Advice For Children

A man shows a young boy his reflection in a handheld mirror while sitting in a dentist chair. The boy looks at his reflection with an open mouth. Both are smiling.
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Advice For Children’s Dental Care In Belmont

Recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Guidelines, your child’s first checkup needs to be at six months of age.

Helpful Tips

The Belmont Dental Group’s Helpful Tips

Thumb sucking is a common habit that children usually stop themselves. By the age of four you may try to discourage it, at least during the daytime. However, it is always better to allow the child emotional time they may need to discontinue on their own. Fluoride treatments usually begin at the age of three or four and are given at each professional cleaning appointment. Topical fluoride aids teeth in fighting decay.

Sealants are plastic coatings that are applied to the deep pits and grooves of permanent molars and help make teeth more resistant to decay. They are most commonly placed on the six-year molar and the twelve-year molars.

A Mouthguard should be worn when a child is involved in sports or recreational activities that may pose a risk. A Mouthguard can greatly reduce and prevent the chance of injury to the teeth, tongue, and lips.

An orthodontic evaluation may be recommended as early as age seven or when the general dentist deems it necessary, commonly around nine.

6-12 Months

  • Lower central incisors usually begin to erupt
  • Begin cleaning teeth with a wet washcloth twice per day
  • Schedule first dental visit
  • Encourage drinking from a cup whenever possible
  • Try to discourage frequent use of pacifiers

One Year

  • Introduce child-sized tooth brush
  • Brush with water or non-fluoridated tooth paste only
  • Begin weaning from bottle

Two Years

  • Introduce pea sized amount of fluoridated toothpaste, once the child can spit it out
  • Secondary primary molars (the final baby teeth) may begin to erupt

3 Years

  • First professional cleaning takes place
  • Child should begin taking a more active role in oral hygiene and brushing for at least 2 minutes twice per day

Six Years

  • Lower primary incisors usually start to exfoliate
  • Permanent first molars begin to erupt behind the baby teeth
  • Sealants should be placed on first (six-year) molars

Children should have assistance brushing their teeth until the age of six or seven and they develop the manual dexterity to effectively do it themselves.