Dental health facts for children

It doesn’t take much time before toddlers grow into young children that can clean and take care of their own teeth. However, parents should not leave this task completely to their children and expect them to just get on with it.

Children need to be taught the best way to clean their teeth and recognise the importance of good dental health. Regular dental checkups are a good routine to get your children into and, as parents, the more you can learn about the dental health of your children, the better. The following is a list of dental health facts for children:

1. Almost 50% of 8-years-old children have signs of tooth decay

This is a shocking fact that many people are not aware of. Making sure that your children brush their teeth two times a day for about two minutes in a proper way will help to prevent this unpleasant occurrence.

1. Proper dental health is affordable

One tube of fluoride toothpaste is less than a pound, so keeping your children’s teeth clean and getting them into good habits is affordable.

1. 80% of children visit dentists on a regular basis

This is good news. However, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be 100% especially as NHS dental treatment is free if you are under 18.

1. Many healthy drinks are not actually healthy for the teeth

Unfortunately, many so-called healthy fruit juices contain a large amount of sugar which can damage your children’s dental health. Offer milk to your children more frequently and avoid buying these juices.

1. The number of kids affected by plaque is going down

In the last decade, the percentage of children that have problems with plaque has been reduced by 10% which is great news. If parents make an additional effort and take a good care of their children’s teeth, then the number of plaque-affected children will reduce even faster in the future.

1. Children should visit the dentists as early as possible

According to a recent study, children that start visiting dentists earlier feel much more relaxed. If they make their first trip to the dentist’s office when they are 10 years old or older, it is very likely that they will develop fear so the sooner you can get them into the routine of visiting a dentist, the better.

For more advice about dental care for your children, please contact us now.