tender gums and sprouting teeth. Thankfully, there are plenty of products that make tending to little mouths easy. Your pediatric dentist will have recommendations for products like:
- Finger toothbrushes
- Teething toys
- Infant-to-toddler toothbrushes
- Gum cleansers
- Soothing teething gels
Dental decay can occur long before teeth erupt, and the disease and bacteria are transmissible. It’s necessary to avoid sharing utensils with your baby or using your mouth to clean anything that goes in your child’s mouth.
Possible Infant Oral Health Conditions
The goal is to optimize infant oral health through cavity prevention and diagnosis of common oral conditions. Therapeutic interventions are needed for some babies, long before baby teeth begin to erupt. Some oral health problems that your pediatric dentist may notice at your first visit include:
- Developmental cysts
- Natal and neonatal teeth
- Tongue-tie
Developmental Milestones in Pediatric Dental Care
The initial pediatric dental visit will include information about the tooth eruption timeline, the use of fluoride and when these treatments begin, dietary guidelines to ward off cavities, and instruction in oral hygiene. Your dentist will also offer information about how oral health care changes as children age – from month to month and year to year.
Ideally, families develop a relationship with their pediatric dentist and dental team. This exceptional group of gentle, kind people watch your child grow and make the ups and downs of dental care more palatable, showing kids how stress-free and easy it is to visit the dentist and take care of their teeth. This consistency in infant oral health care and overall pediatric oral health care is invaluable for families.
Visit Kid Grins in Edina for an Infant Oral Health Appointment
Schedule your child’s first dental visit at Kid Grins with Dr. Loeb. The appointment is free for kids under age 2 and includes a dental exam and an assessment of first teeth. You’ll learn how to tend to your baby’s oral health as they grow, get recommendations for dental tools to use at home, and find out if there are any abnormalities or areas of concern that need to be monitored.
Infant oral health is just as important as visits to the pediatrician. We look forward to welcoming your family into our dental family. Contact us to schedule an appointment.
