Pediatric Dental Care In Puget Sound
Pediatric dental care is a cornerstone of your child’s overall health. Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases our children face. In fact, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention) believe that forty percent of children have decay before they go to school. Many children in elementary school have at least one cavity. Even worse, this is entirely preventable. Parents just need to teach their children about good pediatric dental care.
Here Are Some Reasons Why Good Pediatric Dental Care Is So Important
Good dental care starts now! Children who learn how important it is to brush and floss their teeth from an early age often continue to do so as they grow up. If they go to their dentist every six months, they will build a relationship with them and continue to go throughout their entire life.
It also helps to prevent decay, which can lead to many problems for your children. Teeth that aren’t taken care of can cause children many problems, including painful teeth and gums. Some children will struggle to chew and eat. They may struggle to talk (or they may become embarrassed by how their teeth look).
Just because you know your children have to take care of their teeth doesn’t mean it is easy. Here are some tips to help.
Start taking your children to the dentist as soon as they get their first tooth. Though the dentist might not do much for your children for the first few visits, you teach your children that it is important to see a dentist regularly. They will get used to having them look into their mouth so that further visits won’t be as stressful. Your dentist will also teach you a better way to care for your children’s teeth.
Don’t let your children go to bed with milk or juice. Though you may want your children to self-soothe with a bottle of milk, the truth is that taking drinks to bed isn’t good. The sugar in the milk and juice will stick to your children’s teeth all night long.
They also shouldn’t snack all day. Snacking all day is worse than meals because the sugar in these snacks will be on their teeth all day. These can easily become trapped in the groves of the teeth and eventually cause cavities.
Supervise all brushing and flossing sessions (and do a run-through). You can’t just hand your two-year-old a toothbrush and expect him to do a good job. Instead, watch him as he brushes. Once he is done, it is your turn to do a better job. This will ensure that your children’s teeth are getting proper care.
Though you may not think it is important to take care of your children’s teeth because they are just going to fall out, you couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, the sooner that you start pediatric dental care, the better off your children will be. They will learn early that they need to brush their teeth multiple times a day, and they will continue flossing. They will also build a good relationship with their dentist.
Ask our team at Puget Sound Pediatric Dentistry about proper pediatric dental care. It’s important that you know the proper way to care for your own teeth so that you can teach your children!