Oral health:
Oral health is fundamental to the enjoyment of life so that you can speak, eat and socialize without being hindered by pain, discomfort or embarrassment from your mouth.
Good oral health is important for children's physical and emotional development.
In addition, it has repercussions on health in general and is a determining factor in the quality of life.
Importance of breastfeeding in oral health:
For a better development of the jaws, it is necessary to support and encourage breastfeeding, since the sucking of breast milk that the baby does is the perfect gymnastics for the jaws and also helps the development of the temporomandibular joint, with which it is acquired the muscular tone necessary for the arrival of the first teeth (baby teeth).
However, there are circumstances that do not allow the baby to perform the sucking reflex through breastfeeding, such as: Babies with swallowing disorders, with gastrostomy and/or mothers who do not produce breast milk.
In these cases there are therapies to stimulate the baby's sucking reflex, which are performed by qualified personnel and taught to parents/caregivers.
oral hygiene:
A few days after birth, start cleaning your baby's gums with a damp gauze pad or washcloth daily, remembering to wash your hands carefully before cleaning.
Then brush your teeth twice a day as soon as they come in, with fluoride-free toothpaste no larger than a grain of rice. It is important that the water used is previously boiled and at a suitable temperature when cleaning the gums.
Implement the use of floss or dental floss from the age of 3. To be used at least once a day, every day. It is the parents who must do this procedure to the child up to 9 YEARS.
Periodically evaluate the child dentally, at least every 6 months.
Avoid the use of medicines with sugar content at night without cleaning the teeth after supplying them.
IMPORTANT:
Fluoride in toothpaste is suggested for children over three years of age, always using a small amount and making sure that no residue of the cream remains in the child's mouth at the end of brushing.
Bottle feeding after the first year of life:
When there is difficulty with breastfeeding, the bottle or bottle is used, which is of great help to feed the child, however, AFTER the year, it is suggested to switch to a training glass to facilitate the transmission to eat with the family, encourage chewing, reduce the risk of middle ear infections when the child takes a bottle lying down (should be avoided) and reduce the risk of dental caries, which increases when the child falls asleep with the bottle in the mouth.
Also, you should avoid adding sugar, panela or honey to milk.
Dear parents, promoting the dental health of children is an act of love and care, this produces in the child the strengthening of self-esteem and facilitates autonomy in eating, sleeping and personal hygiene, thus contributing to their good quality of life.
