Children’s early dental care essential

 Early dental care is essential for children, and parents are urged to begin their children’s dental care as soon as their first teeth appear.

This is because early oral hygiene habits could guarantee strong, healthy teeth for the rest of one’s life and prevent long-term dental issues.

Dental care is therefore crucial in order to maintain good oral health and avoid any problems that can develop as the child gets older.

Introducing children to dental care also provided par­ents with advice on good oral hygiene habits, according to Dr. Kakra Bonsu Appiah, Head of the Dental and Oral Surgery Department at Tema General Hospital.

These include proper tooth and gum hygiene, the value of fluoride, and dietary practices that promote strong, healthy teeth.

Establishing proper oral hy­giene habits early on is crucial since it prevents cavities, gum disease, and other dental prob­lems while laying the ground­work for a lifetime of healthy living. However, some caregiv­ers begin this practice later.

Toothache and other gum or tooth-related issues should not be treated lightly because they cause excruciating pain that affects every part of the body and impairs attention.

Many children enjoy eating sweets, but since sugary diets are a major cause of cavities, parents should advise their children to restrict their in­take.

The dentist advises using fluoride toothpaste to clean one’s teeth twice a day and flossing once a day.

In order for this to be suc­cessful, caregivers must set an example by maintaining proper dental hygiene so that their children can easily follow suit.

In addition, parents need to feed their children a healthy food.

The dentist advised against prolonged thumb-sucking, which is a frequent behaviour among young children, as it may result in an open bite, in which the child’s lower and upper front teeth do not touch correctly when their mouth closes.

According to him, this misalignment may impair the child’s capacity to properly bite and chew food and may also result in speech issues, in­cluding issues with articulation and pronunciation.

In order to lower the chance of future oral health problems, The Spectator pleads with parents to make sure their children’s dental growth stays on course, as advised by the dentist.