Question1 - What kind of toothbrush should be used- the one that goes over our finger or a regular brush? what kind of bristles should it have? what size? What should be the biggest no-no while selecting a brush?

Answer - finger-brush is the most hygienic cleansing option as anyone the parents ,grandparents ,maids ,nannies can use it safely in babies mouth. No fancy brushes with plastic handle as they may hurt the baby and create an aversion for brushing. The brush needs to be changed every month .Keep it in a separate box while not in use and clean it with warm water after babies mouth is cleansed.

Question2 - What kind of toothpaste should be used- The ones that adults use is it ok for that small a baby? What are the contents of a toothpaste that can harm a baby?

Answer2 - NO toothpaste below 2yrs of age and definitely not below 1yrs.clean water is enough with the brush

Question3 - How many times a day should we brush the teeth?

Answer3 - babies teeth need to be cleaned before their naptimes and sleep time .No pooling of milk, semi-solid or solid food should be allowed. Its a good habit to prevent onset of decay.

Question4 - When is a good time to introduce brushing of teeth in babies

Answer4 - we need to start cleaning gum-pads right from birth . Obviously we mean cleansing done by a moms or dads clean well-cut nails finger. The idea is to have a schedule to clean your baby. gives knowledge of gumpads right from day one so no surprises when you peek into the mouth at 5-6 months. Regular cleansing ensures that there is no resistance when a finger-brush is eventually introduced at 6-7 months.

Question5 - What are other oral care steps to be taken for such babies

Answer5 - other oral care to be aware of is that we must not allow formation of habits like thumb-sucking, finger-sucking and cloth biting .Keep babies nails well cut if any such habit is already there. Also remember that future good aesthetics demands that the babies are weaned off habits before age 2 yrs.

Question6 - How often should a trip to a dentist be made for the baby? At what age should the first trip to the dentist be made?

Answer6 - First trip to Pediatric and Preventive dentist at should be scheduled at age 6 months or as soon as the first tooth erupts, whatever is earlier. The  baby could have the advantage of a planned prevention schedule to prevent tooth decay .This is similar to a vaccination schedule given by Pediatricians.

Question7 - Anything else to be kept in mind for the teeth, dental care of a baby less than one year of age

Answer7 - try not to use sugar syrup honey, glycerine on teeth and gums .try to stick to  healthy nutrition options. After teeth erupt in the mouth they need to be wiped clean even after breastfeeding to avoid nursing decay.Scedule a Diet Consultation for healthy weaning diets.

Question8 - Do Pacifiers help in teething ?

Answer 8 - A Pacifiers are definitely harmful to a baby. Firstly as it a perpetuated habit which can later be substituted by thumbsucking or cloth or fingersucking . Hygienically it poses a problem as pacifiers cannot always be kept clean for use in the mouth . The baby kepts getting prone to infections .
Thirdly to make it an attractive option for suckling ,it is often coated with honey ,glycerin or sugar syrup. .All three have a negative impact on the child as far as allergens in honey causing health problems .
After the teeth erupt ,Sugar pooled in the mouth is decomposed by bacterial fermentation .Acid is released and white spots are seen on baby teeth which later increase tendency for tooth decay . Early childhood decay is very scary to handle for both the parents and the toddlers. Continuous suckling especially with sugar syrup or honey keeps them from taking feeds regularly as their hunger and thirst is to an extent satisfied with the pacifier. So precious nutrition cycle can be overlooked.
And most important ,parents may actually miss out on the actual cause of a fretful upset baby who cannot communicate in any other way but continuosly crying or suckling. Pacifiers do disturb the natural shaping of jaws which happens genetically and also with natural suckling of breastmilk. Any oral habit can definitely give unnecessary stimulus to tender jaw bones and spoil looks in the future.

Question8 - Does bottle feeding affect baby teeth ?

Answer9 - Bottle feeding and impact on teeth is like a pandoras box . There are really no benefits to teeth and jaws. The pooling of milk after teeth erupt gives rise to Nursing decay which is extremely painful and troublesome to toddlers. Sterilization and hygiene related issues pose a constant threat to the child's health as the child keeps getting infections. Overfeeding and other problems of missing out on required semi-solid and solid foodstuff is also seen .
Recurrent illness means use of medicines and a setback to regular milestones for an otherwise normal baby. Care of teeth is often overlooked . The children gets prone for tooth decay. Bottlefeeding problems and related nutritional issues and nursing decay is an article by itself .

Question1 - What kind of toothbrush should be used? what kind of bristles should it have? what size? What should be the biggest no-no while selecting a brush?

