Bad Dental Habits to Avoid in Children

You want your kids to be healthy and good oral habits help keep them that way. Even though you have them brush twice a day and avoid too much of sweets, there are still other habits that ruins the oral health of your child. In this article, we will discuss about the bad dental habits to avoid in children.

Nighttime feeding
Allowing your baby going to bed with bottle might help in making them sleep. However, it is one of the worst things for your baby’s oral health. Milk spreads and stays in the mouth all night, letting the sugars wear away your baby’s teeth enamel. If your baby has a habit of nighttime feeding, gradually cut their feeds or be ready to rinse their mouth once they are done. If your baby like to have bottle at bed time, fill the bottle with water, as this will be safe for drinking throughout the night and does not promote the growth of bacteria.

Sucking thumb and fingers
Fingers and thumb sucking cause problems with child’s teeth. Thumb sucking is normal and gives a sense of security to infants. However, if continued beyond the age of 5 years, it can cause problems for the teeth coming in resulting in crooked and misaligned teeth. This can cause speech problems and overbite in children needing an orthodontic treatment later. So, try to break this habit as early as possible before it gets to this stage.

Snacking before going to bed
This habit has a huge impact on oral health. It is recommended to clean teeth before going to bed so that left over food particles can be removed. However, if your child eats before going to bed, then he/she is voiding the action of brushing and giving the bacteria the chance for playing havoc in the mouth while sleeping.

Swallowing toothpaste
Did you know why children eat toothpaste? It might be because the paste tastes good or might be your child have not yet grasped to spit the toothpaste and not to swallow it. Fluoridated toothpastes if excessively swallowed can lead to fluorosis where your child’s teeth can be permanently discolored. It is advised to start with the toothpaste that does not contain high amount of fluoride. Most of the drinking water contains fluoride to help prevent tooth decay. Moreover, your child’s dentist may recommend fluoride supplements if your child is at risk of tooth decay. As soon as your child learns to spit toothpaste, you can switch brushing your child’s teeth with fluoridated toothpaste.