Teeth are the strongest part of our body and cannot regenerate themselves like wounds on the skin, therefore maintaining dental health is important for all ages from children to adults. The toddler period is the most important period to maintain children’s dental health and it is the role of parents to avoid some bad habits that can damage teeth.
One bad habit that is not realized is letting your little one consume sugary drinks or letting your little one use a pacifier all night. Consumption of sugary drinks throughout the night can cause bacteria in the mouth to nest and cause dental caries. Using a pacifier overnight or drinking breast milk until you fall asleep has the same effect.
Dental caries caused by falling asleep while drinking milk in a pacifier or breast milk are often referred to as bottle caries. There are many ways to prevent dental caries, one of which is the discipline of not sleeping all night using a pacifier or breast milk. Parents can also regularly invite their little ones to brush their teeth regularly 2x a day, in the morning after breakfast and at night before going to bed.
Drinks and sweet snacks are also one of the causes of caries formation because bad bacteria like to nest in the rest of the sweet food on the teeth. Bringing children regularly to the dentist every 6 months for dental health checks and for children to feel familiar with dentists. Don’t forget to praise your child when you dare to go to the dentist without crying. Make a consistent schedule when it’s time to eat, and brush your teeth.
Preventing the growth of caries means helping your little one to grow and develop optimally. Caries in milk teeth are often ignored with the assumption that adult teeth will grow, even though caries that are not treated immediately will cause pain so that children are lazy to eat and worsen nutrition. Untreated and untreated carious teeth can also cause teeth to grow irregularly. Take care of your little one’s dental health from now on to optimize their growth and development