Answer - Toothbrush should be small head, small handle and brushing surface should have soft bristles. No power brushing recommended at this age. Brushing at night time should be done by parents or a responsible adult. Daytime brushing could be independent with supervision.

Question2 - What kind of toothpaste should be used?

Answer2 - Up to 2 yrs avoid fluoride toothpaste. After 2yrs too ,it is better to use toothpaste with 400-600ppm fluoride in the safe to swallow range Limit the amount of toothpaste to a pea sized portion. Use minimal and encourage spitting out and eventually rinsing out toothpaste.

Question3 - How many times a day should we brush the teeth?

Answer3 - Brushing should be done 3 times ,once in the morning, before afternoon naptime, and at night just before sleeping Afternoon brushing could be without toothpaste. If child does not take a nap encourage brushing after school time to cleanse out pooled food and goodies. Even if the child has habit of taking milk at bedtime ; remember to brush after that..

Question4 - What are other oral care steps to be taken for  children this age?

Answer4 - Children should be encouraged to rinse after eating anything ,from a small rinsing cup kept at the washbasin instead of just taking water from tap and spitting . Parents could do light gum massage for the children .It is soothening for the kids as between ages 1-3yrs baby molars are erupting. Also it’s a good habit to have light stimulation for the gums .
Flossing by parents is required in children who have crowded teeth or narrow jaws. It allows for cleansing of inter-dental areas. The floss should be a smooth ,waxed floss and done only by a responsible adult.

Question5 - Is the child ready for mouthwash? Is mouthwash good or harmful for children?

Answer5 - A 5Fluoride mouthrinse can be used in a diluted measure as prescribed by the Pediatric dentist .. Use of mouthwash should be strictly as per the specific need of the child. Plain water rinsing is a good habit which will be beneficial in cleansing of the mouth .A small rinsing cup kept at washbasin is useful as it can quantify the rinsing .

Question6 - Should the children be introduced to tongue cleaners?

Answer6 - I personally don’t recommend the use of tongue cleaners in children .Though many parents do use traditional tongue cleaners. For babies even a parents clean finger going over the tongue at bath time is sufficient .As the child grows up ,the soft toothbrush or fingerbrush can be lightly moved over the tongue. A few things to take care is to avoid excessive scraping as it erodes the delicate taste buds. No tongue cleaning after a full meal as it can stimulate retching and vomiting ,adversely affecting the kids motivation for oral cleansing.

Question7 - How often should a trip to a dentist be made for the baby?

Answer7 - Children should be checked by a Pediatric dentist every 6months. There are many specialists almost in every corner of Mumbai.So to visit and understand your child dental needs is not that difficult as it used to be,.Pediatric dental clinics are child friendly and very educative about children toothcare. BASIC MOTIVE IS TO DETECT early decay signs, Positive opinion about dentists as you are not meeting for painful work .It feels really good to be appreciated for the good cleansing work done. A preventive regimen can be worked out for the child to avoid tooth decay in permanent teeth.

Question8 - Anything else to be kept in mind for the teeth, dental care of a child of this age

Answer8 - Diet of the child is most important as the important milestones of health and growth are happening in this age group. There is a conflict between pampering and discipline and also between healthy food and junk food. Bribing with chocolates, candies , confectionaries, biscuits etc is often seen to obtain co-operation for many things like vaccinations, school and activity attendance. The result is common, bad health, bad teeth . Both these affects the overall growth of the Child.

Question9 - What are signs of teeth not being healthy at this age? What should the parents do?

Answer9 - Signs of unhealthy teeth White spots Actual stains Food stuck on teeth and bad breath Bleeding gums Sore red inflamed gums indicative of poor oral hygiene and even nutritional deficiencies. Parents should not ignore treatment of milk teeth under the myth that they are going to fall off anyway. There is a phase in which milk teeth and young permanent teeth are present at the same time so decay tendency is passed on easily .You may have given everything best but if treatment of milk teeth is missed out then lifelong visits to dentist becomes imperative. Last but not the least Parents need to be an example of good oral hygiene habits as children tend to be imitative!

Question1 - What kind of toothbrush should be used?

Question2 - What kind of toothpaste should be used?

Question3 - Should the child be allowed to use dental floss? Does it help clean the teeth or causes harm?

Question4 - What are other oral care steps to be taken for children this age?

Question5 - Is the child ready for mouthwash? Is mouthwash good or harmful for children?

Question6 - Should the children be introduced to tongue cleaners?

Question7 - How often should a trip to a dentist be made for the baby?

Question8 - Anything else to be kept in mind for the teeth, dental care of a child of this age?

Question9 - What food/drinks should be avoided to ensure healthy and good teeth.

Question10 - What food/ fruits/ vegetables/drinks are good for good for the teeth

Question11 - Should the child be given any supplements(calcium etc) for healthy and strong teeth?

Question12 - What are signs of teeth not being healthy at this age? What should the parents do?

Answers remain similar to earlier age group . - Parental supervision is a must as this is a delicate phase where the child has lost a few teeth and got few permanent teeth . The child may want independence .Nighttime brushing, flossing and rinsing should be compulsory and supervised. Tongue cleaning should also be supervised in the morning

Third time brushing in afternoon could be substituted by Fluoride mouthrinsing.Very effective in this age group as gives an adult like feeling to the child. Also a good adjunct as the number of outings-junk food and birthday parties –goodies increases in this age group.So effective cleansing can be carried out with the habit of mouthrinsing.

Question1 - How do kids loose milk teeth? What physically happens inside their mouth to cause their milk teeth to fall and permanent teeth to come?

Answer1 - kids lose teeth as a part of a predetermined genetic timing.between 5-6yrs the lower front teeth generally start moving .the process is a gradual  and dual one,with the upward eruption of the permanent incisors along with resorption of roots of milk(primary )teeth. this is also accompanied by appropriate widening of the jaws

Question2 - Is there any knowledge of why it actually happens? I mean why do kids first have milk teeth and after 6-7 years they get this new set of teeth. Is there any information on why do humans have these two sets of teeth?

Answer2 - this is part of the evolution of man according to his growth and changes in diet and food pattern. otherwise imagine if all 28-32 teeth are present in a baby jaw or vice-versa if we had baby teeth all our life!

Question3 - What are the signs to show that your child would need braces

Answer3 - eething is a discomfort phase for many a baby. actually what can soothe a baby is a gentle massage by moms or dads clean finger without any additives like honey or glycerine. just gentle strokes to improve blood circulation and ease gum pain .we do get teething gels but their use is limited as we can t keep applying them for 1-2 months . crankiness with teething is due to many reasons,even change in diet ,growing up with more demands from parents .sore gums ,tendency to fall ill often. the care to take is to introduce correct weaning foods,provide hygienic environment for a crawling baby who puts everything in the mouth this will not make them prone for other infections during this changeover phase.?

Question4 - What exactly do the braces do. How do they mould the structure of the teeth? I mean do braces actually help?

Question5 - Is there a variety of braces to choose from? if yes what are they?

Question6 - what all restrictions come on a child who has to use braces? Like what all he cannot eat (chewing gum for example) or any other thing that may get restricted.

Question7 - Is this teething process painful? If yes what can we do to ease the pain? Should we alter the diet to include soft and cold items?

Question8 - Any specific care to be taken during this period?

Question1 - Do space maintainers actually help? Are they a advisable option for the kids?

Question2 - By when should children loose their milk teeth? If there are any delays is there any reason to be concerned or require attention or what steps should the parents take?

Thanks a lot. The other pieces are ready and hopefully should go to print soon. I shall inform you of the same as and when it is due. Have a nice day..

when children lose teeth early or late the parents panic is because of comparison with other kids their age .either ways always remember your child is an individual with his own body timetable .so let things happen at their time .always schedule an appoitmnet with a pediatric or preventive dentist so that you are aware of how long to watch out for erupting teeth and to know sequence of eruption. children may discontinue or become lax in their oral hygiene care at this time so have them know and relearn brushing techniques. for the braces part of it i took help from my husband dr. chintamani kale ;who is an orthodontist .we do a lot of cases of preventive and interceptive orthodontics by which children can avoid braces and also unnecessary extraction of premanent teeth.

1) specific signs whether a child needs braces below 6yrs if there is an obvious discrepancies in jaw size crossbites missing teeth,extra teeth or extracted teeth above 6yrs all the above causes and crowding of teeth proclination of front teeth with an accident prone profile ideally we recommend that  a child should visit an orthodontist at 8yrs to diagnose a future treatment need .

2)braces are a complete integrated mechanics which uses brackets(like handles)stuck on teeth and a wire which is activated to move teeth in required positions over a period of time. as they help align in appropriate places the smile,jaw posture everything improves .braces put after careful diagnosis with jaw x-rays definitely help at almost any age.

3)there is a variety of colours, also transparent, trendy gold and classic metallic options  to make braces look attractive. coloures braces are very popular in teenagers.