TOOTHFAIRY FORGOT HER DUTY!

Yes, the toothfairy forgot her duty and Mew had to resort to the help of a dentist instead. Last week we discovered that one of Mew's lower permanent front tooth had budded whereas her milk tooth showed no sign of getting loose or imminent falling (Thanks to our care for her dental health, Mew has perfect milk teeth with no cavity nor coloured spots). We had to take Mew to the dentist and he quickly extracted her two lower milk front teeth to give space for the permanent ones to grow. Mew was so brave to experience her first tooth extraction case without any fuss or cry. She was even more proud to bring home her extracted teeth as a souvenir. Now we have to remind her everyday to push her tongue against the growing permanent teeth so that they can soon advance to be in line with other teeth. I hope that she will not need orthodontic treatment in the future, otherwise it will cost us a fortune, lol.

Here are some advice of taking care of your child's teeth:


Children need to learn how to clean their teeth. Start off by giving your baby a small toothbrush as a toy - bath time is a good time. Start to clean your baby's teeth as soon as they appear. Use a small, soft toothbrush and water. 


When the child is older, introduce small amounts of junior fluoride toothpaste onto the brush. Just put a small wipe of toothpaste on the brush. It is best that your child cleans their teeth the last thing before bed. 

It is hard for children under ten to clean their teeth properly. You will need to help at least once a day. If the bacteria have been on the teeth for a long time, the gums may bleed when brushed. This gingivitis tells you that the gums are unhealthy. To get them healthy again the gums need to be cleaned more often, even if they bleed when brushed.

 

Tips to prevent dental disease:

Here are some tips to prevent decay and sore gums for children:

- Avoid putting infants and young children down with a bottle. Always ensure feeding has ceased before your child goes to sleep to avoid early infant tooth decay.

- Drink fluoridated tap water every day. If you are not sure if your local water is fluoridated, check with your local council.

- Avoid eating sugary sticky foods, especially between meals.

- Avoid sweet drinks and juices, especially between meals.

- Give your child foods that make them chew.

- Brush twice a day - after breakfast and before bed (use a small toothbrush and a small amount of fluoridated, junior toothpaste).

-  If there's no brush, rinse with water.

-  Use dental floss daily from about 3-4 years of age.

-  Visit your dentist regularly.

-  Please do not put honey on dummies to get children to sleep.

 

To mark this important milestone in Mew's dental development, I posted here some eruption charts of children's milk and permanent teeth: